wfn.org | CWS Kit for Children of Disasters is Perfect Alternate Gift

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

CONTACTS:
Ann Walle/Church World Service/New York
Phone: (212) 870-2654
e-mail: awalle@churchworldservice.org

Jan Dragin/New York/Boston
Phone: (781) 925-1526
e-mail: jdragin@gis.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW KIT FOR CHILDREN OF DISASTERS IS PERFECT ALTERNATIVE GIFT IDEA,
SAYS CHURCH WORLD SERVICE

Heart to Heart9 Kids Kit Includes Toys, Hygiene and School Supplies

** EDITORS, PRODUCERS: HIGH RESOLUTION DIGITAL PHOTOS OF KIDS KIT CONTENTS
AVAILABLE ON REQUEST OR DOWNLOAD AT:
www.churchworldservice.org/news/news-release/index.html

NEW YORK - Thurs Nov 4 - Planning now to feature holiday gifts that make a
difference and stand out from the usual sea of sweaters, ties, tech toys and
gadgets?

A new Heart to Heart Kids Kit from global humanitarian agency Church World
Service (CWS) is offering a gift alternative that lets the gift-giver and
his or her intended recipient reach beyond themselvesto children suffering
from disasters and trauma.

Intended for children in the U.S. and abroad, the new kids kit is a gift
that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

The culturally- and gender-neutral Heart to Heart Kids Kits contain toys,
school supplies and personal hygiene items: a small stuffed bear, a small,
soft, colored ball, a harmonica or other small musical instrument, a slinky,
yo-yo and jumprope; paper, pencils, a pencil sharpener, an eraser, crayons,
a ruler and a pair of blunt scissors; and a comb, toothbrush and toothpaste.
Each kit, packed in a child-proportioned plastic container, is valued at
$24.

And, like all other Church World Service Gift of the Heart Emergency Kits,
there are no markings, no messages and no religious references to influence
the altruistic intent of the gift.

A number of agencies such as Church World Service distribute emergency
hygiene, school and baby kits to victims of crisis, or emergency cleanup
buckets for storm victims. But, says Judy McDowell, Church World Service
Director for Community Fundraising, "Heart to Heart Kits go a little
furtherby providing toys to help restore what children lose in a crisis and
trauma: their childhood."

Individuals can send cash donations to Church World Service, equaling the
total cost for the number of kits they wish to contribute plus $3 per kit
for shipping. Or they can purchase the designated contents for kits, then
assemble and send the kits to Church World Service for distribution to
children worldwide. Instructions are on the CWS website.

The humanitarian agency says its Heart to Heart Kids Kits have the potential
to create even greater circles of giving. "We9re encouraging families,
relatives, friends, church groups, scout troops and school classes to
collect kit contents," says CWS9 McDowell, "then get together and assemble
Heart to Heart Kids Kits as a project and ship them all to Church World
Service for distribution.

"That way," she says, "whole groups of people increase the spirit of giving
by working together. And that," adds McDowell, "has a currency all its own."

CWS also suggests that businesses this holiday season consider making cash
contributions earmarked for Heart to Heart Kits in theirs and the business
gift recipients9 names. "It9s a creative alternative to the ubiquitous
paperweight, fruit basket or key ring," says McDowell."

McDowell suggests that kit contributors can "then send their intended gift
recipients a holiday card that says something like, This season, we9re
giving your gift away to some kids who need all the help we can give.9" CWS
also offers free downloadable greeting cards designed for this purpose.

Church World Service tested its new Heart to Heart kits earlier this year
with a tough audience: In April, a youth group from Montclair, New Jersey,
traveled to CWS9 distribution center in New Windsor, Maryland, to assemble
an initial inventory of the kits. "They gave a resounding thumbs up to the
contents," said McDowell.

Church World Service provides sustainable self-help and development,
disaster relief, advocacy and refugee assistance worldwide and disaster
recovery services domestically. CWS is supported in part by 36 Protestant,
Orthodox, and Anglican denominations. In addition to public contributions,
major gifts and grants from the public sector, Church World Service9s 2,000+
community-based CROP Walks raise funds nationally each year to combat hunger
locally and globally.

With a strong focus on children, CWS has provided medical and health
assistance to the children of Iraq for more than a decade and has targeted
the issues of orphans and vulnerable children as a priority for its current
multi-year Africa Initiative.

For more information on Church World Service Heart to Heart Kits, visit
www.churchworldservice.org/kits/kids-kits.html. For instructions on making a
donation, visit https://secure.churchworldservice.org/."; Or call toll free
(800) 297-1516.

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