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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- While many in the U.S. are preparing for holiday festivities, Colorado Springs volunteers are coming together this week to bring gifts to kids in need around the world.

Operation Christmas Child has been delivering gifts to children around the world since 1993. The program is run through the Christian relief organization "Samaritan's Purse."
This week marks their national collection week headquartered at Vista Grande Baptist Church on the corner of Stetson Hills and Powers.

All week local businesses, churches and families have been collecting items for kids in impoverished areas.
It takes just 7 dollars to send a shoe box of toys, school supplies, hygiene items and candy to children who will only receive this one small gift this year.

"The children are just blown away they," Collection coordinator Melissa Klute said, "A lot of times they have never recieved a gift before in their life so some kids will take one item out and hand the box back to the giver."

Many of the volunteers have been doing this for years, and actually travel to hand-deliver gifts to those deserving kids.
One of those volunteers is Michelle Giordano, she said after volunteering for 12 years, shes proud to work with this ministry that has a personal connection to her life.
"I have a friend that adopted some kids from Uganda, she explained, They opened only one shoebox their entire lifetime, it was the only gift they ever got, and they still have it to this day."

She added that just having water and the basics to survive is a big deal to many of these children, so receiving a box of gifts just for them, and knowing theyre thought of, is really something special.

Volunteers like Michelle are helping to make history this year, as Operation Christmas Child expects to send the 10,000,000th box since their founding in 1993.