Christmas shopping season is nearly upon us

Consider a gift in your loved one's name from the World Vision Catalog. Some gifts include:

Less than $100: China earthquake relief; $375 worth of food for Africa; $1,050 worth of school supplies; Sudan food and emergency relief; new mother and baby kit; a bicycle for a girl to go to school; or a goat to provide a hungry family with milk, more goats, and later, meat.

Less than $50: Five ducks to provide a hungry family with eggs, and later more ducks and the meat they provide; seeds, tools, and agricultural training; education for a child; $490 worth of clothing; or immunizations.

Less than $30: A chicken to provide a hungry family with eggs, and later more chickens for eggs and meat; drought-resistant seeds; malaria prevention for one family; help for children with disabilities; $125 worth of food for Africa; support to help rescue sexually-exploited girls; or a caregiver kit.

Or consider something from the Mercy Ships gift catalog. Gifts range from $25 for a New Beginning kit for a woman recovering from fistula surgery or 5 pair of protective sunglasses for patients recovering from sight-restoring eye surgery, through $45 to provide a village with agricultural training, $100 to provide a case of surgical gowns, $360 to sponsor life-changing surgery, $3,000 to provide a village with clean water, $10,000 to provide a complete set of surgical instruments to perform sight-saving surgery. Many of these big-ticket items would be excellent holiday projects for a club, scout troop, or civic organization.