World Relief Opens Give Hope Shop, Invites Individuals to Shop "Differently" this Holiday Season

    NEW YORK, NY, December 09, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With the holiday season kicking into high-gear, World Relief--the international humanitarian aid and development organization--has opened its Give Hope Shop, an online store that offers an alternative to regular gift giving by allowing shoppers to give humanitarian assistance on behalf of a friend or loved one.

At Give Hope Shop, individuals can purchase food, temporary shelter kits, trauma counseling, English classes, and even solar panels, among many other items, as gifts for families worldwide who are vulnerable and in need. World Relief provides downloadable cards detailing the gift donated, which the buyer can then give as a symbolic gift to the person on whose behalf it was purchased.

"Hope is the most valuable gift we can give because it reminds people that their future is worth fighting for," says Scott Arbeiter, President, World Relief. "This is why we opened the Give Hope Shop. We wanted to invite people to use this holiday season as an opportunity to shop differently--to not just do the same thing we do every year where we end up accumulating more possessions, but to give the gift of hope and make a tangible difference in the lives of men, women and children who desperately need encouragement and comfort."

The Give Hope Shop has gifts in five main categories: disaster response, refugee and immigration services, peacebuilding, economic development, and health and child development.

Within these categories individuals can select gifts like blankets and emergency food supplies for disaster response, winter clothing for refugees resettling in cold climates, Bibles and bicycles for pastors who are working to build peaceful communities, livestock and solar panels to provide economic development opportunities, and cookware and HIV/AIDS prevention workshops to promote health and child development. While these gifts are symbolic of the goods and services World Relief provides, the donations ultimately mean you're purchasing "the best gifts money can buy --food, shelter, peace, and opportunity" as the Give Hope Shop website reads.

"The impact these gifts can have goes beyond any monetary value, and that is because, hope has an exponential effect," says Arbeiter. "When you give hope, you're reminding those who are struggling that their current situation, no matter how dark or dire, will not dictate the rest of their lives. With a few clicks all of us can be a part of that redemption story."

World Relief is a global humanitarian aid and development organization that stands with the vulnerable and partners with local churches to end the cycle of suffering, transform lives and build sustainable communities. With over 70 years of experience, World Relief has 25 offices in the United States that specialize in refugee and immigration services, and works in 20 countries worldwide through disaster response, health and child development, economic development and peacebuilding.

Website | www.WorldRelief.org Twitter | @WorldRelief

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