Mississauga, ON  - Eight hundred students in Manitoba are making pigs fly.  The proceeds of this fundraiser will be used to purchase pigs for children in developing countries through the World Vision Gift Catalogue.  The "Make a miracle…Make pigs fly" campaign raised more than $1,200 in three days, and a local veterinarian matched the funds to bring the total more than $2,400.

"Canadians have become really creative in the ways they use our Gift Catalogue," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. "There is a couple who used the Gift Catalogue as their wedding registry, a school group who played Hansen's "Mmmbop" song all day long until they raised one dollar per student to use towards the Gift Catalogue, and young children who collected bottles for over six months to purchase two hens and a rooster."

Last year alone, Canadians purchased $3.1 million worth of livestock, supplies and food for families in need. The 33,000 gifts from the Gift Catalogue helped families and communities in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

The 2004 World Vision Gift Catalogue includes a range of gift options from chickens, pigs, goats, seeds, tools and water wells, to medical and school supplies that are delivered to impoverished communities around the world. The top ten gifts including piglets, rabbits and goats are back in the catalogue. New gift items like donkeys, olive trees and Sprinkles (a nutritional supplement for children vulnerable to rickets) are destined to be among this year's favourite purchases.

"The impact of generosity grows drastically when groups of people come together to give selflessly," said Toycen. "We see this generosity each Christmas as Canadians choose to give alternative gifts."

To request a catalogue or purchase a gift, visit www.worldvision.ca/gifts or call 1-800-268-5528.

World Vision is an international Christian relief and development organization working in more than 90 countries around the world, providing help to more than 85 million people each year.