MISSISSAUGA, Ont. -- This holiday season when Canadians make a list and check it twice, many will include alternative gifts. An increasing number of Canadians opt for presents that benefit others and please friends and family. World Vision's annual gift guide responds to this trend.

For four years the World Vision Gift Catalogue has been one of the most popular listings of alternative presents that provide practical resources for the poor in Canada and in the developing world.

"Canadians are always looking for an easy way that they can share with others who have so much less. The Gift Catalogue has been a well-received collection of gifts for the recipients, the shoppers and those who ultimately receive the goods," says Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. "In 2003 alone, Canadians bought more than 33,000 gifts items that enabled World Vision to deliver $2.7 million worth of livestock, supplies and food."

The 2004 World Vision Gift Catalogue includes a range of gift options from chickens, pigs, goats, seeds, tools, water wells, to medical and school supplies that are delivered to impoverished communities around the world. Last year's 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 benefit of the catalogue is best described by Mestawet, a mother from Ethiopia who said, "our children suffered from diarrhea and other water borne diseases. Thanks to  ...the gift delivered by...World Vision our need for clean water has been satisfied. Now our children are stronger and healthier and have a brighter future."