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Article updated: 11/17/2012 7:13 PM

Gurnee church packs shoe boxes with gifts for kids in need

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Miranda Jones, 5, of Round Lake picks out gift items to pack in a shoe box Saturday with her 2-year-old brother, Shane, and her mom, Melissa Jones. The family packed gift boxes to be sent overseas to children in need as part of Operation Christmas Child at Immanuel Church in Gurnee.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

Olivia Spillman, 7, of Gurnee, packs a shoe box Saturday with stuffed animals, candy and other fun items that will be sent to needy children overseas as part of Operation Christmas Child.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

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Volunteers pack shoe boxes with gifts, toys, hygiene items and school supplies Saturday at Immanuel Church in Gurnee as part of Operation Christmas Child. The church aimed to pack 4,000 gift boxes to be delivered to needy children in countries such as Congo, Cameroon and the Ukraine.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

Volunteers gather Saturday morning in Gurnee to pack 4,000 shoe boxes with toys and school supplies that will be delivered to needy children overseas as part of Operation Christmas Child.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

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Lake County families joined in a worldwide effort to bring Christmas cheer to children in need as they packed shoe boxes full of gifts Saturday at Immanuel Church in Gurnee. Visions of children in orphanages, hospitals or disaster areas fueled volunteers. "You have to see the vision of a child not getting a present," said volunteer Yolanda Mackey of Round Lake Beach.