Gurnee church helping gift drive:

Members of Immanuel Church in Gurnee will gather Saturday to pack shoe boxes for a Christmas gift drive. It’ll be part of an effort established by Operation Christmas Child as a project of Christian Worldwide Relief Organization/Samaritan’s Purse, headed by Franklin Graham. The aim is to send hope and joy to children ages 2 to 14 living across the world in difficult circumstances, using simple shoe box gifts. These gifts are filled this time of year with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, clothing, candy and a letter and/or photo of the giver, and distributed to more than 100 countries. Immanuel members hope to pack 3,000 shoe boxes Saturday. Groups, churches and individuals across northern Illinois are participating in the nationwide effort that has a goal of 8.5 million gifts.