CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Even though the holidays are a few months away, eastern Iowans are asked to begin considering what gifts they’ll send to children in need around the world.

Since the 1990s, Operation Christmas Child has rallied people across the United States to send millions of Christmas gifts to children in need. Over the last 30+ years, more than 230 million shoeboxes full of gifts have been sent.

This year, gifts are being sent to Ukraine. To encourage people to donate, a guest speaker who received a gift when she was a child, will be visiting the Christian Store in Cedar Rapids.

The speaker, Mariya Tatarin, received a life-changing gift when she was 12-years-old.

“She has a wonderful story about how that shoe box impacted her life,” Leanne Rezac a coordinator for Operat

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