Growth Generator

For the past 20 years, Operation Christmas Child has shown that there's power in a simple gift. The joy that a simple shoebox filled with gifts gives a needy child is both fulfilling and heartbreaking. I first became acquainted with the Christmas in a shoe box project three years ago through my wife's school and enlisted the International Accounting Department to participate. That year, the IAD department contributed 8 shoe boxes for children in Belarus. The following year, we contributed 25 shoe boxes again for children in Belarus. Last year, we contributed over 50 shoe boxes for children in Moldavia. In honor of KPMG's 100 year anniversary, the goal has been set this year at 100 shoe boxes. However, with the help of Pete Nicholson and Matthias Kiener, and by expanding the project this year beyond IAD and opening it up to the entire Swiss firm, we hope to surpass this goal by a significant margin. The recipients of the shoe boxes this year are needy children in Georgia. A shoe box filled with some of the items listed below is estimated to cost about CHF 25. However, please feel free to donate as little or as much as you feel comfortable with. A single tooth brush or even an empty shoe box will help us reach our goal. The contents of the shoe box may come from the following categories (Due to import regulations, all goods have to be NEW):

- Toys: Cuddly toy, doll, small car, yo-yo, small jigsaw, puzzle, etc.
- Hygiene articles: Toothbrush (original wrapping) and toothpaste, hair brush, comb, flannel, towel, hair band, etc.
- School items: Notebook, colouring book, picture book, pencils, pens, crayons, felt-tip pens, ruler, rubber, set - square, pair of compasses, chalk, etc.
- Clothes: Hat, cap, gloves, scarf, T-shirt, socks, jumper, trousers, sunglass, etc.
- Sweets: Candy, lollypops, peppermints, glucose (date of expiry must be after June the following year)

Please refer to the following web site for additional details: http://www.weihnachten-im-schuhkarton.ch/. Empty shoe boxes, filled shoe boxes, and shoe box contents are being collected by Jim McKenney (International Accounting Department), Matthias Kiener (Forensics), and Pete Nicholson (Transaction Services) through 30 October 2010.