PADUCAH, KY - Most of the booths at Barbeque on the River donate their proceeds to charity, but some organizations have chosen to represent themselves to raise money or just raise awareness. One of those charities is Operation Christmas Child, and they have a booth for the first time, as they try to get more groups to give 'A Simple Gift' for Christmas.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of relief organization Samaritan's Purse, run by Billy Graham's son Franklin Graham. Every year, they distribute millions of shoe box gifts to children around the world, so they know someone loves them and wants them to have a Merry Christmas. Last year over 8 million boxes were distributed.

Kathy Butler is the Church Relations Coordinator for the Paducah area, and she decided to set up a booth to recruit even more help. Anyone who is curious about what a church must do to participate should stop by for more information.

"I've got boxes, I've got the flyer that tells you how to pack the box, I've got posters for churches, window stickers. I've got the DVD that gives them the information about Operation Christmas Child to take back to their churches or organizations," Butler said.

The Operation Christmas Child booth is located on North 2nd Street near Madison Street, close to the Amerisource building. It's right across 2nd Street from Kenny's Donut Hole, We B Smokin', and the hospitality/family tent.

Organizations collect all of their shoe boxes in mid-November so they can be distributed as close to Christmas as possible. Butler and other volunteers know that activity in this project increases in mid-October, so this is the perfect time for recruiting new groups.

Churches or organizations that want more information can call Butler at 270-564-3550.