A big country music star has a gift for Penticton.

Singer Paul Brandt will be in town on October 11 to promote awareness of a cause dear to his heart.

"I'm taking off from Vancouver on October 10 and will be going all the way to Halifax in 17 days and the idea is to make a bunch of noise about 'Operation Christmas Child.' We will be stopping along the way to play a few songs and encouraging people to bring the shoe box Christmas gifts that 'Operation Christmas Child' does for children in the third world," says Brandt.

He says OCC gives people the chance to touch the lives of children around the world who might never have received a gift at Christmas-time.

Brandt says he was asked by Samaritan's Purse, the non-profit organization that runs OCC, to be a part of the campaign two years ago. But before he will commit his name and energy to any organization, he wants to see it working first hand to make sure it is making a difference. So around Christmas-time in 2004 he and his wife Liz went to Cambodia to hand out shoe boxes.

"The first one that I gave out was to a little six year-old girl and she took the gift and opened it. Then she closed it so she could open it one more time. I remember hearing about this one little girl in Afghanistan that received a little purple beanie-baby in her box and she dropped it when she pulled it out of the box because she was so ecstatic about it because she had never seen the colour purple before. It is really neat to be able to see things like that and I am thrilled to be a part of it," says Brandt.

He says he isn't able to hand out the boxes this year, but is hoping to go to Costa Rica next year.

"We wait to see which areas have the most need, they kinda have me on call for that," says Brandt.

Brandt say he will traveling across the country in the big-rig truck that was featured in his 'Convoy' music video and hopes to fill the truck with shoe boxes from the different cities he is stopping in.

"It's going to be interesting, we are zipping across pretty quickly doing 13 stops in 17 days, so it is going to be a lot of traveling," says Brandt.

He says depending on the response from the communities, they may have to off-load some of the boxes along the way.

"The song, which is the title track from my Christmas album, is called 'The Gift' and money that is made off that song by radio air play will go to support OCC," says Brandt.

Brant arrives in Penticton on October 11 and will perform at the Safeway on Main Street starting at noon.

Link: Operation Christmas Child