ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A local church took part in the worldwide Operation Christmas Child project on Saturday to bring Christmas joy to thousands of underprivileged kids.

Representatives say about 150 locals, of all ages, came to Hope Church in Rochester to fill 1,500 shoe boxes with things like toy cars, stuffed animals, school supplies and hygiene items.

They will be shipped to impoverished children around the world.

Organizers say that many of the children who will receive the boxes have never gotten a present. 

And for some of them, these may be the only present they get in their whole lives.

"It's a one-to-one outreach," said Dave Smith, project leader. "The box that I pack, you pack, or anyone else packs, all the people behind me, goes to a child. It takes different routes to get there, but it ends up in the hands of a child who gets that present. It's a beautiful thing."

Project leaders say they work all year round to make this event happen.

They say last year, residents in Monroe, Wayne, Ontario and Livingston Counties packed a record 20,262 boxes.