The power of one person to make a difference can never be overstated.

One woman, Eva Whitmore, decided she would use her exceptional organizational talents to spread some happiness to women living in shelters.

Because of Whitmore, her city of Winnipeg now benefits from The Shoebox Project, a Canadian non-profit group that distributes gifts in the form of shoeboxes to women living in shelters across the country.

The concept is simple — fill up a shoebox with items valued at $50 that a woman in hard times would enjoy but never splurge on for herself.

"Some of these women will tell you that they haven't had a birthday gift or a Christmas gift in years," Whitmore told the Winnipeg Free Press. "These shoeboxes help brighten the holiday season during difficult times and let these women know that they are special and not forgotten."

(READ the story in the Winnipeg Free Press)