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All Patricia Heaton wants for Christmas is ... goats?

No, really.

Heaton stars as Raymond's wife Debra in the top-10, Emmy-winning CBS television series "Everybody Loves Raymond." This year she is asking friends to forget elaborate holiday gifts and give her what she really wants: goats, cows, llamas and other livestock through Heifer International to help people in 47 countries lift themselves out of poverty.

Heaton will be giving friends and loved ones Heifer International gifts as well -- in the past she has given Heifer gifts to the cast and crew of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Heifer International (www.heifer.org) -- recently named to Forbes magazine's first "gold star" list of 10 recommended charities in its annual survey of 200 large non-profits -- fights hunger around the world by providing livestock and training to struggling families, who then "pass on the gift" of their livestock's offspring to others.

The actress recently volunteered to spearhead a campaign, "All I want for Christmas..." to spread the word about using Heifer International as an alternative to commercial holiday gifts.

"During the holidays I have a lot of people to buy for -- agents, managers, accountants. We all get so many gifts in this industry. We have everything. And I thought this would be something they would appreciate, and I found that people really were appreciative," she said. "People are surprised and delighted. 'Oh my gosh! You bought a cow in my name!' Or 'You bought a flock of geese in my name!' It's just so unusual, and it puts a picture in people's heads. They can almost see that."

Gifts given through Heifer International -- milk goats, laying hens, cows, llamas, even bees -- become symbolic purchases of livestock that go to impoverished people around the world to help them become self-reliant. And they pass on offspring of their animals to others, multiplying each gift.

"I think the best part of it is that it is empowering to people. It's not really charity as much as it is opportunity. People (who receive animals) can take this opportunity and make it into something long lasting and life-changing," she says.

So it's a meaningful way to celebrate the holidays, Heaton says.

"When you give a contribution as a gift to someone, they also have a sense of having a good feeling that something in a faraway land is being done in their name," she says. "When we read the news we feel so powerless about what's going on in the world. An organization like Heifer helps you do something in the world that really is making a change in an individual's life."

Heaton is encouraging everybody to make holiday gifts that change lives through Heifer's catalog, "The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World," or by donating online at www.heifer.org. Prices range from as low as $10 for a share of an animal to $120 for a goat, $500 for a cow or $5,000 for a whole "Gift Ark" collection of animals. The money supports the work of Heifer in helping hungry families around the world.

The catalog is filled with pictures of smiling people who have received livestock and training from Heifer, and stories about providing long-term benefits rather than temporary relief. Heifer provides colorful and informative honor cards, so givers can sign them and send them on to their honorees with their wishes for a joyous holiday season. The card explains how the gift will make a difference for struggling families around the world.

Heaton joins a long line of celebrities who support Heifer's work, including Walter Cronkite, Susan Sarandon, Ed Asner, and couples Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, and Bradley Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek.

For more information, please call (800) 696-1918 or visit Heifer's Web site at www.heifer.org.