ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Christmas may be months away but a couple of Everyday Heroes are hard at work preparing to spread holiday cheer.
- Lynne and Wally Hawthorne started Santa's Angels
- The non-profit provides Christmas gifts and meals for families
- Santa's Angels
- More Everyday Hero headlines
Lynne and Wally Hawthorne started Santa's Angels 33 years ago.
All these years later, from their Redington Beach offices above City Hall, the two work to serve Pinellas County families in need.
"Santa's Angels is a non-profit and its mission statement is to create a magical Christmas for a family that, without our help, would not have had Christmas at all," said Lynne Hawthorne.
The Hawthorne's offices are already filling up with holiday supplies. Soon, they said, it will be tough to even walk around in the office due to the number of donations.
"We just started with a couple of kids," said Wally Hawthorne. "Because we don't have any children, so - Christmas, of course.
"So we got some friends and neighbors together in St. Pete and bought a bunch of stuff and started wrapping it. And it went from there."
And so it went with bicycles, toys, clothing and a food basket are among all the items delivered.
"It (the basket) always has a ham or turkey," Lynne Hawthorne. "Enough produce and enough to make a Christmas meal and enough to last for a week."
The Hawthornes have plenty of help from the community. Getting involved can me purchasing a toy, wrapping it or even delivering it.
In addition to the volunteer support, the organization hosts fundraisers like the annual Havana Nights in April.
The Hawthornes say the looks on the kids faces when the presidents are delivered make all the work worthwhile.