Last Christmas, Nicole Jones was homeless and had two children. She struggled with the harsh realities of life. Christmas was just one of many worries for her children. A roof over their heads was even more disturbing, more necessary of course.
This Christmas she has plenty of presents under the Christmas tree in her apartment in Milton, where she lives with her children, ages 13 and 15. A week before Christmas, a handful of elves from Navy Federal’s Pensacola Campus rushed up the stairs with boxes of gifts galore, bringing tears to the grateful mother, who works full-time at a nearby gas station and who died in January of this year was able to move into the apartment with the help of her father.
“I try to help others and don’t ask for much myself,” Jones told the Navy Federal group, her voice breaking. “I’m very, very, very grateful and very thankful for every bit of it.”
She tried to move on, but she struggled with the need to cry. Her eldest son, 15-year-old Marcus Hendrieth, had his arm around her shoulder and offered comfort.
“You got it,” he told her. “You got it.”
His mother continued, tears and words coming together.
“I know what you’re doing is very sincere.” The tears continued.
There were lots of presents: sports equipment, toys, clothes, video games. And at one point, a federal Navy official pulled Jones away to present her with some gift cards to help the struggling family.
The visit was part of Navy Federal Credit Union’s annual “Project Neighbors” campaign, in which associates purchase, wrap and personally deliver gifts to families in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. This year, several teams from the Navy Federal Pensacola campus, which employs nearly 10,000 employees, delivered gifts to 114 families across the two counties.
“Project Neighbors brings joy and excitement to our campus every year,” said Federal Navy Supervisor Timonthy Wentworth. “Supporting the community is key, and we are grateful for this opportunity to come together as a team and strengthen our culture of serving in the community.”
Navy Federal worked with the Escambia and Santa Rosa school districts to identify students and their families in need of assistance this holiday season.
“It’s hard being a single mom,” Jones said. “I work at a gas station and I’m an assistant manager and I’ve been there for almost four years now, but it’s still hard to get a job. Last year we were homeless, but my dad and I got together and got our house in January. It’s still a struggle, but things are better now. And it’s great to have all this support.”
Navy Federal sent teams to each of the 114 families this year, bringing a little hope, a little compassion and thousands of gifts to people fighting to make it through another year.
But across Northwest Florida, businesses, corporations, clubs, teams and other groups have banded together to bring Christmas cheer and, most importantly, hope to struggling families.
While Navy Federal’s Pensacola campus has nearly 10,000 people dedicated to that effort, some groups with much smaller ranks are doing what they can to help others. Sometimes it’s just buying a Christmas tree and starting an angel tree program, where customers and visitors can “adopt” a family featured on the tree. Angel Tree hosts monitor progress and then deliver gifts to organizations such as the Salvation Army, Gulf Coast Kid’s House and other groups that serve children and families so they can be distributed to their clients.
Alga Beer Company on 12th Avenue is just down the street from Gulf Coast Kid’s House, the nonprofit children’s advocacy center that provides services to victims of child abuse in Escambia County.
Early in the holiday season, the owners of Alga approached Gulf Coast Kid’s House to participate in their angel tree program, purchased a tree and received 25 family profiles from which guests could choose to help with Christmas, fulfilling specific family wish lists.
“They don’t give us names, but they give us information like the child’s age, whether it’s a boy or a girl, hobbies, favorite snacks, toys they want and things like that,” said Brett Reid, co- owner. from Alga Bear Company, which has ten employees: “This is the second year we’ve done it, and it’s easy for us to do and we know it helps the kids. It brings the neighborhood together, and there’s no other incentive (for the customers who chose a family from the tree) than the satisfaction of giving a child a good Christmas.”
There are 200 angel trees benefiting Gulf Coast Kid’s House, located in stores, office buildings, clubhouses and other areas where groups gather, socialize and work. The Salvation Army has hundreds more, distributed locally.
“It’s an easy way to help and it makes a big difference,” said Stacey Kostevicki, executive director of Gulf Coast Kid’s House. “We bring the groups’ wish lists and they monitor and monitor the progress of the wish lists.”
She had just said goodbye to some people from the Pensacola Big Game Fishing Club, who had stopped by to bring hundreds of gifts to give out to the children of Gulf Coast Kid’s House, which has cared for and served about 3,000 people this year alone. served. children, many of whom are victims of extreme abuse and neglect.
The PBGFC, which was founded in the early 1970s and has hosted the popular Pensacola Billfish Tournament and other tournaments for more than 50 years, has about 180 members.
Earlier this month, the organization held its annual Christmas party, with members bringing sleigh loads of toys for the children at Gulf Coast Kid’s House.
This is the holiday season throughout our area – and it is a season in which our Jewish neighbors celebrate Hannukah, which this year begins on December 25, the same day Christians celebrate Christmas, and ends on January 2.
“Gulf Coast Kid’s House is very important and very special in our community,” said PBGFC President Brian Johnson after he and other club members delivered the toys. “We wanted to give back, and part of our club mission is to give back to our community, so we have lots of toys from baby dolls to cars to wooden trains and lots of gifts for the older kids and teens.”
He said the club’s toy drive will not only bring joy to children who need it, children in difficult situations, scary situations, tragic situations, but also a learning experience for many club members. Johnson himself works in IT security and has worked for Gulf Coast Kid’s House in the past.
“I am aware and appreciative of what they do and know how important it is in the community,” Johnson said. “But many of our club members may not have known about it before.”
They are now doing so, demonstrating the power of groups, small and large, to create differences in their communities, differences that individual group members could never match on their own.
“Our donor database is full of these types of community groups,” Kostevicki said. “It’s a way for people to mobilize and work towards something together. These groups are like the backbone of our organization.”
This article originally appeared in the Pensacola News Journal: Navy Federal brings Christmas cheer, but smaller groups are doing their part, too.
