CRESTVIEW — Like many households, Baker resident Renee Wiley has Christmas presents to wrap and distribute, and holiday meals to plan.
However, Wiley will provide her gifts to more than 70 local families. (Fortunately, more than 1,000 people will help her accomplish the task.)
The U.S. Navy veteran said she returned to her native Okaloosa County, settled in Baker, and saw a need to help those less fortunate in the area.
So last November, she established Christmas Needs, a group that rapidly morphed into Giving Hands in Crestview.
Then, right after Christmas 2014, Christmas Angels in Crestview formed.
'IT'S FREECYCLING'
Giving Hands, which has 1,011 Facebook fans, links people with goods or services and those who need them.
"It's people helping people," Wiley said. "It's locals helping each other. Like if someone gets a new bedroom suite and they don't want to bother getting rid of the old one, they join the group and give it to someone who needs it."
It's "freecycling," Wiley said — an opportunity for those with serviceable goods or gently worn clothing to make them available for those who can't afford them.
"If they can't give money or a physical item, they help by giving advice," such as professional counseling on financial matters, Wiley said.
The group also consolidates information about public support resources, such as food banks and cold weather shelters, for people in need.
"If there's something we can't provide in (Giving) Hands, we recommend Sharing and Caring and other organizations," Wiley said.
'THAT'S MY BABY'
Christmas Angels in Crestview, a community outreach that provides gifts — and, in some cases, Christmas dinners — for the needy, was born Dec. 26, when Wiley and her volunteers visited day-after-Christmas sales.
"That's my baby," Wiley said of the program. "Some people join and they just want to adopt a whole family. We have 30 families adopted that way. Then we have another 41 (families) that the group's adopted."
Before Thanksgiving, volunteers pored through their packed North Ferdon Boulevard storage unit, sorting new toys and gently used clothes for distribution.
No sooner were donations organized than a wealth of more goodies were donated, almost doubling the inventory and packing the unit to the ceiling, Wiley said.
She and her team are now resorting, checking families' lists and planning battery-inserting and wrapping parties.
Not all toys are wrapped, Wiley said.
"If you want it wrapped, we'll wrap it, and if you don't and want to wrap it yourself, we'll give you a couple rolls of wrapping paper," she said.
'SELFLESS, TIRELESS'
Wiley's energy and dedication to the community inspire local residents.
"Selfless, tireless, compassionate and God-loving are just a few words I could use to describe Navy veteran Renee Wiley," volunteer John Marshall stated in an email. "The Lord has blessed Crestview when she began taking care of those who are less fortunate than the rest of us."
Giving Hands and Christmas Angels also accept cash donations, with all money going toward Christmas dinners for families and individuals on Wiley's lists.
"The needier ones, the ones who are just going to stay home and eat Ramen noodles, we want them to have Christmas dinner," Wiley said. "That's what we're doing with the money that comes in."
Wiley just has one request of people who receive help.
"We tell them all we want is, on Christmas Day and the day after Christmas, to see pictures of their smiles," she said.
"It's a good feeling to see those smiles."
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Navy veteran's charities spread Christmas cheer in Crestview
