FLORIDA — Christmas brings out the best in people, including Nancy Potwine. This is the 10th year she and her friend Jennnifer Levesque adopted a family they'd never met and showered them with holiday gifts.
A single call more than action 20 years ago led ABC Action News viewers to pitch in and cover Christmas gifts and bills for Potwine, then a single mom after she suffered a life-threatening aneurysm.
In 2013, after Potwine raised her son, she decided to start giving back in a big way. She contacted ABC Action News asking that we pair her and Levesque with a family in need.
This year, we connected these two Christmas angels with single working mom Ashley Quesada and her three young children. Quesada works full-time, but the job barely covers the bills, much less presents.
In November, the women arrived at the Quesada home bearing gifts for the entire family. Much to their delight, 5-year-old Asia, 2-year-old Anai, and 1-year-old Eli each got to open a couple of gifts early.
The rest will be saved for Quesada to put under the tree on Christmas morning.
“I am thankful and grateful there are still people nice enough out there to give to people in need," she said.
Potwine and Levesque also delivered groceries and some household items for Quesada.
Potwine said every family she helps reaffirms what her heart already knows — It's better to give than receive.
See the other families that have been helped over the years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
