In the spirit of the holidays, Peter Mayer staff members recently rallied to help a local family down on their luck since Hurricane Katrina.

The Jones family lost their house in the flooding that followed the hurricane, and parents Tim and Toni have struggled to provide for their three children – Dylan (12 years old), Tayla (7) and Tameah (3) – in the years since.

United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area connected Peter Mayer with the Jones family, who provided a holiday gift wish list, which was distributed to the agency. Staff members dug deep, purchasing every item on the list and then some. Piccadilly Restaurants, a Peter Mayer client, donated a holiday feast for the family’s Christmas dinner. Receiving the gifts before Christmas, both parents were emotional. Toni explained that it was the first time she had personally received a gift since before Katrina.

The holidays were filled with joy for the Jones family this year, and not only because of the gifts from Peter Mayer. Just before Christmas day, the family moved into a new house, built by a team led by New Orleans Saints safeties Darren Sharper and Roman Harper. Watch a video featuring Sharper, Harper and the Jones family.