Piles of gifts for area families wait beneath the tree at J. Fitzgerald Group, waiting to be taken to the Community Outreach at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church.

Business history is full of stories about entrepreneurs whose business decisions are guided by a simple mantra: “Do good.” Sometimes, doing good is about the simplest of acts: putting a smile on someone’s face at Christmas.

This year, the team at J. Fitzgerald Group adopted six families — 29 children and 12 adults — through the Community Outreach at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church and set about purchasing Christmas gifts just for them.

Excitement has grown as box after box, filled with toys for the children and clothing and other items for the adults, piled up in the foyer at JFG’s office on West Main Street. Just before Christmas, the JFG team will deliver gifts to the church where the families can then pick them up and get ready for Christmas morning.

Each year through the Community Outreach at St. John’s, the Lockport community adopts hundreds of families in need. The church provides each family with a food bag and families are able to “shop” through thousands of donated gifts to find the perfect ones for their family.

“The need around us grows every year,” said Carmel Cerullo-Beiter, co-founder of J. Fitzgerald Group. “And every year, the community’s generosity grows to meet that need. I think that says something about the people in the area. We’ve just always believed that if you’re fortunate enough to be healthy and have the means to provide for your own family, it becomes an obligation to help those who don’t have those things.”