Northern Kentucky man sets up Facebook page to help families in need this holiday

ELSMERE, Ky. - It wasn't a happy Christmas for Brian Delaney and his family last year.

"Last year we really struggled at Christmas," Delaney said.

Delaney said he got help from family members to buy presents for his kids at Christmas last year, but admits he was ashamed to ask for help.

This year is different.

Delaney's living room in an Elsmere mobile home park is cluttered with donated clothes, goody bag stuffers and his laptop. He's going through clothes he's washed and sorted to make sure that families get the right sizes.

He's also combing his Facebook page to try and pair donations he's received with people in need.

How did it happen?

More than two weeks ago Delaney began gathering items to donate to the less fortunate from his house. His original goal was to help 50 families any way he could.

But then he put up a page on Facebook called "Helping needy families for Christmas." Just a few weeks later, thousands of items have been donated through Facebook and more than 200 families have been helped.

"It makes us feel a lot better knowing that we're helping out people that were in the same situation as us," Delaney said.

Delaney matches up donations with families who have asked for help, and delivers them in his two-tone van. He hasn't taken a dime in gas money, but says this endeavor has paid for itself with the good feelings he's gotten from being able to help others who are in the same place he was last year.