HAYDEN — The presents were wrapped, set in boxes with care.

Dozens of volunteers and St. Nick were there.

In the spirit of Christmas, one thing was clear.

Many would have a nice holiday thanks to agents of Windermere.

For 22 years, Windermere agents and associates have volunteered their time to brighten the holidays for those in the community who are elderly, disabled or have fallen on hard times. The Windermere Christmas program first began with the goal of helping seniors, but now it has snowballed into something extraordinary.

“The people we help are so desperately without, and they’re not necessarily seniors. They’re people that are alone, and what they ask for is underwear, or a pillow,” said Pepper Smock, of Coeur d’Alene. Smock is the broker and owner of Windermere offices in Coeur d’Alene, as well as the Storage World warehouse where all the presents were prepared for delivery Sunday afternoon.

“This is the only Christmas these people have. Sometimes it’s the only people they see for months,” he said.

Rows of boxes full of packages filled the warehouse. Sue Berg of Coeur d’Alene, bookkeeper of the program, said volunteers worked for about six weeks planning, shopping, wrapping and preparing for the big day.

“I like everything about it,” she said. “I like the fact that we can help so many people in need. I like the camaraderie of the work parties. We play Christmas music, we have dinner, we do whatever needs to be done. It’s so nice when you’re delivering the gifts. And I love reading the individual stories.”

Smock attributed the program’s success to coordinator Pat Krug.

“Pat’s vision to help people has become a shared vision,” he said. “We believe in what we’re doing. We believe that people need help and that we can make a difference.”

Recipients this year received a wide range of gifts: food, toys, furniture, new mattresses, clothing, and much more. They were asked to fill out forms indicating clothing sizes, special requests, dietary needs or other. The Windermere Christmas volunteers tailored each set of gifts to the person receiving them, and each individual was given a hand-written Christmas card.

Windermere agent Katie Stolebarger of Coeur d’Alene and her 5-year-old son Jackson helped with wrapping the packages last week and were happy to deliver the gifts. She said when she was a little girl, she and her parents delivered gifts to families in need. Now it’s her turn to teach her child the value of giving to others.

“It’s fun to be able to get him involved,” she said. “I wanted to get him involved and do the same thing.”

Kaeli Garland, 15, of Coeur d’Alene, helped load and deliver the packages with her parents. Her mom, Melissa Garland, is a Windermere real estate agent.

“I just like to do things to help the less fortunate,” Melissa said. “I mean, we do this, but we do stuff outside of here too. We try to do it all year ’round.”

Pepper’s daughter Amy Smock of Hayden has participated in the program for 15 years. She said she enjoys talking to the recipients while on deliveries.

“You just go looking for stuff, it’s just fun,” she said. “And you take it to them and they’re just happy.”