Jones is known in Panama City as \"Salvage Santa\" because for the past 39 years he has saved Christmas for local children by restoring old and broken toys and gifting them to kids in need. This year, he stepped up his efforts in the wake of Hurricane Michael with an event named \"Salvage Christmas.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/salvagesanta2-abc-ml-181218_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
ABC News
PHOTO: Mike Jones, dubbed by the community as the "Salvage Santa," started a free toy drive for those impacted by Hurricane Michael this holiday season in his community.
Even before Tuesday's $50,000 surprise donation, Jones had already collected around 900 bicycles and more than 10,000 toys for local children, storing them in a local church.
\"Even though we’re in a building right now that doesn’t have a ceiling in it right above me, and the carpets all wet and torn out ... look at the toys in here on the shelves,\" Jones said. \"The parents they come here, they get the spirit when they get to shop, there’s no cash register here, everything that you see in this room behind me is free.\"
He continued, \"They get to pick out what they want for their kids and go out the door and that raises their spirits, their morale. There are so many kids that wouldn’t get Christmas if we didn’t do this.\"
Do You Know Someone Who Deserves the 'GMA' Spotlight? Tell T.J.! Submit a photo or video telling us why your someone is so spectacular here.
Everyone in the community is involved, including 9-year-old Lyra Floore, who sold $700 worth of handmade ornaments and donated all of it to \"Salvage Christmas.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/salvagesanta-abc-ml-181218_hpEmbed_9x5_384.jpg\")
ABC News
PHOTO: Lyra Floore, 9, raised raised money by selling handmade ornaments to donate to the free toy drive for her community in Panama City, Fla.
\"The Christmas wish that I hope for this year is that everyone gets the presents that they need,\" Lyra told \"GMA.\"
Ilea Faircloth, the principal of Springfield Elementary School, one of the local schools destroyed in the storm, told \"GMA\" that the community still looks like a \"war zone.\"
\"When you walk around our neighborhoods and when you drive down our streets, it looks like a war zone,\" Faircloth said. \"And it just sucks the happy out of everything.\"
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/salvagesanta3-abc-ml-181218_hpEmbed_20x11_384.jpg\")
ABC News
PHOTO: Ilea Faircloth, the principal of Springfield Elementary School in Panama City, Fla., arranges dolls at the free toy drive for community members.
Faircloth added that her dream is for the community to be able to come together on Christmas and to be able to forget about the storm.
\"I hope that the kids wake up ... on Christmas morning and just are happy,\" Faircloth said. \"And just forget that there was ever a hurricane even if it’s just for a few minutes.\"
SAP, the \"GMA\" sponsor that made the $50,000 donation, said Jones and the entire community of Panama City deserve the help.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/trucks-1-abc-er-181218_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
ABC
PHOTO: Trucks containing toys donated by "GMA" sponsor SAP arrive in Panama City, Florida.
\"He deserves it and the community deserves it,\" said Alicia Tillman, chief marketing officer for SAP. \"This is a community that was devastated by Hurricane Michael and without communities we have no prosperity and we have no innovation, which is core to SAP.\"
Do You Know Someone Who Deserves the 'GMA' Spotlight? Tell T.J.! Submit a photo or video telling us why your someone is so spectacular here.
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Living/hurricane-ravaged-community-save-christmas-year/story?id=59870310","legacySlug":"/living/story/hurricane-ravaged-community-save-christmas-year-59870310","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"13:38","publishDate":"12-18-2018","updatedTime":"16:02","updatedDate":"12-18-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Mike Jones, center, stands in Panama City, Florida, with ABC News' TJ Holmes and Ginger Zee and SAP CMO Alicia Tillman, far right.","credit":"ABC","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/trucks-2-abc-er-181218_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"12/18/2018 13:38:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":59870310,"headline":"Hurricane-ravaged community 'salvaged' Christmas","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_panama_city_fl_christmas_surprise_181217 ","description":"A man helped arrange a free toy drive for all kids in Panama City, Florida. ","duration":"7:03","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181218_gma_breakfast_0830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["59799898","59557774","59797289"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"December 13, 2018","headline":"Mom captures the magical moment when blind son visits Santa Claus","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/mom-captures-magical-moment-blind-son-visits-santa-59799898","id":59799898,"image":{"alt":"Mom captures the magical moment when blind son visits Santa Claus","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/sanata-ht-002-jpo-181203_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Misty Wolf","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 15, 2018","headline":"Your entire Christmas, delivered ","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/entire-christmas-delivered-59557774","id":59557774,"image":{"alt":"Your entire Christmas, delivered ","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/mason-jars-ht-er-181204_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Abby DeDominicis/The Dairy Farmers Wife","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 13, 2018","headline":"Bank surprises single mom by paying off $150K in student loans","section":"living","slug":"/living/story/bank-surprises-single-mom-paying-off-150k-student-59797289","id":59797289,"image":{"alt":"Bank surprises single mom by paying off $150K in student loans","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/jasmin-ford-wls-jc-181213_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"WLS","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Hurricane-ravaged community 'salvaged' Christmas","description":"A man helped arrange a free toy drive for all kids in Panama City, Florida. ","duration":"7:03","uploadDate":"12-18-2018","publication":"12-18-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181218_gma_breakfast_0830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/12/181218_gma_breakfast_0830_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/story/hurricane-ravaged-community-save-christmas-year-59870310"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133810954","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133779647","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133810835","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133749799","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:living:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"living","title":"Hurricane-ravaged community 'salvaged' Christmas","pubTime":"08:38","pubDate":"12-18-2018","modTime":"11:02","modDate":"12-18-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":59870310,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Hurricane-ravaged community 'salvaged' Christmas","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_panama_city_fl_christmas_surprise_181217 ","videoId":59870310,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/living/story/hurricane-ravaged-community-save-christmas-year-59870310"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/59870310","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/59870310","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};
