Not all heroes wear suits: some wear Pizza Hut uniforms. And, at Pizza Hut in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, Cayla Bishop and Nicole Burris set the gold standard for bringing pizza with a side of holiday cheer.

It all started when Cayla made a pizza delivery to a woman with three small children. While chatting with the mother, she asked if they were ready for Christmas—only to learn that the gifts that had been donated to the family were stolen, and that the three young kids would find their stockings empty.

For Cayla, this was just unacceptable. “I have a son myself, and I know how he would feel if he didn’t get anything for Christmas. It made me feel bad for her and I wanted to do something to help.”

Cayla asked her shift manager, Nicole Burris, if it would be possible to help the family out. With Nicole, Cayla set to work calling local charities to see if more toys could be donated to the family. Because it was so close to Christmas Day, the charities were mostly out of toys—so Cayla decided to spend some of her own hard-earned cash on the family.

Within the hour, Nicole and Cayla gathered board games, toy cars, and more. Their Pizza Hut franchise had caught wind of the generosity coming from the restaurant, and CFL Pizza joined the effort with some extra money and a gift card. Nicole wrapped everything before she and Cayla made a special delivery  to the unsuspecting mother.

Cayla says the young woman was just in shock. “She didn’t know what to think,” says Nicole. “The kids were gone with their grandmother— so it would be a surprise for them, too— and the mom was super stoked. She was really, really happy.”

“Our restaurant gives back a lot—we care about people deeply and try to treat all their customers with a huge amount of respect and thoughtfulness,” says Nicole. Of the Christmas delivery, she and Cayla are both very modest: “I was just happy that we got to help some people,” says Cayla. “I’m glad they were able to have a Christmas.”

[Photo Credit: Instagram/@mattallen]