VB teen helps keep homeless warm

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - As the temperatures prepare to drop near record lows this week, a Virginia Beach teen is working to help those less fortunate keep warm during the coldest days of the year.

Mariah Smith, along with friends and family, hands out brown bags filled with food paired with blankets and warm weather gear to the homeless through the Blankets for the Homeless program .

Smith said she decided to participate in the program because she said she had been abandoned and alone in the past.

"I was born and abandoned on Christmas Eve 19 years ago and I feel like since that was my situation, I was considered homeless as well," Smith said.

With a loving adoptive family by her side, she has pushed through the pain to provide for those who are still struggling.

"I just feel a drive to help the people that are in desperate need," Smith said. "it's wonderful and amazing to me to see how all these people are coming forward to help us."

Terry Restin co-owns a business that has now partnered with Blankets for the Homeless. 

"She's an amazing young woman and I just felt somehow, you have to help her help the people she's helping," Restin said.

There are 11 other locations joining in and donations are quickly filling up storage units to the brim. 

"It's such a blessing and I feel honored and privileged that God would choose me to do something like this," Smith said.