Holiday Gifts Touched By An Angel

MATTITUCK, NY — On the North Fork, this year's holiday gifts are positively touched by an angel.

A brand new line of homemade soy candles, lip balm, body lotions and soaps have been created to honor Mattituck's Kaitlyn Doorhy, who died tragically in 2014 while away at college when she was only 20 years old.

After her death, Kaitlyn's parents Joseph and Darla vowed to keep her bright spirit alive through Kait's Angels, a not for profit organization created to give back to those in need in the community through Angel Acts of kindness.

Kait's Angels has also supported the creation of Buddy Benches at a series of local elementary schools, so children who may be feeling bullied, lost or lonely can always find a friend.

A series of fundraisers, including a Designer Handbag Wingo Night and a Poker Run, raise funds to help Kait's Angels give back; each year, the organization also hosts a yard sale to benefit an individual in need. This year's yard sale was held in honor of Morgan West, a little girl, 8, from Cutchogue battling an inoperable brain stem tumor.

And now, just in time for holiday gift giving, the line of candles, soaps and lotions are available at a number of North Fork stores, with a portion of the proceeds benefitting Kait's Angels and its mission of keeping Kaitlyn's loving heart and caring spirit alive forever.

Handmade by angels, the candles come in 18 scents, including holiday choices.

The line of candles, lips balms, body lotions and soaps is available at Breeze Hill Farms in Peconic, Bauer's Love Lane Shoppe in Mattituck, Bloomstrings in Cutchogue, and Santa's Christmas Tree Farm in Cutchogue — only the candles are available at the Santa's Christmas Tree Farm location.

And although the holiday season without their daughter is painful, the work the Doorhys have done through Kait's Angels is a way of keeping her love and compassionate spirit close to their hearts forever.

"Our guardian angel Kaitlyn will always be looking down on us as we look up to her," Darla Doorhy has said.

Photos courtesy Doorhy family