CRANBERRY TWP — Allie Herrman’s senior project resulted in delighted smiles for 46 underprivileged Florida children, many of whom had never gotten a Christmas present.

Allie, her mother Beth Herrman and her aunt Carolyn Nelson packed a rented van with 200 presents and Christmas stockings Dec. 18 and headed to Wahneta, Fla., to distribute them at Corazones Agradecidos Church.

The Seneca Valley High School senior, as part of her senior project, raised the $4,000 to buy the gifts. Allie said she distributed fliers and sent e-mails during the fundraising, but word of mouth raised much of the amount.

After fundraising was complete, Allie went on a shopping spree that saw her spend $50 on each child and buy a $50 grocery store gift card for each mother.

The trio packed the van and headed south to provide an early Christmas for the 46 children at the church.

“We somehow fit all these presents into the van,” Allie said. “We were going to ship them, but my aunt decided her donation would be to go down there.”

Allie decided to help out the desperately poor children in Wahneta after participating in a mission trip there with Grace Community Church in Cranberry Township, which her family attends.

“These kids don’t have a lot, and a lot of them probably never got a Christmas present before,” Allie said.

The soccer balls and footballs, remote-control cars, arts and crafts supplies and other presents were wrapped by the trio and church members on tables set up outside Corazones Agradecidos Church when they arrived Dec. 20.

When the children arrived, she called each one up individually and gave them each two to three presents.

“They sat in a big circle, and I basically said go, and they all opened their presents,” Allie said. “It made me feel so good because they were so excited.”

She said each of the 46 children got a stocking as well.

“Even opening the stockings, they were so excited,” Allie said. “You could tell they had never received anything like that before.”

After handing out the gifts, the three women jumped back into the van and headed north without spending the night in Florida. They arrived home on the 21st.

“My mom still had a lot to do (to prepare for Christmas),” Allie explained.

Amber Mayti, the wife of the student pastor at Grace Community Church, served as Allie’s mentor during her work on the senior project.

The couple also participated in the summer church mission trip that introduced Allie to Corazones Agradecidos Church.

“Allie is an amazing girl,” Mayti said. “Watching her on the trip and getting to know her heart for the children and seeing her selflessness was amazing.”

She called Allie hardworking and mature for her age and marveled at her ability to put aside fatigue and focus on the subjects of the mission trip.

“She wanted to make an impact,” Mayti said of Allie.

After graduation, Allie plans to attend High Point University in High Point, N.C., to study business management and accounting.

But no matter what her future holds, Allie said she will never forget her turn as Santa in Wahneta.

“It made me realize how much I have and how grateful I need to be for everything I do have,” she said.