One local dentist office is doing its part to give back to the community this Christmas season.

This is the fourth year Dr. Steven Hearne’s office has adopted a family through the Suffolk Department of Social Services.

“It’s been really great,” Hearne said. “What we do is create a vehicle to get gift donations and food for local families who need a little help.”

Set up in the lobby of the office is a bare Christmas tree with lights, which was once decorated with ornaments. A description of an item was written on each ornament, and

patients and staff took a tag home and brought back a gift to match the tag.

“Social Services gives us an idea of what the family needs are, and we try to tailor the tags accordingly,” he said.

This year gifts were piled high, and a basket full of food, with all the makings of a turkey Christmas dinner, lay under the tree.

“We have a lot of patients who come through, and we see a fairly high volume of Suffolk people. It’s a good vehicle for us to facilitate something like this,” Hearne said.