If there was ever a year where real-life heroes were needed most, 2020 might be it. The past 11 months have brought with them challenges requiring resilience, courage, and most importantly love to overcome them, and heroes to inspire all of us to put our best foot forward. 

SoCal-based global lifestyle brand UGG wants to celebrate these heroes, introducing three courageous Californians in their FEEL LOVE holiday campaign. 

Food activist LaRayia Gaston, ICU nurse Grace Kim Lee and firefighter Hunter Hanson are the real-life superheroes stepping out of their professional capes and into the faces of the campaign, sharing their stories, kindness and generosity in the brand’s campaign as part of the #UGGTOGETHER giveback program in response to the pandemic.

“A gift is an expression of love and so is giving back,” said Andrea O’Donnell, President of UGG. “This holiday we want to celebrate those people who give back every day of the year and ask our community to honor friends, family and colleagues who do the same. In these turbulent times feeling love is the best antidote I can think of.” 

The FEEL LOVE campaign hopes to inspire us to give the feeling of UGG—of love, resilience, kindheartedness and generosity—to the people in our lives, just as the three Californian heroes give their caring spirits and kindness back to their communities. UGG is donating $50,000 to each charity of choice proposed by the real-life heroes of the campaign: Lunch On Me, the CHOC Children’s Foundation and the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. 

Food activist LaRayia Gaston is the founder and executive director of Lunch On Me, a community-driven org with roots in LA and NYC providing comfort, positivity and care through organic meals to those experiencing homelessness. She is pictures with colleagues Venus Nari, President of Lunch On Me; Natasha Wilson, Lunch On Me photographer; and jose Mendez, chef af Lunch On Me in the campaign, emphasizing the collaborative nature of her altruistic endeavors.

ICU nurse Grace Kim Lee inspires the world by her devotion to helping others, especially in times when she is needed most. Along with working at a world-class hospital in LA, she’s been the recipient of the Daisy Foundation Award for outstanding service in the nursing field. She is shot in the campaign alongside her daughter Chloe and son Chase, all fans of UGG and the message it aims to deliver.

Hunter Hanson is a third-generation firefighter hailing from Malibu. Both Hunter and his father Chris recently fought the Bobcat Fire, one of the biggest fires in LA County history. 

To further the love, UGG is bringing back the #UGGTOGETHER “Real Life Heroes” giveaway on social media and inviting followers on Instagram to nominate their own real-life heroes to be recipients of the gift of UGG.

See the full UGG holiday campaign on their website and find full information on how to nominate your own hero and participate in the social media giveback here.