{"id":17220,"date":"2025-09-18T16:47:02","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=17220"},"modified":"2025-09-18T16:47:02","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T16:47:02","slug":"angels-among-us-lisa-canales-smiths-30-year-promise-of-love-and-outreach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/18\/angels-among-us-lisa-canales-smiths-30-year-promise-of-love-and-outreach\/","title":{"rendered":"Angels Among Us: Lisa Canales-Smith\u2019s 30-Year Promise of Love and Outreach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Asia Nail
\n<\/em><\/strong>The Truth Reporter<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nearly 30 years ago, Lisa Canales-Smith made a promise in the middle of a storm. Her newborn daughter, Angel Mia, was fighting for her life, and doctors warned there was little hope. At that moment, time slowed. Fear covered her like a blanket, but Lisa did the one thing she knew to do\u2014pray. She refused to let fear win. Instead, she prayed and clung to her faith. \u201cIf you save her, God, I promise, I will spend the rest of my life giving back.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a promise made of love and raw faith.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, her daughter, Angel Mia Canales, entered the world fighting for every breath. The doctors were skeptical she would survive. With no oxygen and a host of possible complications, the cards were stacked against her. Yet, Lisa knew differently. She knew she had witnessed a miracle.<\/p>\n

Against all odds, Angel Mia<\/strong> survived<\/strong>\u2014healthy, whole, and free of complications.<\/p>\n

And Lisa fulfilled her promise.<\/p>\n

From One Basket to Hundreds<\/strong><\/p>\n

That November, just weeks after bringing her baby home from the hospital, Lisa Canales-Smith<\/strong> began giving away food baskets to families in need. It began small, a few cans of food here, a turkey there. But what started as one family\u2019s offering grew into Angels Outreach<\/strong>, a nonprofit that has now served Toledo families for three decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been serving nonstop for 30 years,\u201d Lisa says with pride. \u201cThanksgiving, Christmas, Easter: we\u2019ve never missed a season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Picture it, a church fellowship hall filled wall-to-wall with food. Volunteers line up to pack baskets with care\u2014hams, stuffing, pies, and more. Then, something even more amazing happens. Police officers, firefighters, state troopers, and sheriff\u2019s deputies join in, not with sirens and flashing lights, but with open arms and warm smiles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe civic leaders put the baskets in their cars and deliver them all over the city,\u201d Lisa explains. \u201cIt\u2019s special when families see police and firefighters outside of moments of crisis. They see them as neighbors bringing hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

What started at Lisa\u2019s kitchen table has grown into a citywide tradition. Hundreds of families each holiday season now sit down to eat dinner that is delivered by heroes in uniform along with a message of love.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Ministry in the checkout line<\/strong><\/p>\n

The outreach doesn\u2019t stop at the church. For Lisa and her husband, Rier Smith, the mission has spilled over into everyday life\u2014even in grocery store checkout lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be in line with eight carts of food, and everyone asks, \u2018What are you doing?\u2019 \u201d Lisa laughs. \u201cThat\u2019s my chance to tell my testimony and the story of how it all began.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strangers have opened their hearts and pocketbooks time and again. Some fish into their wallets and pass Lisa cash. Some of the people Google Angels Outreach on the spot and give donations. Once, a young man handed Lisa his very last $5. She tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t let her. \u201cPlease take it,\u201d he said. \u201cGod is asking me to bless you.\u201d<\/p>\n

That small gesture had a big impact on Lisa. \u201cI\u2019ve watched that young man ever since and it was beautiful to see how God multiplied that in his life,\u201d she says softly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnother time, Lisa\u2019s standing in line at Kroger with enough food for 25 families, but had promised God she would feed 50. She didn\u2019t know how it would happen. Then, a woman she had just met stepped forward and paid for everything in Lisa\u2019s carts. Lisa went back and filled the other 25 baskets. Promise kept.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happens every time,\u201d Lisa says in reverence. \u201cGod always provides.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"\"Growing Beyond the Holidays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, Angels Outreach does more than holiday baskets. The organization holds a huge December toy drive, giving toys to children via partner organizations. Volunteers also put together \u201cAngel Boxes\u201d\u2014 care packages containing socks, gloves, hand warmers, toothpaste, and shampoo \u2014 that are hand-delivered to people who are homeless.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe meet people where they are,\u201d Lisa says. \u201cNo judgment. Just love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers have been delivering hot meals to 75 disabled veterans in South Toledo every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, too. That makes for a long day, early morning basket packing, midday deliveries and the afternoon dinner service, but Lisa wouldn\u2019t trade it for anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese men and women have sacrificed so much,\u201d she says. \u201cServing them is an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Daughter\u2019s Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the heart of Angels Outreach is still the little girl who wasn\u2019t supposed to survive. Today, Angel Mia is a firefighter with the 180th in Holland, Ohio. She\u2019s married to the love of her life, Mike, also a firefighter, and they\u2019re raising two young sons.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also on the Angels Outreach board, though Lisa tells her the organization is not a cross she must bear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my vow to God, not hers,\u201d Lisa says. \u201cWe all have a special assignment.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, watching her daughter flourish has brought Lisa more joy than she ever imagined. \u201cShe\u2019s living her best life. And to believe there was a time when a doctor said he didn\u2019t know if she would live. God is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"The Power of Faith and Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking back, Lisa says she just doesn\u2019t know why her baby survived when so many others don\u2019t. \u201cI can\u2019t give an answer to that, when I meet parents struggling with loss,\u201d she says softly. \u201cBut I do know prayer has power. I know that faith triggers miracles.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Lisa, faith isn’t complicated. \u201cAll God wants is two things, our faith and for us to be in relationship with Him,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd the rest, He provides.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is her belief that everyone has a role in bringing light to the world. It doesn\u2019t have to be big. Sometimes it\u2019s as small as smiling at a stranger.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know,\u201d she observes. \u201cYour smile could stop someone from giving up. Everything we do has a purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty Years of Angels<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Angels Outreach celebrates its 30th anniversary, Lisa reflects on the highs and lows\u2014the sleepless nights wondering how they\u2019d feed families, the strangers stepping in with miraculous provision, the long days packing food and praying over first responders.<\/p>\n

Through it all, one truth stands tall: a promise kept can ripple through generations.<\/p>\n

Lisa\u2019s promise to God in a hospital room three decades ago became a lifeline for thousands of families across Toledo. Her story is proof that faith can move mountains, prayer can spark miracles, and ordinary people can become everyday angels.<\/p>\n

In Lisa\u2019s eyes, the work is far from done.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are never meant to leave this world without turning around to help the next person,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019ll keep serving as long as I can. I\u2019ve learned the best way to honor a blessing is to turn it into one for someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more or to support Angels Outreach, visit <\/em>angelsoutreachtoledo.org<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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