“My brother had always been for the underdog. When he passed away, I knew I wanted to help his brothers — I wanted to help veterans.”

“[He] really would have loved this.”

***

In 2012, United States Marine Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine was killed while serving in Afghanistan, in Helmand province, a part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The New Jersey native was assigned to 8th Engineer Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force.

He was due to come home two weeks later, for his sister’s wedding.

He was just 29 years old.

Soon after the tragedy, Nicole D’Augustine DeLaura — Joseph’s sister — and family and friends set up the Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine Memorial Fund to aid current and former service members.

Recently, the charity got a brand new project off the ground, and just in time for the holidays.

Secret Santa for Vets.

“None of these military veterans know they are receiving gifts,” Nicole told FOX News. “They have no idea until the doorbell rings.”

More from FOX on how the program functions, and how you can be a part of it:

If there’s a veteran in your church or neighborhood – you can secretly nominate that individual for the program by clicking here. Donors then receive that information and go shopping for the veteran.

“We are trying to re-create the concept of the care package,” Nicole said. “A lot of veterans when they come back home they feel forgotten – so we wanted to do something about that.”

The project also involves local school children who put together handmade Christmas cards for their military heroes.

Last year, they were able to send out 90 packages to veterans. This year, they’ve already sent out almost 200 packages.

“People like it because it’s personal. It’s not just writing a check. You know the name of the person you are shopping for. You know what they like, what kind of restaurants they enjoy going to.”

Last year’s gift receivers included a veteran widower who got to take his two kids to a football game and a show, and young vet parents who were struggling with the hefty bills stemming from the premature birth of their first child.