Author: The Equity
Published December 11, 2024

Sophie Kuijper Dickson, LJI Journalist

For weeks, local businesses, community groups and individuals across the Pontiac have been finding ways to give back to their neighbours who may need a little more support making ends meet through the holiday season.

The people facilitating this generosity, whether it be those raising money for snowsuits, collecting gifts for children, or preparing special holiday meals for those who could use a little lift, all say the need for this generosity is greater than ever.

Megan Coleman has been leading the Angel Tree Pontiac initiative for several years now and said she’s seen a jump in the number of kids signed up each year.

“I have 83 children this year, there were 72 last year, and 56 the year before that,” Coleman said, noting the requests come in from Quyon to Fort Coulonge.

“I do find they’re asking for more essential stuff. All the people with babies, they need diapers, they need wipes. It’s not necessarily fancy things they’re asking for, they do tend to ask for a lot of the basic things.”

Through the Angel Tree program, families register their children to receive a gift. Each child gets an angel with their wishlist hung on a tree at either the Giant Tiger or Canadian Tire in Shawville, as well as at Pontiac High School.

People also donate money to the program, which Coleman uses to buy other essentials, like underwear, socks, hygiene products, and school snacks that will help families in need make it through the two weeks when their kids are home from school. Requests for these types of items, she says, have become more frequent this year and last.

The Maison de la Famille de Quyon is also organizing an Angel Tree program in partnership with the Quyon Legion. Together the organizations collect financial donations from each sponsorship which are then divided evenly to purchase gifts for every angel.

Maison de la Famille director general Sara McCann says while the organization has an ongoing list of families who benefit from its various programs, including the snowsuit fund and the back-to-school program, it still receives more requests for support every year through community referrals.

“Last year we had 25 children on the program, this year we’re expecting it to be more,” McCann said, noting that, like Coleman, she’s seen more and more people adding everyday items to their Christmas wishlists, such as lunch snacks and personal hygiene products.

“The daily necessities is what they have on their wishlist,” McCann said.

While McCann’s list for the snowsuit fund is more or less steady year over year, this is not the case at the Maison de la Famille du Pontiac in Fort Coulonge.

“Every year the number of people who call in for a snowsuit just keeps jumping,” said Nadine Duval, who’s been running the program for four years, noting this year she has about 100 requests so far from families across the Pontiac.

She said the organization receives financial donations from the community throughout the year which makes it possible for her to buy the needed snowsuits. After Christmas she plans to publish a thank you to all the people who have donated to the snowsuit fund, to express her gratitude to the critical support provided by the community.

The community’s generosity is not lost on Coleman, either, who was happy to see the businesses and community groups show up once again to support Pontiac children.

“Every year I’m blown away by the amount of financial donors, gifts under the trees, and the local businesses who will message me personally and say, ‘Hey, I have a cheque for you,’” Coleman said.

She noted sponsorships for the Angel Tree program will close Dec. 15, and that there are still about a dozen angels needing sponsorship at Canadian Tire, and half a dozen at Giant Tiger.

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