Christmas elves Scott and Susanne Gardiner take a two-week leave from Santa’s workshop every December to help local food bank Bouffe Pontiac get food to those in need. 

They drive all over the Pontiac gathering donated food items from various collection points, and bring them back to the Campbell’s Bay food bank to be organized and distributed. 

They’re among Bouffe’s squad of volunteers who help roll out the food bank’s Christmas baskets, and they’ve been doing it for the past seven years. 

While not working in the North Pole, they live on Lawless Lake, where they moved from Peterborough eight years ago. 

“We moved from Ontario to here, and the best way to meet people is to volunteer,” Susanne said.  

“We’ve always volunteered. It gives us a good feeling to do that and give back,” Scott said.

Scott and Susanne are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the evidence of this community’s generous spirit. 

While THE EQUITY has no official count, a rough estimate shows that hundreds of people across the Pontiac donate their time and money to supporting various charities every holiday season.

Just last Friday, the Knights of Columbus club in Fort-Coulonge hosted its own annual food drive, bringing in food for over 100 families. See that story here https://theequity.ca/fort-coulonge-mansfield-guignolee-feeds-over-100-families/