As more people struggle to make ends meet with the high cost of living, Guignolées and other opportunities present themselves to help friends, family, and neighbours in need during the holiday season.

Some of the ongoing local projects can be found below, with individuals strongly encouraged to participate by donating non-perishable food items, monetarily, or simply, their time.

Prescott-Russell and SDG

The Valoris Foundation is once again hosting its annual Valoris Christmas Elves initiative in the region for the 2024 holiday season. This is the 33rd iteration of the event and focuses on providing gifts to children and teens in need within the area. Last year, 714 children and teens were able to receive a gift thanks to the generous donations of the community.

This year, there are multiple ways to contribute to Valoris Christmas Elves. To help with providing gifts to children and teens, individuals can pick up an elf at any of the locations listed below. Each elf will have a wish list of a local child or teen that individuals can use to bring the holiday spirit to the underprivileged youth.

New and unwrapped gifts, games, clothing, books, monetary donations, and so on are welcome to be dropped off at these locations: Valoris at 411 Stanley Street in Hawkesbury or 8 Valoris Street in Embrun, MacEwen Petroleum Inc. at 18 Adelaide Street in Maxville, École secondaire Catholique de Casselman at 778 Brebeuf Street, and the Foodland located at 148 Craig Street in Russell.

Additional locations can be found here: https://valorispr.ca/workspace/uploads/files/liste-commerces-2024-campagne-des-lutins-de-noel-de-valoris-final_1.pdf.

Donations can also be made online through Valoris’ donation form at https://www.zeffy.com/en-CA/donation-form/7cdc5a0c-480e-4f9e-930f-1eab2eef0d81.

During the Champlain Christmas Parade on November 29, monetary and non-perishable food donations will be collected by Foodland along the parade route for the local food bank. The parade begins at 6:30 p.m. in Vankleek Hill.

Alongside the help of the Saint-Vincent de Paul in Alexandria, the Independent Grocers location at 420 Main Street will also be collecting donations between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. There are also pre-filled food donation bags available for purchase between $5-20 which can be dropped in bins marked for the Saint-Vincent de Paul Alexandria Food Bank.

Anyone wishing to help where they can or contribute donations can contact the Alexandria Saint-Vincent de Paul location at 613-525-0941 and leave a message. Perspective volunteers will then be contacted by a member of the association.

Argenteuil

Brownsburg-Chatham will be hosting its annual Guignolée between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on December 7. Well-identified teams will be going door-to-door and setting up “roadblocks” to collect non-perishable foods and money for individuals in the community who are struggling to ensure their families can celebrate the season.

Those in need of a Christmas basket can have their eligibility determined through a phone interview by calling 514-226-4558. There is a $5 cash contribution for each basket and distribution will be on December 21 by appointment. Volunteers are still needed for the door-to-door collections on December 7, sorting donations, making baskets, and distributing baskets on the 21st.

Lachute’s Guignolée is taking place on November 16 between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and is organized by the Centre d’entraide d’Argenteuil. Similarly to others in the region, there will be door-to-door collections for food and monetary donations from identifiable individuals, “roadblocks,” and a donation drop-off point. The drop-off location for donations is located at 759 rue Lowe in the industrial park, doors 11 and 12.

For Lachute residents needing a basket, individuals are asked to contact 450-562-5151 and make an appointment. A $5 contribution for the basket is necessary. The goal for this year’s Lachute Guignolée is $35,000, with the Ville de Lachute agreeing to contribute $20,000 of this amount.

The Saint-André-d’Argenteuil Guignolée will take place between noon and 3:00 p.m. on November 24. Firefighters from the region will be located at the intersections of routes des Seigneurs and route du Long-Sault, as well as rue Kelly and route du Long-Sault to collect monetary and non-perishable food donations.

Drop-off points for donations are located throughout the area at the following locations: Église de St-André, the courtyard of Église de Carillon, the Atkore FRE Composites parking lot, Station 210 Boutique et Café, and the Camp des Îles (Île-aux-chats) parking lot.

Those needing a basket in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil can reach out to the Église de St-André at 450-537-3574 by December 15. Distribution of baskets will take place on December 21 beginning at 9:00 a.m.