Let’s face it, 2020 has not exactly been the year many of us had expected. COVID-19 has cast a pale over our city, our country and over the entire world.

But here in our little neck of the woods, we have been more fortunate than other communities. For instance, if you work for a government agency the financial impact of the pandemic has been minimal. But others have not been as fortunate. The restaurant and tourism industries have experienced massive layoffs. The job market is almost non-existent, making it impossible for folks who were unemployed before the pandemic to find any employment, gainful or not.

Small business owners have been especially hard hit by a loss in revenue. And while many have been able to hang on by their fingernails thanks to the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy, they are now scrambling after the federal government decided to drastically claw it back.

For many, the stress is beginning to take its toll. The impact of the pandemic on those under mental and financial stress can be seen in the increase in calls to crisis help lines and an increase in demand at our local food banks.

That stress will only get worse as we approach the holiday season.

In Orléans, we are fortunate to have two excellent community resource centres tasked with providing emergency services to local residents, but they can’t do so without our help.

The Orléans Cumberland Resource Centre and the Eastern Ottawa Resource Centre have a number of programs aimed at helping individuals and families in crisis. At this time of year, they normally depend on the assistance of third-party groups and organizations like the Ottawa Firefighters Association.

Unfortunately, a number of events such as the Orléans Christmas Choirfest and the Lions Magical Village, which traditionally raise thousands of dollars, are having to be canceled due to the pandemic. Even the Ottawa Firefighters Food Drive, which the Orléans Cumberland Community Resource Centre Food Bank has come to depend on to fill its shelves for the holiday season and into the winter, is in jeopardy of being canceled, which is potentially disastrous.

This is where those of us who are fortunate enough not to need their services come into the picture. The Resource Centres and the foodbanks need our help. So if you can donate, please do so. Your contribution will help make the holiday season a little brighter for someone who has been adversely affected by the COVD pandemic.

Orléans has always been a generous community. Let’s show that even in the midst of a pandemic, we still possess the spirit of giving.