Santa Claus is alive and well here.
He lives in the hearts of the hundreds of people who came out to the CW Sportsplex last week to put together Christmas hampers for food bank clients, and in the hearts of all those who donated food, money, or toys to the food bank's program - along with those who took on buying toys for a family's children in the food bank's angel program.
He is also hand-in-hand with those who gave something - or perhaps something extra - during the December food drives that supply the food bank this time of year; with anyone who dropped some cash into a Salvation Army kettle; or who went out of their way to offer something special to someone in need.
All those people who volunteer, who help those less fortunate, who make life a little easier for those who struggle - not just at Christmas but all through the year - you're all Santas at heart.
It's difficult sometimes to understand the impact of poverty, or to realize poverty is an issue even in affluent places like this. Those who want for nothing often find it hard to understand how people can get into circumstances where they can't afford money for basic necessities like food or shelter or utilities.
They make cruel assumptions that people like food bank clients are simply lazy, or don't want to work, or have frittered their money away on luxuries.
But think for a minute. Those of you with well-paying jobs, imagine what would happen if you lost those jobs tomorrow - through no fault of your own: a downsizing, plant closure, layoffs, or whatever.
How many of you have savings you could draw on for cash right now? How many of you have large bank accounts that could pay your household expenses for, say, three months? How many have funds at hand to pay for dental work, regular prescription medications, or even last-minute Christmas shopping?
If you got your last paycheque today, how long would it be before your bank account would be zero, and you'd be facing defaulting on your car loan, your mortgage, your rent, your utility bills?
And what if you couldn't find another job within a week or so? What if the only job you could find to replace your 65K or more per year was at minimum wage, or only 20 hours a week, or only evenings? How long would it be then before the mortgage, the credit card payments, the car loan, got to be too much?
That's the situation far too many people find themselves in this Christmas - and in fact, year round. But it must be especially difficult at Christmas, with everyone so focused on parties, gifts, meals, shopping and spending. It must be terribly hard to tell your little children that for some reason Santa doesn't have the same amount or quality of gifts for your family, no matter how good you've been.
But this year, things are going to be a little better for some of the area's most needy families, thanks to this group of local "santas".