If there is a season in which Charlotte County reveals its truest self, it is Christmas. And nowhere is that more visible than in the annual Santa’s Helpers on CHCO-TV. Over five hours of live broadcasting, the community raised $63,371, with even more donations pouring in afterwards. Every dollar raised goes directly toward supporting children in our region who need it most.
This year, 496 children were on Santa’s Helpers’ list. That number carries weight. In a small county like ours, these aren’t statistics; they’re the children of classmates, neighbours, coworkers–kids whose names we recognize even if the stories behind them remain respectfully private. The need is real, and yet the generosity that rises to meet it is just as real.
Behind the scenes, three women keep the machinery of Santa’s Helpers running all year long: Lexi Brisley, Kari Lambert, and Natasha Reid. Their work is mostly invisible by design. Form by form, phone call by phone call, they spend countless hours matching families with resources quietly and without fanfare. But without them, the whole operation would fall apart. Their dedication is stitched into every gift that appears under a child’s tree.
On the broadcast side, CHCO-TV spent three weeks visiting schools across the county to record more than 1,000 students singing holiday music. Those performances threaded through the telethon like little lanterns, with voices rising out of St. Stephen, Milltown, Campobello, Lawrence Station, Blacks Harbour, Back Bay, and St. Andrews.
Throughout the night, local mayors, St. Croix MLA Kathy Bockus, community volunteers, and business owners joined the set to read pledges. Some donations came from organizations; others from individuals including children giving whatever they could. In a county where financial margins are thin, the impact of these gestures lands with particular force.
What made this year extraordinary is that the total surpassed last year’s amount by more than $20,000. It’s a reminder of something we see again and again in Charlotte County: when the need grows, the community simply grows its heart to match it.
