Two Butler County residents long known for giving back to their communities who are facing severe health-related hardships this holiday season found that they could rely on a little help from their friends.

Brady Township’s Connie Matthews LeGrand, who is described by friends as a “giving person,” is in the process of recovering from a horrific incident earlier this month in which she was mauled by three St. Bernard dogs, which clawed her and ripped part of her scalp off her skull. And Cranberry Township’s Ott Quarles, who works for the township’s engineering department and has long acted as its Santa Claus free-of-charge around the holidays, found out in early 2017 that his kidneys were failing and that he might not make it to Christmas of that year, unless he lost a significant amount of weight — which he was able to do. But he was still stuck searching for a new kidney.

Although the road to recovery could be long for both county residents, it was heartening to see both LeGrand and Quarles’ friends and neighbors step up to lend a helping hand.

This past weekend, a charity event was held at the Beer Garden Sports Bar and Grille in Washington Township to raise money for LeGrand, who has been unable to work since the attack. As many as 300 people showed up for the event, and most of them gave donations.

Quarles’ story was shared by township officials through Stafflines, an employee newsletter, in an effort to help connect him with a donor. He eventually was contacted by a man who had been his fraternity brother at Clarion University more than four decades ago. Quarles’ friend offered to be his donor, and the transplant has been scheduled for January. Despite his ailments, Quarles continued to give back to his community, acting as Santa once again earlier this month in the township.

While the holidays typically bring to mind family gatherings, giving gifts, travel, seasonal culinary delights, religious celebrations and other traditions, it’s also a great time of the year to help those in need. The holidays can be a time of great joy, but also a period of hardship for those in need who might lack food, shelter, warm clothing or companionship.

The two aforementioned local stories are great examples of local people looking out for their neighbors and friends. We commend all those involved for being community caretakers.

The Butler Eagle encourages all of its readers to take some time out whenever possible this holiday season and volunteer to help those who are less fortunate in their communities.