These are the people who selflessly give their time to help others, the ones who have endless compassion and empathy for their neighbors in need, the ones who are continually generous even though they are not rich in the bank.

It would be a dark time indeed if the angels among us disappeared or turned selfish.

Luckily, we have people like Linda Young at the Lake Placid Ecumenical Food Pantry, Don Morrison at the Jay Wilmington Ecumenical Food Pantry, Zach and Cora Clark of the North Elba Community Christmas Fund and hundreds of volunteers who help out with special events, civic groups and local charities.

We even have a secret Santa in Lake Placid who has recruited a dozen more Santas to give out $4,500 this year to local police departments. The officers in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake and deputies at the Essex County Sheriff’s Office handed out envelopes of $100 cash to people during foot patrols and traffic stops this holiday season.

Does God scout places across the world that need angels and distribute them like the Federal Emergency Management Agency does during a hurricane? Perhaps there’s been some form of divine intervention and we are among the places that need it the most, placing angels throughout the region like lights on a Christmas tree.

We know it doesn’t really work that way. There are angels among us no matter where you live around the globe.

When students and staff at North Country School delivered 48 dozen fresh eggs from their farm to the Lake Placid food pantry on Thursday, Dec. 21, you could see Linda Young’s passion for helping others. There was a twinkle in her eyes, a smile on her face and love in her voice when she described how surprised the families would be the next day when the food pantry was open. All 48 dozen eggs would be gone within three hours, she said. The pantry serves up to 70 families a week.

“I wish you were here to take the expression on their faces,” Young told the students after the eggs were packed in a refrigerator in the basement of St. Agnes Church. “When they see eggs, they’re like, ‘We’ve got eggs!’ … It’s a big deal. It really is. … It’s gold. I’ve always said that about the eggs because it’s fresh and it’s protein.”

We were saddened to hear that one of Young’s other Ecumenical Charities programs — the thrift shop at the Lake Placid marina — closed its doors recently. She spent years trying to find a new home for the shop, as the building was small and had experienced maintenance issues.

Yet, we’re also hopeful. After all, this is the time of year to hope. Maybe the closing of the thrift shop is a blessing in disguise. We’d like to think there is an angel — or a set of angels — out there right now, reading this, ready to lend a hand or donate some money or space to create a new home for an Ecumenical Charities thrift shop in Lake Placid.

If there is interest in resurrecting the thrift shop, contact Young at 518-523-9620.

We can’t thank our angels enough for their generosity. It’s good to know that our neighbors have our backs when we are in need.

We wish you a happy and hopeful new year and encourage everyone to pay it forward when an angel helps them out … and to become angels themselves.

Little acts of kindness — something as simple as a smile or a thank you — go a long way to lift someone’s spirits when they need it the most.