A convoy of cars takes furniture and Christmas gifts to a family that was down on its luck.

Helping a woman and her two children obtain a mortgage to buy their first home is one thing, but to gather friends and family and completely outfit their home is another. That’s what Dilys Anne Hagerman of Mortgage Alliance in Ottawa did just before Christmas. Misfortune had befallen the family, and Hagerman and her group provided not only numerous wrapped gifts for under the tree, but new furniture, including beds, bedding, dressers, complete kitchen ware, tables, lamps, rugs, toys and books. The family’s kitchen was scrubbed clean and the food pantry was filled to last several weeks.

Five cars and two trailers formed a convoy to the delighted family’s front door.