A week before Christmas Eve (the appeal cut-off date), Castle Hill residents had already donated 2227 gifts, while North Rocks residents had donated 1148.

Residents are equally generous with their time. The 2006 census shows 24,013 Hills residents volunteer — 19.5 per cent of our entire population.

The highest number of Hills angels reside in Glenhaven and Kenthurst, where 22.9 per cent of residents participate in volunteering — i.e. 1006 of Glenhaven's 4387 residents and 842 of 3670 in Kenthurst give up their time for others.

The Hills Council supports more than 2000 of these unsung heroes across various programs, from Meals on Wheels and Community Transport to being an honorary ranger or working on bushland conservation projects.

And there are also non-profit groups and charitable organisations that could not function without unpaid helpers. That includes four-legged helpers like 9-year-old Boris.

The dapple grey Welsh cross Australian pony needs your help to launch Riding for the Disabled Association NSW Tall Timbers Centre's first carriage riding program in mid-March.

Up till now, those who were interested in taking part in carriage riding had to travel to Rossmore.

"We have over 100 people on the waiting list already," staff coach Nicole King said.

The centre provides horse riding and associated activities to people with disabilities, for whom the benefits of riding combine both physical and psychological aspects.

The Tall Timbers Centre relies heavily on volunteers, said Ms King who started out with the RDA as a volunteer at another centre in her teenage years.

"At least 10 volunteers are needed each day here. Currently, we have 70," she said.

"We have volunteers that assist with the horse riding programs, either as horse leaders, side-walkers or games assistants. They do not need any prior experience with horses or people with a disability — just a willingness to learn and have fun.