On this sunny Tuesday morning, at the banks of the Reyssouze, in front of the local branch of the French Red Cross. The “vesti-boutique” has come out of its walls for a sale of household linen. There are sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, bath towels, throws, kitchen aprons, tablecloths, dish towels, etc. Volunteers are busy around the stalls adjusting folds and rearranging pieces. This activity is lesser-known than food distribution or patrols on winter evenings.
Nicole Gabrillargues, who has just completed three consecutive terms as president since 2012, is now just a “mission officer” today. She emphasizes one thing: “Please do mention that we are looking for volunteers to lend a hand.”
Items starting from 2€ each
This bargain sale is precisely one of the events designed to raise awareness. “We use social networks, distribute flyers in town, and put up posters in building entrances,” explains Marie-Claude Vitali, now acting as a temporary administrator. This former Parisian nurse and psychologist with a talent for words has been in Bourg-en-Bresse for the past two years. “I wanted to give back to society some of what it gave me during my working years. The Red Cross, which is a place of welcome and listening, gave me that opportunity. One day, I offered my services, and everything started like that.”
On Thursdays, she helps unload the trucks with food aid (1), and the rest of the time, she sorts donations from individuals with Elfride and Marijo, her two key helpers in the “vesti-boutique.” “Of course, young people are welcome,” she says. “The problem is we can’t find any!”
Former medical delegate, Elfride Margueritte, discovered the Red Cross when she came to drop off a bag of clothes for a friend. “I’ve been living in Bourg for 20 years, and I’ve always enjoyed interacting with people. In the boutique, it’s different from food distribution. Access is open to all, and the clientele tends to be quite loyal. Some people we see almost every week, drawn by the vintage fashion and our low prices.”
Calls for help
Marijo Guillermin is the fourth of these remarkable women. Retired since 1997, she can boast of being instrumental in launching the boutique. “First in this same location, then in another, Charles-Robin Street, before returning two years ago to our starting point,” she recalls. A former head of the “Lacoste corner” at Beynette Sport, the store on Bernard Square, Marijo was recruited at the time by a friend who worked in the Red Cross office. “Between meetings, distributing leaflets throughout the city to make our actions known, the time has come to take a step back. Let the younger people take over!”
(Note: Distribution to beneficiaries of food aid takes place every Tuesday from 1:30 pm. The “vesti-boutique” is open to the public on Tuesday afternoons and all day Wednesday. Starting in April, it will also open on Friday afternoons.)
