DSunday, September 1st, there was a great deal of excitement on the Picquecailloux leisure area in Bergerac (Dordogne), where the Associations Day was held. More than 160 of them responded “present” to offer the discovery of their beautiful diversity. Nevertheless, with a common denominator, the importance of volunteering.
The day was launched by welcoming the Neo-Bergeracois, invited to come and discover the wealth of the local associative fabric, a potential means of forging links.
The day was then punctuated by numerous demonstrations on the stage of the Raoul-Géraud hall and a highlight, the presentation of volunteer awards.
Six volunteers in the spotlight
This award ceremony allowed six volunteers and as many associations to be recognized. The awards ball began with Francis Delteil, a volunteer at Club Stella since 1977. Marie-Thérèse Loiseau, who started working the same year, was rewarded next for the Abeilles bergeracoises. The following trophies went to Yvon Lyon, a true pillar of Bergerac Accueille, a structure with 900 members; Élise Pichereau-Dorbec, young organizer of the workshops of the association Le Chemin de Jade, dedicated to supporting children with multiple disabilities and their families; René Vincent, founder of the Committee for the fight against asbestos and occupational diseases (Cerader) and Daniel Anne, president of the Union Cyclotouriste Bergeracoise et des Enfants de France, crowned with the special prize linked to the Olympic Games.
Needs
On the sidelines of this awards ceremony, the day was an opportunity to gather the feelings on the volunteer work of these winners and other association leaders. “We need to increase staff numbers,” stressed Francis Delteil, pointing out a need for workers for the maintenance of the Stella club’s holiday camp, located in Arthez-d’Asson (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).
“We are short of musicians and dancers,” noted the president of the Abeilles Bergeracoises, Marie-Thérèse Loiseau.
If there is no shortage of musicians on the side of the Union musicale bergeracoise, on the other hand the problem of voluntary involvement is the same, according to the president, Laurine Curos: “It is always the same people who work”. And the same story is told on the side of the Day Center or the Society for the Protection of Animals (SPA).