Cramped… For several years now, the Lot Valley Red Cross has been juggling square meters in its premises, located rue Tout-y-Croit, in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, on loan from the municipality. During all these years, the office, chaired by Jean-François Gary, was looking for a new site to be able to…
Cramped… For several years now, the Lot Valley Red Cross has been juggling square meters in its premises, located rue Tout-y-Croit, in Villeneuve-sur-Lot, on loan from the municipality. During all these years, the office, chaired by Jean-François Gary, was looking for a new site to finally be able to breathe and continue to develop its activities. This is done with the acquisition, since last December, of a building on rue De-Coquard, not far from the Maison de la vie associative, for an investment of 150,000 euros: “These are the former CBS establishments , left in the activity zone, and which had been transformed into an artist’s studio and home by the next owner, explains Jean-François Gary. We just have some work to do to transform the living rooms back into offices. » A project valued at 100,000 euros.
The second-hand furniture and crockery space is installed in the attic, the roof of which will be redone by the municipality.
A.P.
In these new walls, the Lot Valley Red Cross intends to move only part of its activities there, those which no longer found their place on Rue Tout-y-Croit, eaten up by the clothing and furniture sectors: “The latter have taken a huge of scale, particularly in terms of storage. We’ll leave it there, just like the store. It is a site identified by the public, a place of social connection that is important to maintain. There are 1,500 visits per month,” adds Jean-François Gary. The association therefore renewed the agreement with the City to be able to continue to occupy the premises, “whose roof will be redone. Once this work is finished, we will redevelop the shop and storage space.” And thus create a reception space that currently does not exist for the store’s customers. The latter, open on Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons, will experience an additional opening on Saturday afternoons, from June 15.
A symbolic name
Rue De-Coquard, the Red Cross intends to transfer there the training workshops for helping people, the primary mission of the association, the reception for emergency aid via packages, and the literacy sessions: “ We are also going to install administrative offices there which we did not have, a space for our 70 volunteers who, until then, had no place to sit, and a meeting room to accommodate suitably the associations which are our action partners”, remarks Jean-François Gary, who hopes, thanks to a pleasant reception area, to create vocations and attract new volunteers. With the building on rue De-Coquard, the Red Cross also acquired a 600 m² parking lot, intended for visitors and its marauding vehicles.
The inauguration of the new site is scheduled for September 14, with great fanfare, then the national president of the Red Cross is announced to baptize the place: “We have decided to honor the memory of the resistance fighter Madeleine Pauliac by giving her the name of ”Blue Squadron”, announces Jean-François Gary. This is what the section of the Red Cross led by the illustrious Villeneuvoise was called, responsible for searching for and repatriating, in 1945, French prisoners of war.
