the essential
On the occasion of the Christmas holidays, trainees from the Second Chance School in Narbonne distribute 80 gift boxes to families benefiting from the Red Cross.
Santa hats, smiles on lips and presents piled up in piles. The Red Cross premises, opposite the Sports and Friendship Park, have never seemed so cramped. From December 16 to 18 between 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., the Christmas Fathers (and Mothers) are between 16 and 30 years old, come from the Second Chance School and offer one gift per Red Cross beneficiary family.
“We have been working hand in hand with the Red Cross for several years, organizing food or school supply collectionsexplains Fabiola Verdegay, Aude/Pyrénées-Orientales departmental director of Second Chance Schools. This year, for the end of year celebrations, we wanted to offer 80 (84 exactly) gift packages for families followed by the Red Cross.
Well-filled gift boxes
At reception to receive families, young trainees from E2C, a structure which aims to fight against school dropouts by helping young people access qualifying training to enter the job market, offer the gifts that they have found and packed and in return receive the essentials: a smile and gratitude.
“This initiative is more than welcometells us one of the Red Cross volunteers, orange vest on his shoulders. Anything that can bring happiness to families interests us.”
In the gift boxes, beauty products, decoration, delicacies, chocolates, cakes and candies, equipment for the nursery as well as products for the pet store or even toys and books. Where do these gifts come from? The Second Chance School can count on generous supporting partners in Narbonne and the surrounding areas: Carrefour City (Joffre and Gambetta), Les Kaids (Carrefour), Intermarché Narbonne, Super U Montredon, KFC Narbonne, Burger King, McDonald, Cultura, Marionnaud, Suez, Bébé 9, Mag Presse, Maison de ma Région, Racing Club Narbonnais, Grand Narbonne local mission, La Calandreta nursery and primary school (Sigean).
“The families are delighted”
“When we welcome people, we ask them if they have children to direct them towards giftssays Fabiola Verdegay, proud of the dozen young people who participated in the initiative. They had a great time going hunting for gifts here and there.”
“The families are delighted and the young people are in contact with people experiencing food difficulties,” describes a volunteer. The Narbonne Red Cross is soon organizing a toy drive, followed by a “snack at the stadium and a distribution of gifts to children aged 0 to 11″.
