By Michael Boriero – Local Journalism Initiative

Rock-Guertin Foundation volunteers spent most of Saturday distributing boxes filled with perishable and non-perishable food items to households in need as part of the charity’s annual spring basket campaign. non-profit.

According to Rock-Guertin’s director of development and communications, Stéphanie Blanchard, it was a special year since the organization opened the campaign to the general public for the very first time. They normally only work with local organizations and social workers.

Blanchard told The Record that after posting an online form on their website, they received 800 spring basket requests, nearly doubling the number of requests they typically receive in any given year. She said it has to do with them giving the campaign a broader reach.

There are people who live alone, couples, families and seniors who have applied this year, Blanchard explained, adding that it works mostly on the honor system. Volunteers will double-check addresses to see if anyone is bypassing the system. But it’s mostly a lot of blind trust.

“We are asking for identification and an explanation of their situation. We are not the police either. We don’t go to them to see if they are telling the truth, otherwise we will never succeed. We made the choice to hope in humanity and to trust people,” she said.

And unlike other years, the organization isn’t going door-to-door or spending too much time interacting with Sherbrooke residents due to ongoing health and safety measures. Blanchard described it as a treadmill with inside and outside volunteers working in unison.
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