La boutique D’occasion pour NOVA 2009-02-04 Today I witnessed the most amazing community spirit......the kind of spirit that causes one to rethink how we can all help one another! Boutique d’Occasion Thrift Shop for NOVA’s new space in Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue village is bright, spacious, beautifully decorated and filled with unbelievable treasures for the whole family. All renovations, painting, cleaning were being done by volunteers when I visited and I was just a little bit jealous of the camaraderie that I witnessed. A spirit for helping others was so very evident. This boutique started in a very small store front at 42 Ste. Anne and quickly needed to move to bigger locations at 65. 63 and 57 rue Ste. Anne. Soon this space became too small for their operation, they opened a furniture boutique in Beaurepaire Village 449 blvd Beaconsfield and a clothing and china store at 2750 St. Charles in Kirkland. The Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Boutique d’Occasion Thrift Shop for NOVA was created from very humble beginnings and the purpose of this shop was to recreate something that is evident in almost every small town in England, the local thrift shop. These local shops often support the local foundations and raise much needed funds for any worthwhile cause. Claire Jane Stevens, mother of Elizabeth Parker(president of the foundation), who worked in England for Oxfam, and fellow volunteer Rachel Cobden decided to start the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue thrift shop when donations to NOVA were at an all time low. Elizabeth and Rachel opened the shop at Claire’s urging and guidance. They wanted to keep the service to seniors afloat, so they created their own charitable foundation, as an independent body to significantly contribute their gains to NOVA. Fondation D’Entraide En Santé Des Bénévoles de Ste. Anne was created, their mandate is to donate to and support the incredible work of Santé NOVA Health West Island. To date over $1,000,000 has been donated to NOVA to continue providing care to those in need by a team of nurses, volunteers, health aides and program specialists. NOVA West Island, Montreal and Hudson receive no federal or provincial government funding. NOVA depends on charitable donations. There are over 200 volunteers working for all the Boutiques d’Occasion who have the daunting task of sorting through all the donations ( clothing, used furniture, household articles, linens etc)and finally pricing the items for the boutiques. If, by chance, the donations are not suitable for resale they are offered to one of 10 other local organizations. Nothing goes to waste, they are the ultimate recyclers. These volunteers all have one thing in common: to offer their time to help make another person’s life a little bit easier. For more information, please contact: Elizabeth Parker, President, Fondation d’Entraide En Santé Des Bénévoles de Ste. Anne temporary number 514-457 1642 www.thriftshopsfornova.com