Sudbury - Society of Saint Vincent de Paul

Sudbury
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Thrift Store
Greater Sudbury (2011 census population 160,274) is a city which was created in 2001 by
merging the cities and towns of the former Regional Municipality of Sudbury with several
previously unincorporated geographic townships. The population resides in an urban core and
many smaller communities scattered around 300 lakes and among hills of rock blackened by
historical mining activity. Sudbury was once a major lumber centre and a world leader in nickel
mining. Mining and related industries dominated the economy for much of the 20th century. The
two major mining companies which shaped the history of Sudbury were Inco, now Vale, which
employed more than 25% of the population by the 1970s, and Falconbridge, now Glencore
Xstrata. Sudbury has since expanded from its resource-based economy to emerge as the major
retail, economic, health and educational centre for Northeastern Ontario. Sudbury is also home to
a large Franco-Ontarian population, which influences its arts and culture.
For many of today’s Vincentians, we are fortunate to be the benefactors of the hard work from
past Vincentians who established our conferences and stores. Many conferences/stores
originated in church basements. Over time, expansion was necessary as their efforts to better
serve their communities grew. The development of this new Sudbury Conference/Store can
provide us with an insight of the commitment, dedication and hard work necessary to establish a
Conference and Store. Below is a recap of the lengthy process to create a SSVP
Conference/Store in Sudbury.
In September 2008, Bishop Jean-Louis Plouffe asked the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul to
consider establishing a second Conference in the Sudbury area, since the St. Kevin’s Conference
already existed in Valley East (Val Caron). As a first step, the leadership of the St. Kevin’s
Conference along with representatives from the Bishop’s Social Justice Office, held meetings
with several of the charitable organizations in the Sudbury area. The purpose of those meetings
was to find out if there was a need, what that need was and where that need could be best served.
It was determined that the greatest need was in the core of the city for a location that would
primarily offer furniture and appliances. To be successful, they had to secure funding.
In early 2009, the originating members of the new SSVP conference had to organize themselves
and look for a suitable location to establish a store. They began by having their volunteers
trained by their sister Conference (St. Kevin’s) and to seek resources and funding to support their
endeavors. Some of the tasks proved to be very challenging, particularly looking for a store front
in the city core. In June 2009, three locations were offered for consideration.
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•
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A former “Source for Sports” store
Shared accommodation with the Habitat of Humanity Restore location
A former International Hotel location
Store Feature - October 2013
Sudbury
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A review of the benefits and drawbacks of each location, including costs, design of the facility,
and location were undertaken. Discussions involved the clarification of lease arrangements, snow
removal, parking and loading facilities. An empty Salvation Army location in the downtown core
was also considered.
They continued to meet as a group and established contacts with organizations like the Samaritan
Centre, the Corner Clinic and Les Jeunes de la rue. They began to arrange for their affiliation
with the International Saint Vincent de Paul Society and applied for their charitable status. They
began to collect and distribute furnishing which were temporarily stored at Ste-Anne-des-Pins
parish.
In October 2010, mainly through the generosity of several local Knights of Columbus Councils
and St. Kevin’s Conference, a ‘used’ highway trailer was purchased. It became obvious to them,
due to the cost of renting a store front and the small amount of volunteers they had, the idea of
opening a store needed to put on hold for the time being. They sought and obtained permission of
the Diocese to locate the trailer on property next door to the Diocese on Xavier St and began
working from there. In 2010, they assisted 8 people in need but with this additional storage
space, they have able to assist 34 persons through 2011 and distributed almost 200 pieces of
furniture.
In the spring, they started their yard sale. Every Friday afternoon, through the summer and fall, a
brave little band of volunteers gathered at the trailer to offer the extra furnishings they had
accumulated. Numerous citizens and businesses contributed the merchandise they were able to
offer. The success of the Yard Sale was encouraging them to their goal of a permanent location
for the St-Benedict Labre Conference. They were always in need of volunteers, particularly
people to help pick up and deliver furniture.
Donations were sought by the distribution of the following letter: “Currently we are working out
of a highway trailer on Xavier St where we store and distribute furnishings that are donated by
our benefactors. We hope to establish a more permanent store front in the future. We are
seeking support for our efforts through financial assistance and/or in-kind donations.”
In these early stages, to provide a Charity Receipt, they relied upon St. Kevin’s Conference to do
this, until their own Charitable Number was acquired later that year.
In April 2012, Paul Labelle (past Spiritual Advisor) continues his efforts to find a location for the
store by reconnecting with the Navy League Hall and Habitat for Humanity.
In July 2012, Marc Forget (Secretary) contacts Claire Pilon (a reporter) to write an English
article for the Sudbury Star and a French article for Le Voyageur, detailing their efforts to find
space to locate a permanent store. As a result of these articles, Marc was contacted by the Club
Amical du Nouveau Sudbury. They offered a part of their building as space for their store. This
property was previously a closed school and purchased by the Club Amical du Nouveau
Sudbury.
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Sudbury
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On November 5,
2012, a motion to
proceed with
signing of a lease
offered by Club
Amical du Nouveau
Sudbury was
approved. The lease
was signed
November 6, 2012
for a period of 12
monthly payments
of $450. The
property size is 950
sq/ft. The
conference had to
provide proof of
liability and
Sudbury store front
property insurance.
It was obtained thru
MLS Insurance Brokers at an annual cost of $600. The Highway Trailer they had used for
several years as their store front now serves only as a storage area.
On November 26, the process to establish a store begins. Victor Gagné rented a truck from UHaul and with the help of other men moved equipment to the thrift store. Liliane Forget and
Diane Legault helped in the placing of equipment, which included shelving and a cash register
donated by the Diocesan Centre.
Lots of time and energy goes into establishing a store
Store Feature - October 2013
Where to place items & how to organize the store is an important factor
Sudbury
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Scheduling of volunteers for the Thrift
Store was established. Currently the
store is open to the public two days per
week: Friday and Saturday, from
10:00am to 3:00pm.
Liliane Forget coordinated the
advertising of their new location in
newspapers, on radio and in parish
bulletins, as well as to ask for donations
or to become a volunteer.
An assortment of items can be found Inside the Sudbury Store
A 4’x8’ sign was placed near the door
displaying their name. With the
assistance of Maria Harte from the St.
Kevin’s conference, a container for
recycled electronic equipment was
established.
In March 2013, the store purchased a cell phone for $40 and established a one year contract for
$100 with Telus…they are now officially connected to the outside world.
Efforts were made to seek students to
volunteer at the store to earn hours toward
their volunteer credit requirements by
contacting the Catholic School Board.
On April 29th, it was recommended that
Liliane Forget, LiliAnne Woychuk and
Diane Legault continue to manage the
store.
A trailer is purchased through Kijiji at a
cost of $3719. It is used for delivery/pickup up of furniture items.
Official Opening of the store – August 16,
2013. Father Roch Martin, pastor of SteAnne-des-Pins parish gave the blessing of
the new store.
Store Feature - October 2013
Trailer used for furniture pick-up & delivery
Sudbury
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Summary
As I reflect upon my earlier commentary, “For many of today’s Vincentians, we are fortunate to
be the benefactors of the hard work from past Vincentians who established our conferences and
stores”, the very detailed accounting of the events provided to me by Marc Forget that occurred
from September 2008 to the official opening of the store on August 16, 2013 provides a glimpse
of what likely occurred with the establishment of many conferences/stores across the province.
Commitment, passion, humility, attention to detail, hard physical work and dedicated volunteers
are only a few of the expressive words that can be used to describe the journey of these men and
women. No longer will I take for granted the established infrastructures in place at our stores and
councils. Any time we are confronted with a challenge, they will seem less daunting in
comparison to the challenges as demonstrated by these very Special Vincentians.
From left: Victor Gagné, President; Diane Legault, Vice President; Liliane Forget, Treasurer; and Marc Forget, Secretary
Store Feature - October 2013
Sudbury
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