This journey is a way of combining Hubert Gauthier’s passion for cycling and Monique Ducharme’s desire to help women who, like her, have gone through difficult times.
I had big health problems, I had depression and I had a lot of trouble recovering from it.
she says.
Having the support of her family and the financial means, she then decided to realize one of her dreams. I made a song album (…) then I raised funds by selling the CDs and that’s how it started.
We had to stop for a few years because of my liver transplant, but we come back full of energy,
she explains. Thanks to this journey, they hope to give more visibility to their cause.
While Hubert Gauthier is riding his bike, Monique Ducharme follows him behind the wheel of their motor home. They are already almost halfway there.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Anne-Louise Michel
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« Our mission is to help these women and take some of the stress out of their lives. »
Their goal is to raise $50,000 to make as many dreams come true as possible.
Support from the Franco-Manitoban community
Halfway, Hubert Gauthier and Monique Ducharme take a four-day break in Winnipeg to present their project at Patio 340.
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Hubert Gauthier next to the bike with which he has already traveled more than 2100 km.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Anne-Louise Michel
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In collaboration with the Francofonds organization and the Center de santé Saint-Boniface, this fund’s mission is to help women realize a dream that supports their mental or physical health.
Francofonds CEO Madeleine Arbez points out that after the couple donated $100,000, her goal was to give as much visibility as possible to their project and support them in managing other donations.
We also help them to distribute the grants, in this case, it is a special committee that determines who can benefit from the fund according to the established criteria,
specifies Madeleine Arbez.
The scholarship is used to fulfill a dream that aims to improve the applicant’s mental well-being and health. It can also be linked to issues of low income, employability or literacy, in particular.
Fund criteria :
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The applicant is a French-speaking woman from Winnipeg.
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The applicant must be at least 18 years old.
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The applicant cannot receive more than one scholarship in a year.
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Grants must meet Canada Revenue Agency and Francofonds requirements.
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On the other side of the spectrum, the Center de santé Saint-Boniface makes this assistance known to the women followed in their establishment.
There are already about ten requests that have been made,
confirms the director of the Saint-Boniface Health Center, Stéphanie Roy.
Ms. Roy points out that the centre’s clients are often in need. To the detriment of their own health, they prioritize their children and their families, so we want to give them a little moment of happiness just for them
confides the director of the center.
Of course, in Montreal, there are a lot of organizations dealing with this, but here, when we target francophone women, there are not that many organizations dealing with health mental
explains Hubert Gauthier.
The couple, who lived in Manitoba for a long time, now live in Montreal.
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