The cellar of his restaurant, closed due to confinement, is packed. Full of gift packages, which accumulate over the days thanks to a vast outpouring of generosity which has won over the whole of France. I received a phone call again this morning from a person who wanted to drop off a box
smiles Julien Lachèvre, busy preparing take-away meals in his establishment in downtown Niort.
The boss and his shopping neighbor Dominique Parlot are among the many ambassadors of the solidarity Christmas boxes operation. I discovered this on November 18 on a Facebook post from a restaurateur from Saintes, who relayed the initiative of a young woman from Franche-Comté.
, says the Niortaise.
“We have tears in our eyes”
An initiative very simple
, in favor of the most disadvantaged and intended for adults: fill a box of shoes, with a few objects, accompanied by a sweet note, and make a gift wrap. By specifying on the package if it is offered to a woman, a man, or if the gift is mixed.
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Neither one nor two, Dominique in turn shares the great idea
by Mélanie Dulize, at the origin of the solidarity network Like a desire to live differently. The post exploded in 1 hour with over 1,500 shares and many comments.
The shopkeeper and her restaurateur sidekick start collecting the famous boxes, playing the relays, the small factors
. We quickly found ourselves overwhelmed. It’s extraordinary
, comments the duo. We thought we would collect 80, we are at about 500
, this Friday, December 4. We have tears in our eyes.
Communicative enthusiasm
Dominique and Julien see landing in their establishments people of all generations
, families sometimes who come to drop off five packages at the same time
. The initiative is snowballing on social networks, in companies … Requests for information are raining. People want to put a cake there, want to know if they can’t give in a bigger box …
The response of the tandem to those concerned does not vary: What matters is the heart you put into it
.
The two merchants with a big heart, battered in their activities by the effects of the health crisis, considered “non-essential”, share an infectious enthusiasm. Beyond our difficulties related to closures, we have a meaning, a reason for being. This operation carries us enormously in this uncertain period. It’s a super beautiful light.
Until December 12
Dominique Parlot and Julien Lachèvre collect solidarity Christmas boxes in their shops, Micha etc (8, rue du Rabot) et So Jules (44, rue Saint-Jean), during opening hours, until Saturday 12 December (Tel. 05 49 35 28 85). The gift packages will then be handed over to the Niortaise association The stopover, which notably manages youth housing residences, before distributing them to other associations. About thirty boxes are also intended for the Communal Center for Social Action, which will allocate them during the marauding scheduled for the evening of December 24.
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