NPO's: How can you help? | Bota Bota, spa-sur-l'eau

Bota Bota

NPO’s: How can you help?

Every year, during the Christmas holidays, Bota Bota offers its time to Quebec non-profit organizations. In 2020, due to the strict health measures, this gesture of benevolence cannot be done.

While the physical presence of our sailors is not possible today, we nevertheless wanted to highlight certain organizations that have particularly touched us in recent years.

Le Chaînon, a refuge for women

In November of 2019, massage therapists and estheticians gathered at this women’s shelter to offer massages and manicures.

“With the pandemic, a lot of things have changed”, explains Alexandre Martin, volunteer coordinator at Le Chaînon. “In March, we lost between 90 and 95% of our volunteers”, a big loss, followed by an exceptional outpouring of solidarity. The support of the City of Montreal and community organizations has enabled Le Chaînon to offer its residents moments of happiness in these difficult times.

“In Montreal, we’re used to have music everywhere during the summer. This year, it was silent, but we were fortunate, in particular, thanks to the la Maison de la Culture du Plateau Mont-Royal,, to host private concerts on our balconies for our residents. Such an amazing gift, it was a festival at Le Chaînon! “

Thanks to everyone’s efforts and the implementation of new protocols on site, Alexandre tells me that no case of COVID has been reported at Le Chaînon. Autonomous temperature checks, refurbished spaces, the shelter counts on these changes to keep this reality a positive one.

“We always need help,” donations of items and clothing are always welcome, especially for the residents’ “starter kit.”

You can always give to the foundation and volunteer your time at the Le Chaînon store.

To learn more, click here.

The Lighthouse Children and Families

In December of 2018, hospitality and marketing sailors gathered at this center to help prepare for the Volunteer Thank You Day.

“The present time is not easy for our families. They were already in a storm, but today even more so, “tells me Mélanie Séguin, marketing and community engagement manager at The Lighthouse.

The Lighthouse can accommodate up to 12 children per day for respite stays in order to ease the daily lives of parents in need of help, faced with their child’s severe health problems.

“We’ve got less funding: our main fundraising events are canceled. So we are reinventing ourselves and are already preparing partnerships for 2021”.

To help the Lighthouse, Children and Families, you can join the #iciondonne movement by making a donation here.

At this trying end of the year, sick children are in dire need of magic and light. Help the Lighthouse give them a chance to dream.
To learn more, click here.

The CHUM

In December of 2018, several of our massage therapists volunteered a few hours of their time to massage hospitalized patients with Cystic Fibrosis.

“From the first wave, our activities fell to a minimum, because we were experiencing unknown circumstances”, tells me Lise Pettigrew, Head of the Volunteer Service at the CHUM. “Bedside activities have been cut, such as massage therapy and complementary therapies.”

To compensate for the lack of activities and since no more visitors are accepted at the patient’s bedside, courtesy calls from volunteers to patients were put in place. “The last time we counted, we are at more than 20,000 calls since March”.

In spring 2020, for a limited time, Bota Bota lent a hand to the CHUM teams by donating 10% of the sale of its gift cards. A gesture full of benevolence, for a devoted institution, at the heart of the pandemic.

To make a donation to the Fondation du CHUM, click here.

To learn more, click here.