The mutual aid campaign organized to support striking teachers made it possible to collect between $28,000 and $30,000 in donations in just a few hours. The enthusiasm is such that the organizers are considering repeating the operation in the days leading up to Christmas.
• Read also: “A little gentleness”: collections for teachers on strike
The “partial” summary of the campaign shows $26,600 raised solely via gift cards, we can read on the initiative’s Facebook group. With these donations, at least 578 families were helped.
“But it’s clear that we’re going beyond that,” says the group’s co-founder, Geneviève Groleau, who is also a primary school teacher affiliated with the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) in the Outaouais region. “If we count the cars filled with food, we should easily reach $28,000 or $29,000 in donations.”
Food, gift cards and toys for children were distributed to teachers who have been on strike without pay for two weeks.
SCREENSHOT / VAT NEWS / QMI AGENCY
Mme Groleau reports the “special” and “very emotional” atmosphere in donation centers throughout the province.
“[Certains enseignants] had difficulty entering the distribution stations. It was very uncomfortable for them,” she says. “It clearly demonstrates the precariousness of teachers. It’s still just two weeks without pay!”
The teacher wanted to highlight the organization “in just four days” of the initiative, in particular by coordinators Jean-François Proulx and Marie-Josée Lavoie.
On the initiative’s Facebook group, there were also very numerous requests for help, including from pregnant teachers on preventative leave without pay or from couples of young teachers who can no longer make ends meet.
Another wave of donations before Christmas
However, solidarity was there to the point where the organizers considered repeating the operation a few days before Christmas.
This surge of generosity is, according to Mme Groleau, colored by “fears for the network [de l’éducation] generally.”
“A father came to bring donations with his daughter who is studying for a bachelor’s degree in teaching and he did not want her to despair during her studies,” illustrates the teacher.
In the meantime, negotiations continue between the FAE and the Quebec government. A counter-offer from teachers could be submitted soon.
For its part, the Common Front is continuing its week of strike and raised the possibility of an unlimited general strike on Sunday morning.