Join the club: Bon Coeur charity shop in Lot-et-Garonne has raised €200,000

In July, several locals exhibited their paintings, sculptures and pottery at the Moulin de Berdassot in Cauzac (Lot-et-Garonne). 10% of the proceeds were donated to Bon Coeur, a charity and not-for-profit association based in Beauville, a nearby village.

Its goal is to raise funds for deserving causes through its Beauville boutique, events and cultural activities such as this Expo d’Art.

Founded in 2013, it has raised €200,000 so far.

“It is quite an achievement,” said its founder and president Charles Miskin, one of the eight British people who make up Bon Coeur’s board of directors. There are between 20 and 30 volunteers at Bon Coeur, mainly British people. New members are more than welcome.

The shop is open Tuesdays to Fridays, from 14:00 to 16:00, and on Sundays from 10:00 to 12:00. It displays books, CDs, DVDs, clothes and other items, organised around three main categories: clothing, brocante and books. All donations are welcome.

Clothes follow a seasonal rotation, with off-season items stored and bedding, table linens and upholstery fabrics sold only during events such as book sales, flea markets and the Christmas market. Unsold or rejected clothing is donated to a domestic violence shelter or Le Relais.

The book inventory can reach 10,000 books a year, but only 800 books, CDs and DVDs are displayed at a time. The stock is fully rotated five times a year, with unsold books sent for recycling in Agen.

Second-hand 230V electrical appliances require a compliance certificate to be sold in the shop. They are sold only during the mid-August flea market.

The flea market category includes dishes, kitchen utensils, ornaments, jewellery, toys and paintings. Smaller items are sold in the shop, while larger ones are advertised on Facebook and displayed at events.

“There is definitely a need, especially for animal rescue centres and similar organisations that struggle with funding for vet bills, food, fencing and bedding,” said Mr Miskin.

The association has been granted funds by the Ruth Smart Foundation, a charity that awards grants to charitable organisations that directly benefit domestic animals. It has spent €13,144, mainly on cat sterilisation, by summer 2020.

Running a charity shop in France is more surprising to French people than it is for the British in Great Britain, Mr Miskin said, where charities are spread out across every town and for almost every cause, from cancer and heart disease to lifeboats, dogs, cats and elderly care, etc.

“In France, many of those causes are better supported by the state, so there are fewer charity shops,” said Mr Miskin, who moved to Beauville in the 2000s.

Bon Coeur redistributes to about 20 to 30 different local charities, a mix of animal and human causes such as Cancer Support France, SOS Health or the Centre des Fonds Sauvages, one of France’s oldest wild animal rescue centres.

Events include Jardin and Moulin Ouvert in Cauzac and Massels or, less often, celebrations of May 1, coronation picnics, Christmas brocantes and foires, or pétanque events. It also takes part in Macmillan Coffee Mornings, one of the biggest annual fundraising events run by Macmillan Cancer Support.

Its biggest events are the two Grand Bazar events organised each year, in May and November, with 10,000 to 12,000 books, more than 1,500 clothing items, more than 40 tables of brocante items, and 15 to 20 tables of linen displayed over two days, usually at Beauville’s salle des fêtes. The Grand Bazar usually collects around €10,000.

“We hope to raise €10,000 again,” explained Mr Miskin about the upcoming Grand Bazar event on November 7–8.

For donations, contact boncoeur@boncoeur47.com or call +33 (0)6 89 53 24 78.

Visit the website here.