On Monday, the Maison de la famille de Vaudreuil-Soulanges team launched its socio-financing campaign to raise the funds needed to build its new home in Saint-Zotique.

Estimated at $1.2 million, construction of the new home is being orchestrated by design-builder Struxar, with the collaboration of Claude Matte Architecte and the expertise of Habitations Sylvain Ménard. 

The new home will be located at 1008, rue Principale, where the Maison des optimistes stood until recently. A 99-year emphyteutic lease has been signed between the Municipality of Saint-Zotique and the organization.

This lease will entitle the Maison de la Famille to use the land for the construction of their new premises, while paying a symbolic rent of $1.

A 45-day campaign

The socio-financing campaign, running from April 1 to May 15, will be supported by the online platform, La Ruche, enabling anyone who wishes to support the cause and contribute to the financing. 

"This will be a 45-day fundraising campaign on the Web. People will be able to buy our offers, which range from $25 to $1,000, so there really is something for everyone. It will also be possible to make a donation of any amount," explained La Maison general manager France Pomminville.

Honorary Chair of the fundraising campaign is Claude DeBellefeuille, Member of Parliament for Salaberry-Suroît. Present at the press conference, Ms. DeBellefeuille emphasized:

"For the socio-financing campaign, it was important for us to allow people who may not have the means, to be able to contribute to the campaign that will enable the groundbreaking of the Maison de la famille in Saint-Zotique.All donations are welcome, whether small, medium or large. We're currently in the process of finalizing our business plan, and the rest will be announced by the Maison team. It's a pleasure for me to take the time to promote the Maison de la famille, which is about to rise from the ground in Saint-Zotique. Finally, we'll be able to say that the whole of Vaudreuil and Soulanges will receive equitable local services for the development of children and families."

She adds: "Take an interest in the socio-financing campaign on the La Ruche platform, it's a unique opportunity for citizens and businesses to contribute to their future family home". 

New services for families

For Diane Lyonnais, President of the Maison's Board of Directors, the announced project is a bold initiative aimed at greatly expanding services in the Soulanges area.

The new home will enable the deployment of a number of services and programs, such as homework help and tutoring, language stimulation workshops, a community drop-in daycare center, perinatal programming and access supervision services. The home will also support more than 250 new families, in addition to creating jobs and offering work experience opportunities.

"We're confident that our project will bring new jobs, including new specialized educators.This is an important aspect for the region, for the MRC.We also want to become a place for professional internships in special education techniques, speech therapy, orthopedagogy and so on.We get requests, but because of the lack of premises in Soulanges, we weren't able to accommodate them," said Ms. Lyonnais.

Inauguration of the new Saint-Zotique family home is scheduled for early 2025, with groundbreaking scheduled for this spring.