Earth Day at Complexe Desjardins: when the circular economy becomes a concrete gesture of solidarity

Earth Day is often associated with environmental awareness, individual action and collective commitment. For Fondation La Collecte, this day is also an opportunity to demonstrate in concrete terms how the circular economy can become a lever for social, community and educational impact.

As part of an event organized at Complexe Desjardins, Fondation La Collecte had the pleasure of taking part in a day of mobilization alongside several organizations committed to the environment, recycling, social innovation and sustainable development.

This presence is part of a wider relationship with Desjardins, notably around the revalorization of office items, community redistribution and raising public awareness of simple gestures that can generate a much greater impact than we imagine.

A concrete partnership for the recycling of office supplies

Fondation La Collecte is working with Desjardins on a project to recycle office equipment. Rather than letting equipment that is still usable lose its value or go out of use prematurely, the aim is to sort it, recycle it and give it free of charge to those who can benefit from it.

In this project, office items are sorted by CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal users. This step adds an important human dimension to the process: it’s not just a matter of moving objects from one place to another, but of creating a value chain in which several players contribute to a useful, concrete and meaningful action.

The recycled items are then donated to schools, including St-Paul-de-la-Croix and Louisbourg. This redistribution helps support educational environments while extending the life of items that are still functional.

This type of project illustrates the vision of Fondation La Collecte: to transform existing resources into concrete benefits for the community. The circular economy thus becomes more than an environmental concept. It becomes a way of supporting schools, mobilizing partners and creating social value from what already exists.

A day of awareness at Complexe Desjardins

The Earth Day event at Complexe Desjardins brought together a number of exhibitors active in complementary sectors: recovery, recycling, reuse, biodiversity, sustainable mobility, social involvement and environmental education.

Fondation La Collecte was on hand to promote its mission, chat with visitors and remind them of the importance of giving a second life to clothing and small, usable household items.

It’s important to make this clear: Fondation La Collecte does not collect waste. The organization collects usable clothing, textiles and small household items in order to recycle them and generate social benefits.

Every donation helps support the mission of Fondation La Collecte, which exists primarily to fund the youth mentoring activities of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal.

The lotus experience at Fondation La Collecte’s kiosk

At the Fondation La Collecte kiosk, visitors were invited to take home a lotus seed.

The gesture had strong symbolic significance. The lotus is a plant that grows in a complex environment, but can emerge, develop and flower when the right conditions are met. This symbol directly echoed the mission supported by Fondation La Collecte: to create the right conditions for potential to develop.

Through this experience, the lotus seed became a simple and accessible metaphor:

• a seed needs water, light and care to grow;
• a young person needs a supportive environment, a meaningful bond and stable guidance to blossom;
• a donation, when well-directed, can become much more than an object: it can become a concrete contribution to a social mission.

Visitors were also given instructions on how to germinate their lotus and continue the experience at home. This choice extended the relationship beyond the event, while creating a tangible reminder of Fondation La Collecte’s mission.

Exhibitors committed to the same transition dynamic

The richness of the event also lay in the diversity of the organizations present. Each approached the ecological transition from a different angle.

The Maison du développement durable (sustainable development centre) emphasized its role as a meeting place, a place of education and a place of influence for players committed to sustainable development.

Quantum Lifecycle Partners presented its expertise in electronic equipment lifecycle management, an important issue in a society where technological devices are ubiquitous.

Uni-Recycle and MultiRecycle also illustrated the importance of electronic recycling, responsible recovery and the establishment of structured processing chains.

Éco-Peinture reminded us of the importance of properly managing paint residues and directing materials to the right recovery points.

Les Valoristes represented a social and grassroots approach to recycling, highlighting the role of people who contribute directly to the collection and recovery of certain materials.

GoConsigne presented a solution focused on convenience, the recovery of returnable containers and the simplification of the environmental gesture for citizens.

MIRA brought a strongly human and philanthropic dimension to the event, reminding us how a clear mission can concretely transform the lives of the people it supports.

Alvéole demonstrated how biodiversity, bees and corporate commitment can become tools for raising awareness and mobilizing companies.

Équiterre, in particular with its VéloVolt campaign, represented the importance of awareness-raising, sustainable mobility and large-scale behavior change.

Together, these organizations showed that the ecological transition does not rely on a single solution, but on an ecosystem of complementary actions: reduce, reuse, recycle, raise awareness, collect, revalue and mobilize.

Fondation La Collecte: turning awareness into action

In an event like this, many organizations play an essential role in raising awareness. Fondation La Collecte fits into this dynamic by adding a dimension of concrete action.

Donating usable clothing or small household items isn’t just about making room in your home. It’s participating in a chain of impact:

1. items are recovered;
2. they are valued ;
3. the revenues generated contribute to financing the mission;
4. this mission supports youth mentoring through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal.

This model connects the environment, community and solidarity. It also reminds us that a simple gesture can have several lives: an ecological life, a social life and a human life.

The Florist Boutique: a complementary presence to highlight the commitment of Desjardins employees

As part of the day’s activities, La Boutique Fleuriste, operated by Fondation La Collecte, also contributed to the activation by offering contests for Desjardins employees.

This link with the boutique provided an opportunity to discover another aspect of Fondation La Collecte’s ecosystem. The Boutique Fleuriste offers flowers, plants and gift products, all in support of the organization’s mission.

This commercial presence was not separate from the mission: rather, it was a reminder that there are many ways to contribute. Donating clothes, taking part in a collection, buying from the boutique or collaborating with Fondation La Collecte are all gestures that can support the same objective: to generate a concrete impact in the community.

A promising day for the future

Fondation La Collecte’s participation in Earth Day at Complexe Desjardins confirms the importance of partnerships between community organizations, institutions, businesses and players in the circular economy.

The future of the ecological transition lies not only in raising awareness. It also relies on the ability to transform this awareness into simple, accessible and measurable actions.

Fondation La Collecte would like to thank Desjardins for organizing this event and for its commitment to initiatives that promote recycling, community impact and collective mobilization.

Every donated garment, every reused item and every well-structured collaboration can help create more value for the community.

This is precisely the logic behind Fondation La Collecte’s work: to collect what can still be used, to support what can still grow, and to transform each gesture into a concrete impact.

Further information

Would you like to donate usable clothing or small household items?

Visit Fondation La Collecte: https://www.fondationlacollecte.ca

Would you like to discover La Boutique Fleuriste?

Visit La Boutique Fleuriste: https://www.laboutiquefleuriste.com

Would you like to learn more about the mission supported by Fondation La Collecte?

Discover Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Montreal: https://gfgsmtl.qc.