By : Françoise Stanton (Translation : Guy Côté)

Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) and its employees have donated $500,000 plus BRP clothing worth another half million dollars to help support the most vulnerable youth in the Eastern Townships.

Addressing Essential Needs

This support will help address essential needs related to dignity, confidence and inclusion, according to Isabelle Grenier, Executive Director of the Fondation du Centre Jeunesse de l’Estrie. Children and teenagers followed by the Direction of Youth Protection (DYP) are often victims of bullying.

Bullying and stigmatization leave deep scars on health, she said.

With this partnership, we can intervene earlier, support needs that are not covered elsewhere and reduce situations that lead to bullying.”

The impacts of bullying are well documented: anxiety, chronic stress, sleep disorders, social isolation, school dropout and mental health issues that can affect an individual’s life trajectory. Children followed by the DYP are already made vulnerable by neglect, instability or poverty.

Long-Term Community Commitment

“BRP and its employees are important allies in the health of our community,” said Martin Clermont, Executive Director of the CHUS Foundation. Since 2022, BRP has chosen to take action to challenge bullying and has made it its global corporate cause, making more than $10 million in charitable contributions.

The number of young people in need of DYP services is on the rise with DYP handling some 500 new cases in the past year.