From sports to culture, Quebec non-profit marks 25 years of making fun accessible for all
CBC
The walls and racks of the Accès-Loisirs Québec warehouse are overflowing with everything from hockey jerseys and skis to tennis rackets, sleeping bags, soccer cleats and even a few guitars.
Residents head to the building, nestled between a bingo hall and a clothing store in a mall in Quebec City’s Charlesbourg neighbourhood, to find what they need to pick up a new hobby.
“I have the most beautiful job in the world,” says Pauline Tanguay, general manager of the non-profit.
Tanguay has been working with Accès-Loisirs since the organization first started in Quebec City 25 years ago.
“We found a lot of people were getting help with food from organizations, with housing as well,” Tanguay said. “But people were staying isolated at home.”
To fight that isolation, those behind Accès-Loisirs decided to try to make sports and culture more accessible.
Every three months, Quebecers from low-income households can go to the centre with proof of income in hand to pick up a piece of equipment for free.
Musical instruments and board games are also available to the households, with items that are harder to find available on loan.
Low-income households can also access cultural events as tickets for local concerts, plays and comedy shows are often raffled off at the centre, Tanguay explains.
"We don't sell anything here," Tanguay said. "The people come with their children and there is one for example who plays guitar, the other wants to try soccer, the other hockey.... We hand a full set of equipment to each of them."
Chloé Garneau-Dupuis has been going to the Accès-Loisirs warehouse for more than five years. The service recently helped her enjoy a weekend skating with her young daughters in Quebec City.
"They grow so fast so to keep up every season isn't easy," said Garneau-Dupuis. "When we can put our money elsewhere, it really helps us out as a young family."
When Garneau-Dupuis's daughters outgrow the equipment they've taken, she brings it back.
Retired doctor Yves Johnson volunteers at the warehouse to clean and restore the used equipment that's donated by businesses and the public.
Courtney Deveau and her boyfriend Zachary Legacy were talking about the moose signage and fencing around the highway they were travelling along just moments before they hit a moose that totalled their Volkswagen Golf.
CN Rail crews were clearing tracks early Sunday morning after nine train cars derailed near Jubilee Station in Winnipeg.
A man has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after two people were killed near Grande Prairie, Alta. early Saturday morning.
As winter weather ramps up in the Sea-to-Sky region, search and rescue teams are preparing for an influx of calls for help.
About 60 Halifax workers for global video game giant Ubisoft have formed the company's first union in North America.
The Calgary Flames scorching hot play at home continued Saturday night and came in front of their first sellout crowd since last year's New Year's Eve game against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Ottawa-Gatineau area could be hit with a serious bout of freezing rain Sunday evening, Environment Canada is warning.
The waters around the Queen Elizabeth Islands and western Tuvaijuittuq in Canada's High Arctic have long remained a mystery to scientists.
A Vancouver-based company hopes Canadians look to keep some of their investment dollars local and create an impact — even as the trend of money flowing south of the border looks set to continue into 2026.
The last few days have been a winter wonderland for people across Newfoundland and Labrador.
As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump are about to meet in Florida to forge a plan to end the war in Ukraine, the two leaders face differences over major issues, including territory, as Russian air raids pile pressure on Kyiv.
Researchers at the University of Alberta are looking to pull back the veil on how much carbon from melting permafrost is contributing to climate change.
Picking up petrels has become another part of fall for some folks along the eastern coast of Newfoundland.