Closed for almost three months for work, FRIPE Emmaüs was impatiently awaited for its reopening on March 16. “We had at least 400 clients, that’s more than twice as many as a normal Saturday,” rejoices Estelle Decourcelle, director of FRIPE, for Training Rehabilitation Professional Integration Emmaüs. In this 180 m² second-hand clothing store, nicely decorated and busy, the faithful were able to rediscover a space renovated from floor to ceiling.
Roofing, insulation, false ceiling, rearrangement of spaces... the finishing work was entrusted to local companies, but, a small feature of this immense project, the FRIPE team was also called upon to contribute. “We used the work as an educational tool by using everyone's skills for interior design,” says the director of the association for integration through economic activity.
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Some put up wallpaper or floors, others painted. The store's furniture, although shiny, is also entirely second hand. “It gives a good image of recovery,” smiles Estelle Decourcelle. If the public part was delivered first to allow FRIPE to reopen just before spring, when donations are pouring in and the seasonal collections must be sold out, the behind the scenes are not quite finished.
“Feed through work, not subsidies”
It must be said that there is work, with more than 1,000 m² of surface area to be redeveloped to ensure the sorting, washing, ironing, repair and storage of the 270 tonnes of textiles collected each year by FRIPE. Either by voluntary contribution, or in the 25 collection points scattered throughout Reims. To carry out this large-scale work, the structure employs 35 people, including 25 on fixed-term contracts (fixed-term integration contracts), lasting from 4 to 24 months.
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The association even has a second store, Fripe et Chic, and has offered, since the health crisis, an online sales service which is taking up more and more space. “It is an educational store which allows people who have had professional or life paths that are not always easy to acquire skills. It is a springboard towards sustainable employment, whether in sales, sewing, logistics, e-commerce, etc., explains the director of the association. We are not here to make money from recycling, even if the activity helps finance the structure. » But also this important work, entirely paid for thanks to the association's funds. “We have been saving for almost 15 years. It's a source of pride, because that's the spirit of Emmaüs: to be nourished by work and not by subsidies. »