As in past years, it is with great gratitude and pride that we present this report on our achievements and our progress toward realizing the vision that guides us every day: “To become the leader of the social economy in Quebec, by developing an innovative provincial network of partners generating job-training programs and economic activities inspired by the values of solidarity and sustainable development.”
The labour shortage and the economic realities of recent months have forced us to do things differently, to do things better, to innovate and to grow so as to expand the scope of our actions and serve as many people as possible. The results achieved and the progress of our social, environmental and economic missions inspire our enthusiasm and admiration and confirm that together, we are giving back to society.
We are the largest social-economy organization in Quebec, and thanks to our donors’ generosity, this year we again strengthened our primary mission of helping people re-enter the job market. In 2022-2023, the free job-training programs and employability services that we provide to the public at our Renaissance Employment Resource Centres enabled 959 people to return to work or school. Since our founding, we have touched the lives of nearly 8,000 people.
Every year, Renaissance diverts a growing number of used items from landfill sites, which makes us an important player in the waste-management sector. Our environmental mission was also strengthened this year by an 8% increase in the donations received at the roughly 60 collection centres that we operate. This translated into an increase in sales of more than 21% compared with the preceding year, demonstrating the loyalty of our customers and confirming the value of our offering to a growing number of people who support more-responsible consumption.
The donations collected and sold through our network not only enable us to provide community members with clothing and household goods at low prices and tax-free, but also make Renaissance an employer of choice. The development and well-being of our employees—on whom we vitally depend—are a priority. Hence throughout this tumultuous, inflationary year, we made it a goal to provide our employees with positive support.
We hope that it will inspire you and that you will continue to support us. We warmly salute our 1,260 permanent employees for the incredible work that they have done over the past year, as well as for their agility and commitment. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts to the generous donors, volunteers, partners, community members and members of our board of directors for having stood by us. Together, we are giving back to society!
Yvon Arsenault
President
Éric St-Arnaud
Chief Executive Officer
