On the verge of closing, the Bury Centre de Loisirs granted a total of $202,000 to 11 community groups last month. About 20 people attended an announcement of the gifts on August 26 at the Bury United Cultural Center as Adrien Girard, the Centre’s president, and Florence Fréchette handed out the cheques. 

The largest grant was $50,000 to Moisson Haut-Saint-François for food purchases to benefit needy families. La Relève du Haut-Saint-François was given $20,000 for its My Backpack project providing children’s school supplies. 

Four of the recipients are headquartered in Bury: the Bury United Cultural Centre received $20,000 for building improvements; the Bury Historical and Heritage Society was granted $17,000 to translate (into French) Gordon Parson’s book, The Community of Canterbury, Quebec; the Brookbury Community Centre was awarded $12,000 for community activities and building maintenance; and the Bury Athletic Association got $10,000 for community events and youth sports. To help finance Bury’s Sunrays services and activities for the elderly, the Centre d’action bénévole du Haut-Saint-François received $5,000. 

Several other Haut-Saint-François groups received grants of $17,000: the Haut-Saint-François Collective Kitchen, for activities to improve culinary skills; La Méridienne, for various projects to help victims of domestic violence and their children; Étincelles de Bonheur du Haut-Saint-François, for the management of a multisensorial room and an adapted washroom for handicapped individuals; and Virage Santé mentale, for diverse services and activities for individuals facing mental health challenges. 

The Centre de Loisirs de Bury was a non-profit organization providing free social activities for Bury youth, established in 1973 by Sister Lucille Bellavance and other Nuns of the Sisters of Charity Order in the Parish of St-Raphaël de Bury. For 38 years, the Sisters coordinated activities from the building they inhabited at 529 Main Street. 

They soon expanded their reach to include services for the elderly, the handicapped, and otherwise vulnerable residents of the community. The Centre de Loisir’s collection and distribution of second-hand clothing and housewares evolved into the well-known Comptoir Familial. 

By 2011, members of the Sisters of Charity had become fewer and older, and they handed the reins over to a committee of local volunteers. They continued providing services until recently, but a lack of new volunteers has forced the Centre to close its doors.