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Glisse en Cœur

Inspiration

Glisse en Cœur

Charity Event For Alpysia
Feb. 2024
4 min.

Glisse en Cœur – 15th edition

In 2024, Glisse en Cœur is rallying for children with cerebral palsy currently receiving support and care from the non-profit Alpysia.

In Annecy, children at the Guillaume Belluard Special Education Center for Movement Disorders desperately need our help.

At the beginning of the winter, the starting gun for this year’s Glisse en Cœur -which will take place March 22-24 in Le Grand-Bornand – was fired at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Annecy.

David Douillet traveled to the area to provide his support for the non-profit organization Alpysia (Alliance Paralysie Cérébrale des Alpes / Cerebral Palsy Alliance in the Alps). He is the organization’s ambassador. Alpysia has spent the past sixty years providing support to people with cerebral palsy and their families, and will benefit immensely from the donations made at this year’s event.

Glisse en Cœur

During the moving, emotion-filled event, youth from the Guillaume Belluard Institute in Annecy, one of the education centers that the non-profit manages, took center stage, using sincerity, humor, and spontaneity to talk about their daily lives, their basic needs, and to motivate the troops.

Every speech was heartfelt, and received warm smiles and encouragement from the audience. These few special moments inspired a level of solidarity and joy that we hope will have a snowball effect all the way to the event. How can you not be touched by these deserving kids, so accustomed to overcoming difficulty day-in and day-out, and who we cannot help but admire?

Just a few days ago, we visited the Guillaume Belluard Special Education Center for Movement Disorders in Cran-Gevrier, welcomed by Joëlle Petit-Roulet, president of the non-profit, and Elmédine, a 19-year old resident with cerebral palsy. As our amazing guide for the day, she showed us around the institute, which she know like the back of her hand. She started coming to the center as a 4-year-old, and is never at a loss for words.

During the tour, we met children from 4 to 23 years old, all with very different backgrounds, and all who have cerebral palsy. We also met the professionals who work every day to provide them with the care and comfort they need. Quite the moving visit!

CEM Guillaume Belluard

© Aude Pollet-Thiollier

“Here, we are like family. We are all the same, and we never judge or make fun of each other. It is a bit like a cocoon, a safe space, where we feel protected from the outside world, from the looks of others who know nothing about what it’s like to be handicapped, and whose behavior is often far more hurtful than helpful. People don’t understand the impact of how they look at us and what they say. Tomorrow it could be them. Anyone and everyone at any moment could end up in our situation,” Elmédine explains. She demonstrates a clear-headedness and maturity truly worthy of our admiration.

In just a few months she will leave the center to start a new chapter in her life – she would like to train to be a peer-to-peer caregiver to use her life experience to provide support to others in similar situations. She is worried about the old, rundown state of the center’s facilities. Not for her, but for those who remain at the center and for the professionals who work here.

CEM Guillaume Belluard

© Aude Pollet-Thiollier

While part of the facility was renovated a dozen years ago with high-quality equipment, most of the buildings were constructed in the 1970s, and have seen little to no renovation or improvements since. Members of the organization point out that the living conditions fail to meet today’s standards for providing suitable and appropriate care for the eighty-seven children and teenagers who stay there part-time or full-time all year long.

Facing this dire situation, funding has been approved and renovation work has started. However, the non-profit would like to go even further and fund a gymnasium, a necessary addition for the center’s approach rehabilitation, physical therapy, and education. Funds donated during Glisse en Coeur will serve to build a gym. The Alpysia teams plan to participate in Glisse en Coeur. Let’s provide them with our support!

CEM Guillaume Belluard

© Aude Pollet-Thiollier

How can you help?

By making an immediate donation through the Glisse en Coeur website, by purchasing tickets to the gala dinner organized by local Michelin-starred chef Yoann Conte, or by purchasing tickets to the Martin Solveig concert, and by coming to the event itself March 23-24 to cheer on participating teams.

Glisse en Cœur

© C. Pourre

Glisse en Coeur, the biggest charity event in the French Alps

The event owes its success to the original concept: combining charity (a months-long fundraising campaign for a great cause) and skiing as a relay team non-stop for twenty-four hours, from 14:00 on Saturday to 14:00 on Sunday. 

All in a festive atmosphere made even livelier with concerts at the Charmieux base area in Le Grand-Bornand Chinaillon.

Glisse en Cœur

© T. Vattard – Glisse en Cœur

The goal for Glisse en Cœur

  • Collect donations for a worthy children’s cause. This year, through the new Children’s Donation Fund, 60% of all donations will go to Alpysia, and six other local non-profit organizations working to protect and provide support to children in difficulty will also benefit from a portion of the donated funds.
  • Energize and provide recognition to the non-profit’s members, children, their families, their caregivers, and their teachers.
  • Organize a fulfilling group adventure for families, friends, and colleagues to experience together. A festive, athletic adventure for a great cause!
Glisse en Cœur

© J.M. Favre – Glisse en Cœur

The winners of the fundraising campaign will be those who collect the most donations in either the “Entrerprise/Company” or “Tribu/Clan” categories AND who participate in the 24-hour non-stop team ski relay challenge as well as other challenges teams will face.

For teams, the event means contacting their personal and professional networks, doubling down on taking initiative, and inciting their friends, family, and colleagues to make a donation to their team to contribute to increasing the overall amount of donations.

So let’s all contribute to making this the biggest event ever; let’s rock so hard that we make the mountains tremble. We’re counting on your participation and support!

 

Glisse en Cœur

About Alpysia

“Cerebral palsy is the most common movement disorder in children. It affects 125,000 people in France.”

This is what you learn when visiting the Alpysia website. The non-profit manages fifteen facilities in Haute-Savoie. Its teams provide tangible care and support to children as well as adults who have developed cerebral palsy or another handicap. Their work includes education, homecare, sports and culture, leisure activities and vacations, wellness and healthcare at work, training, and housing to mention just a few of the many areas the non-profit covers.

 

Alpysia

Glisse en Cœur

© T. Vattard – Glisse en Cœur

Copyright:

  • © T. Vattard – Glisse en Cœur

Journalist: Aude Pollet-Thiollier

Translation: Darin Reisman