"Solidarity" is one of the key words that governs the community life of the school's students. This motto, which arises spontaneously in student interactions, is put into practice by some students who wish to volunteer in projects serving the most disadvantaged.
SOLIDARITY SUPPORTED BY THE GASOLE ASSOCIATION (GADZARTS SOLIDAIRES)
The GaSole (Gadzarts Solidaires) association, present on all campuses, carries out humanitarian actions and is involved in local, national, and international projects. On the Angers campus, the office is made up of six students responsible for finding new social action projects and proposing partnerships with local association leaders to lend them a helping hand, such asSecours Populaire FrançaisandRestos du Coeur. Arts et Métiers students thus Arts et Métiers what they learn from Gadz'Arts' humanities program beyond the school walls.
We are primarily a bridge between associations that need volunteers and students who want to get involved but don't know where to turn, explains Jules, a second-year student in the Grande Ecole program and president of GaSole on the Angers campus.
A STRONG PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ARTS ET MÉTIERS SECOURS POPULAIRE
For example, this investment in local associations is illustrated by a strong partnership betweenSecours Populaire andGasole, which involves students from the school in initiatives such as the "Chantier Solidaire" in Angers. This project to fit out the association's new premises received help over a weekend from around 100 students fromthe Grande Ecole Program, who moved the association's old premises and fitted out their new spaces."One hundred and fifty pairs of hands make a huge difference when moving house!"explains one of the project coordinators. This partnership with the campus has given rise to other initiatives such as fundraising during the"Green Santa Claus"operation,duringwhich around thirty volunteers collected more than €1,000 in one afternoon from residents of Angers city center. These donations are reinvested in the purchase of Christmas gifts for children whose parents are in financial difficulty. Keen to offer more and more local projects, GaSole is also developing partnerships with other associations suchas Restos du Coeurfor food drives, as well as with the town hall for collecting waste that pollutes public spaces and the banks of the Maine River.
A LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP
A true spearhead of solidarity within the student community, one of GaSole's objectives is to"pass the torch from one year to the next to new students joining the school by involving them as early as possible." This helps them understand that the values of solidarity and mutual aid instilled in them can take the form of concrete actions to help disadvantaged people. In addition to its local commitments, the association organizes an annual humanitarian trip to Senegal with the aim of providing funds and additional manpower for a project to build a school for street children.
By developing access to volunteering forArts et Métiers students, the GaSole association builds bridges between the main players in social action in Angers and the driving force of young people who are eager to get involved, drawing on one of the core values ofArts et Métiers engineersArts et Métiers solidarity.
Article with the assistance of Enguerrand Armanet, second-year student in the Grande Ecole program at the Arts et Métiers campus Arts et Métiers
