Behind the modest storefront at 2252 Chemin Sainte-Angelique in Saint-Lazare sits a nonprofit doing considerably more than selling secondhand clothes. La Source d’Entraide runs a community thrift boutique alongside an emergency food assistance program, a food pantry, a sewing workshop, and a meal initiative known locally as Un Repas pour Tous, all supported by a volunteer base the organization puts at more than 100 people. The thrift store functions as both a public service and a funding engine: modestly priced clothing and household goods keep essentials affordable for families across Vaudreuil-Soulanges, while proceeds help underwrite the organization’s food security work in the same community.
Shoppers can browse the boutique on a set weekly schedule: Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. That Thursday evening window is a small but telling detail, since it accommodates residents who work daytime hours and would otherwise be shut out of donating or shopping during a typical weekday schedule. Clothing, housewares, and other everyday items move through the racks and shelves at prices designed to stay within reach of households facing financial strain, rather than functioning as a vintage or curated resale operation.
What distinguishes La Source d’Entraide from a standalone thrift shop is the breadth of its mission. Environmental responsibility sits alongside social support as a stated goal, with the organization framing its retail operation explicitly around reuse and the transformation of donated goods rather than simple resale. That dual purpose, diverting usable clothing and household items from the waste stream while keeping prices low for people who need them, is baked into how the group describes its own work rather than treated as a side benefit. Beyond the retail floor, the organization also runs a sewing workshop, giving donated textiles and materials another possible path to reuse, and coordinates aid with other local organizations serving Saint-Lazare and the broader Vaudreuil-Soulanges region.
Community members can support the mission in more than one way: donating clothing, non-perishable food, or money directly, volunteering time on the retail floor or in food distribution, or simply shopping the boutique during its posted hours. With more than 100 volunteers reportedly involved, the organization leans heavily on local participation rather than paid staff to keep both the thrift store and its food assistance programs running. That volunteer-driven model is common among Quebec’s community action groups, but the specific pairing of a retail thrift operation with an active emergency food program, a sewing workshop, and a communal meal initiative gives La Source d’Entraide a wider footprint in Saint-Lazare than a typical secondhand shop.
Anyone in Saint-Lazare or nearby Vaudreuil-Soulanges towns looking to donate, volunteer, or shop affordably can reach the organization at 450-455-8000 or by email at info@sourcedentraide.org. In short, La Source d’Entraide is a Saint-Lazare nonprofit that pairs an affordable community thrift boutique with emergency food assistance, making it as much a social safety net as a place to find inexpensive clothing.
