Jimmy Lutin, Technical Manager at Kering and Board Member of the Kering Foundation, has been volunteering at the Foundation’s long-standing partner La Maison des femmes de Saint-Denis since 2020. Jimmy, alongside other Kering employees, has been enhancing its facilities, running a gardening workshop for survivors. Here’s Jimmy, talking about his experience.
Jimmy, how did you become interested in volunteering for the Foundation?
As a Board Member of the Kering Foundation, I wanted to get involved in the Foundation’s projects and work in the field. Céline (Bonnaire, Executive Director of the Foundation), introduced me to La Maison des femmes’ team at the beginning of 2020. They needed to renovate their facilities at the time, which perfectly matched my technical skills. The outside areas of the Maison also needed to be landscaped, and that’s how we came up with the idea of the gardening workshop.
Tell us about the workshops
We have 2-hour workshops every two weeks throughout summer. Women who participate mostly want to relax and have a good time, so I let them do things on their own and give them advice when they ask. They are really involved in the project. We are currently planting a vegetable garden, which they take great care of by weeding, watering, and cleaning. They are excited to see the fruits of their labor – tomatoes, herbs, zucchini…
Together we are building a secure and safe environment where they can feel comfortable. As we advance, I understand each one of them better: some need more supervising, others are very autonomous. I try to be attentive to their individual needs.