HR manager for several Building Solutions business units in western France, Charlotte Renault decided to become an ambassador and mentor for the VINCI Foundation to get personally involved in initiatives and further promote her profession. She has been familiar with the foundation since the start of her career at VINCI Energies ten years ago. “VINCI Energies provides a range of opportunities for carrying out charitable activities, and the VINCI Foundation is one of these opportunities. Through it I’ve found projects that fit my schedule and match causes that are important to me,” she says.

After mentoring the Proxité charity in Paris for two years, she is now supporting the Al.Ma charity (Al.ma is a contraction of Alice and Emmanuelle, the founders), which works to develop the talents and skills of recent and longer-term refugees through cookery. With the VINCI Foundation’s and Charlotte’s support, after six months of incubation at Singa, the charity has opened a restaurant called Fair.e*. A training venue for charity members, Fair-e helps them enter the world of work by giving them professional experience that includes:

• 4 to 6 months of training in the restaurant;
• cooking lessons open to everyone;
• the opportunity to learn French;
• connection to a network of restaurant recruiters.

Located on the ground floor of a home for the elderly, the restaurant enables charity members and building occupants to get together and interact.

At the end of 2022, the VINCI Foundation donated a cheque for €15,000 to Al.Ma to contribute towards the expansion of the Fair-e restaurant. As mentor, Charlotte provides her expertise in HR and helps to fit out the restaurant and collect donations.

“You never know when you, or anyone, might need a second chance. So it seemed obvious to me to give some of my time to others without expecting anything in return!” concludes Charlotte.

*“faire” in French means “make or do”