An avid knitter who also crochets, L’Heureux was happy to join an English knitting group in the fall of 2020 when her husband, who is an artillery officer, was posted to Gagetown. But often she felt she was missing out a little bit.
“I was still learning English at that time,” says L’Heureux. “I could understand most of what was being said, but I would sometimes go an entire evening without saying a word.”
Everyone at the base was very welcoming and understanding, but she asked if there could be a French group as well, considering there is a significant francophone community on the base.
Her request was accepted and she was asked to lead the initiative and soon she had a group of four to nine ladies that would join her regularly every Thursday night.
L’Heureux, originally from Lévis, Que., encouraged the group to put its skills to good use and they crafted dishcloths and warm winter clothing for the food bank, extra mittens for the MFRC Child Care Centre and stuffed toys for a local women's shelter to provide to children using the service.
“Stéphanie certainly has the personality to draw people out of their shells and great communication skills to make people feel welcome,” says Denise Schurman, Client Program Team Lead and Child & Youth Development Coordinator at Gagetown MFRC. “She and all the group have gone above and beyond for the community.”
As much as the women involved love knitting, L’Heureux says for many the greatest benefit is spending time with friends and being able to communicate and share in their first language.
“It’s two hours where we can just be together,” L’Heureux says. “Sometimes women will bring their knitting, but they’ll just end up chatting for two hours. It’s their time to focus on themselves which is so important.”
L’Heureux is currently trying to get a knitting group started at the local French elementary school so those students can also help support the community.
