Annie Asselin Built Réno-Jouets Into a Family Mission

For Annie Asselin, Réno-Jouets has become far more than the social enterprise she founded nearly 25 years ago. Her partner, Réjean Gingras, and their children, François and Anne-Sophie, have been part of its story from the beginning, according to the article. The children grew up around the organization, first at its former premises on Watt Street and later at its Cap-Rouge location. Asselin joked that the place was where they “built up their antibodies.” François recalled that his childhood connection to the work left a lasting mark: he once cut himself on a toy being prepared for recycling. Réno-Jouets is described as North America’s first and largest store for refurbished toys. Its affiliated foundation collects, repairs and redistributes toys to children from disadvantaged communities in Quebec, while the nonprofit enterprise has kept millions of toys out of landfills. Asselin first imagined the model while completing her bachelor’s degree. The family’s involvement continues in different ways. François, who works as the official play-by-play announcer for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens, contributes whenever he can. He and his mother, a hockey fan, often talk about the organization while crossing the Laurentians, and it also comes up regularly at family dinners. Asselin said she feels fortunate to have such support, though she added that even family conversations need limits sometimes. Anne-Sophie, who trained as a teacher and psychoeducator, was hoping her baby would arrive after the foundation’s November 25 online charity auction. The event helps provide toys to vulnerable children. The family had already agreed that her son Elliott would spend his early years around Réno-Jouets, where relatives work and volunteer. Asselin initially tried to discourage her children from getting involved, the article reports, because the early years had been so difficult that she did not want them to face the same hardships. Gingras remembers seeing her cry during that period, but says he also saw her persevere and encouraged her not to give up.