• Awarded on: November 24, 2004

Nicole Fournier, s.g.m., Montreal, Quebec
Governor General's Caring Canadian Award

Since 1985, in addition to running Accueil Bonneau, a homeless shelter serving Greater Montreal, Sister Nicole Fournier has been working with some 200 volunteers to provide the shelter's 700 regular clients with clothing, food, sometimes lodging and, most important, an extended family. Destroyed by fire in 1998, Accueil Bonneau owes its survival and reconstruction to Sister Fournier's enthusiasm, determination and quiet strength. Ever mindful of the needs of society's less fortunate and in order to help them get back on their feet, she introduced new services at the shelter, including a library, a carpentry shop, a computer room, a convenience store and a choir, whose enchanting music has warmed the hearts of many.