The Red Cross Bazaar drew large crowds this weekend, with Grand Duchess Stéphanie attending for the first time as the organisation's president while hundreds of volunteers and the Youth Red Cross raised funds to support programmes for vulnerable children and young people.
By Saturday morning, visitors were already squeezing their way through the aisles of the Red Cross Bazaar to secure items from the second-hand section. This year marks the 79th edition of the event, but for Grand Duchess Stéphanie, recently appointed President of the Luxembourg Red Cross on 25 November, it was the first time she attended in her new role.
Her presence, organisers stressed, was more than symbolic. According to vice-president Manou Hoss, it was important for the image of the Red Cross to have its new president visibly supporting donations and publicly thanking the volunteers. She added that the Grand Duchess provides crucial moral support to the organisation's governance and field teams by showing that she is personally committed to helping those in need.
The scale of the event is enormous: over the course of the weekend, around 600 volunteers help organise the bazaar, set up the stands, transport boxes, manage sales, and pack everything away again once the event closes.
In total, gifts will be provided for 150 children and teenagers. All money raised from the bazaar is dedicated exclusively to programmes supporting children and young people.
Shoppers browsing the aisles were clear about their motivation. One visitor said they deliberately came to buy books so that the proceeds could help bring joy to children who might otherwise receive nothing. Another described the bazaar as a beautiful initiative, praising the way the Red Cross reinvests donations into programmes for people in precarious situations.
