From Dec. 4 through Dec. 10, the Whitman French Club partnered with local bakery chain Fresh Baguette to support Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known in the United States as Doctors Without Borders. 

MSF “brings medical humanitarian assistance to victims of conflict, natural disasters, epidemics or healthcare exclusion,” according to its website.

Senior Sebastien Taylor, a French Club co-President, said MSF’s mission as a humanitarian non-governmental organization was one of the main reasons why students were drawn to supporting the group.

“Doctors Without Borders is a really great charity because it’s a completely nonprofit organization,” Taylor said.

According to a Dec. 4 Whitnet email, when Fresh Baguette customers mentioned the French Club’s fundraiser at the store’s Bethesda location — or when they used the Whitman-specific coupon code at online checkout — 15% of the proceeds from each purchase went to MSF. 

Senior Nicolas Hotes, a fellow French Club co-President, said the group’s fundraising efforts first began in 2021 to support COVID-19 research and have continued to expand in the years since.

Though Fresh Baguette only recently began fundraising partnerships, the company aims to make the program a core component of its brand values, according to retail operations manager Jérémy Touchard.

“We try to select people and projects that can help others,” Touchard said, referring to the company’s corporate social responsibility projects.

 In the future, the French Club looks forward to supporting other charities and causes, Taylor said

“We’re really big on community service work and helping out with non-profit organizations,” Taylor said. “So, we’re definitely going to try and do some more fundraisers in the future.”