One of the most recognizable charities on the continent is on the precipice of a local milestone.
Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta’s Foothills Chapter is zeroing in on its fundraising goal for its next build. As one of seven charitable organizations benefiting from the 2016 Western Wheel Cares campaign, it will likely meet its mark.
“We’re actively looking for land and have been for months now,” said Marilyn Boake, Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta’s Foothills chapter chairperson. “We need to keep our land costs down as low as possible because our funds go further as far as building goes.
“The money we get from the Western Wheel Cares campaign will actually top up our fund. We are ready now to buy land once this campaign is over.”
Acquiring the land is the crucial first step in the process. The search for a suitable site is not an easy fix in the Foothills.
“Some of the far reaching chapters have land donated,” Boake said. “In the Foothills we’re very much like the Calgary and Airdrie areas where the municipalities don’t own land so that is our biggest challenge, getting a hold of land.”
The next step is family selection as those who will benefit need to fit specific parameters to be approved. Following that, Habitat for Humanity begins to collect donations of construction material, gifts in kind and later sheer volunteer manpower.
Habitat for Humanity’s Southern Alberta Foothills chapter was established in 2012.
With initial work done through community development and fundraising, the chapter broke ground on its first home build in High River in June of 2015 with two families moving in to the duplex some eight months later.
“It was easy to volunteer and work on the home. You could pick and choose which days you came,” said volunteer John MacLeod, an MD of Foothills resident. “We were worried when we first started talking about the build and the volunteers we would have … We ended up going four or five days a week and most of the time had lots of people.”
It took a community of 270 volunteers – many from the Foothills region – to complete the build. Additionally, a number of local companies gifted in kind work to mitigate the costs of construction.
“The rewarding part is to see the families come here,” MacLeod said. “The one family has four kids and I was there when they picked their bedrooms and it was so neat to hear them, the smiles on their faces, the excitement.”
Once complete, the constructed homes are sold by Habitat for Humanity to the families who take on a no down-payment interest free mortgage and become homeowners.
The mortgage payments go back into the Habitat Build Fund, which allows for future home builds down the road in a pay it forward system.
In lieu of a down payment on the house, the families put in 500 hours of work towards the construction of the domicile.
“Sweat equity hours, what that really turns into is pride of ownership,” Boake said. “I was here working one day and watched the two male home owners building a fence together in the backyard. One of the moms was showing someone else how to do drywall.
“They learn a tremendous amount of building skills throughout the process.”
The volunteers often get as much or more out of the experience as the families.
“We do this for the sheer delight of being able to see where your money goes to,” Boake said. “To be able to say we fundraise for a Habitat house and actually have two families who are home owners who probably couldn’t be home owners in another capacity.
“When you see children being able to pick their bedroom and it’s the first time they’ve been able to have a bedroom to call their own it’s pretty touching.”
For more information on Western Wheel Cares contact Gayle Wolf at 403-938-6397 or [email protected] To participate, call the Western Wheel office Monday to Friday from 9 p.m. to 5 p.m. (403-938-6397) and make a donation using your credit card. We also accept debit, cash and cheques (payable to ‘Western Wheel Cares’), either dropped off at the office, #9 McRae Street or mailed to Box 150, Okotoks, AB T1S 2A2 (please do not mail cash). Or visit www.westernwheel.com to donate using Paypal.
All donations of $10 or more will receive a 2016 official tax receipt at the end of the campaign.
