THE HABITAT - Habitat for Humanity Canada

contents
04
05
06
10
14
16
19
dwell
Habitat for Humanity Canada News & Views
Habitat Partner Puts
Pen to Paper
Thanking Affiliate and Volunteers for
Making Dreams Come True
Moving Forward with
Habitat’s Vision for
Sustainable Communities
New Partnership Program,
Launching Spring 2011
Habitat for Humanity Abroad
Building Homes and Hope After Katrina,
in Lesotho and for Haiti
At the Street Level
Habitat for Humanity and
Partners Going Green
We Can Because You Do
Habitat for Humanity Canada
Volunteer Award Winners
Great Ways to Support Habitat for
Humanity this Holiday Season
Cover: Josh Smoke (5) hanging from the
bunk bed in his Habitat for Humanity home, the
first Habitat home to be built in a First Nations
community, in Alderville, Ontario.
The Habitat Spirit, a
publication of Habitat
for Humanity Canada,
seeks to promote
communication, discussion
and networking among
Habitat for Humanity
affiliates, volunteers
and supporters.
Questions or comments
should be sent to:
HABITAT FOR
HUMANITY CANADA
477 Mount Pleasant Rd.,
Suite 105, Toronto, ON
M4S 2L9 1.800.667.5137
Fax: 416.646.0574
habitat@habitat.ca
www.habitat.ca
PHOTO CREDITS:
The photos contained in
this newsletter were
provided courtesy of
Habitat for Humanity
Canada, its affiliates and
HFHI unless attributed
otherwise.
We Want Your
Feedback!
Please visit habitat.ca
to complete our
newsletter readership
survey and provide
us with valuable
information to improve
our publications.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Nicole Dunsdon
Kate Arnold
Kim Sprenger
Soapbox Design
Communications Inc.
RR Donnelley
HFHI
HFHC Resource
Development Team
I
Stewart Hardacre was
recently appointed
President and Chief
Executive Officer of
Habitat for Humanity
Canada (HFHC). Stewart
joined HFHC in 2008
and since 2009 has served
as President and Chief
Operating Officer.
Under Stewart’s leadership,
HFHC has seen
tremendous growth in
terms of families served
both domestically and
internationally and in funds
raised for the organization.
Within the association,
Stewart has lead the
national office’s growing
support of local Habitat
for Humanity affiliates in
Canada. HFHC welcomes
Stewart into this new
leadership role and
anticipates continued years
of unwavering leadership
and guidance.
A Message from our
President & CEO
Building on our
Momentum,
Home by Home
t’s hard to believe that the end of 2010 and our 25th
year in Canada has already arrived. This past year,
Habitat for Humanity Canada (HFHC) and our 73
affiliates have marked our 25th Anniversary by
hosting a number of blitz builds, a house pull,
hundreds of home dedication celebrations, and
several World Habitat Day events on October 4th.
The enthusiasm and commitment of HFHC and its
affiliates has never been stronger. In 2010, we built
the most homes we have ever built in one year: 235.
When you think of the transformation that a new,
permanent home creates for 235 families – about a
thousand family members – the impact of our work is
truly enormous.
With this issue of The Habitat Spirit, we want to
thank everyone for their passion and belief in our
vision of a world where everyone has a safe and
decent place to live. Sustainability is referred to a lot
in this issue, as we want to celebrate and acknowledge
the numerous ways that Habitat and its partners are
bringing sustainability to life. HFHC is committed to
building sustainable communities in all senses of the
word: environmental, social, and physical. We thank
our corporate partners for their ingenuity and
generosity in the programs that they have developed
with us in 2010. We also want to recognize our
amazing volunteers, who make Habitat for Humanity
such an inspirational organization to be part of, and
who have kept sustaining us and our builds for the
past 25 years.
This is a time to look forward and plan for 2011
and the years beyond. As we look ahead, we are even
more excited about what the future holds. In 2011,
HFHC will build its 2,000th (and 2,011th) house!
We’re sure it will be another great year of
accomplishments, thanks to the help of our donors
and volunteers.
Though we’re sure much lies ahead for us over
the next 25 years, one of our challenges going
forward will be how we sustain the growing drive
and passion surrounding our cause, continuing
to transform the lives of families as we build more
homes each year.
HFHC could not reach its goals nor continue on
its mission without help. HFHC and its affiliates
need the financial support of individuals to buy
land and cover other hard costs incurred on builds.
We are very grateful that you share the same
devotion and passion for our cause as we do – it’s
individuals like you that ensure Habitat for Humanity
can remain on its course and allow us to help more
families each year.
We hope you and your family enjoy your home
this holiday season. Again, thank you for your
support in 2010; we look forward to another
successful year in partnership, giving a hand up
to transform Canadian lives and communities.
Sincerely,
Stewart Hardacre
President & CEO
Habitat for Humanity Canada
P.S. You might notice that this issue of The Habitat Spirit has
a new look; this is part of our effort to make communication
with HFHC supporters more engaging, while also getting the
most out of our dollar spent. In order to help us continually
improve this and other publications, please go to habitat.ca
and take our newsletter survey. We’d love to hear from you on
what you’d like to read, know and learn about Habitat for
Humanity in Canada and around the world.
2 The Habitat spirit Fall/Winter 2010 To donate, participate or advocate visit www.habitat.ca 3