May 2018 Duncan ReStore opens! The community of Duncan came out in droves to celebrate the grand opening of their very own ReStore on March 1 st 2018. The festivities continued throughout opening weekend with a ribbon cutting ceremony, BBQ, kids building activities and a colouring contest. The store is the second ReStore to be opened in the Mid- Vancouver Island region and will play a vital role in raising funds for home building projects in that area. The ReStore has received a very warm welcome to date and staff and volunteers have been kept busy making lots of pick-ups from generous local residents. The ReStore, which is at 251 Government Street, Duncan, is open Monday to Saturday from 8.30-5. Pictured: Top right: The official ribbon cutting was carried out by Mayor of Duncan Phil Kent and Habitat MVI Board Member Jessie Chalmers. Bottom right: Habitat staff from Victoria and Vancouver Island North joined us for the opening of the store. Bottom left: The bright interior of the new ReStore at Duncan. Did you know? Money raised at the store will stay in the Cowichan Valley to help fund local builds; including two projects planned to start in summer 2018 - a Duplex and a 6-plex which will bring 8 new homes to the area. (See page 3 for more information on these projects). ReStore staff will not only deliver items purchased in store to your home, we will also come and pick up any items you wish to donate to the store.
Habitat Happenings TD Canada Trust donates $10,000! TD Canada Trust has continued their partnership with Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island with a generous donation of $10,000. We are grateful for the continued support of TD Canada Trust in providing future Habitat homeowners with affordable homeownership! In addition to their donation, a team of staff from TD Canada Trust participated in a Habitat Build Day where they painted homes at the Meadow Hill development in Nanaimo. Pictured: Jeff Kafta, TD Canada Trust Bank Manager and Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island Board member presenting a cheque to Executive Director Rob Hallam (left). New faces Please join us in welcoming two new members of staff to the administration office at Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island. Libby Hunns (left) has joined us as part-time Administration Assistant. Libby helps with the day to day running of the office and will be first point of contact for our Habitat Partner families. Libby can be contacted at info@habitatmvi.org or 250 758 8078 x 102 Betty Donald (Right) is our new part-time Bookkeeper. Betty will be dealing with all things financial in the office. Betty can be contacted at accounting@habitatmvi.org or 250 758 8078 x 105
New Habitat homes for Cowichan TWO BUILDS PLANNED FOR DUNCAN - Starting summer 2018 Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island is undertaking two new building projects in the Cowichan Valley, with construction of both slated to begin in 2018. Money raised at the new Duncan ReStore will go directly to helping to fund these builds meaning local money and donations will be helping the local community. 3364 COWICHAN LAKE ROAD (location shown on map opposite) Duplex: 1 x 3 bedroom home and 1 x 4 bedroom home Construction due to start Summer 2018 Application process OPEN: applications will be accepted until 4pm, June 4 th, 2018. (Application forms and eligibility criteria are available online at www.habitatmvi.org) 625 JUBILEE STREET, DUNCAN Multi-unit development - 6-plex Construction due to start in late 2018 Application process will begin in summer 2018 WANT TO GET INVOLVED? INDIVIDUALS We will need volunteers for both build sites in a variety of roles skilled and general labour including; carpenters, painters, plumbers, electricians, general labourers and clean up crews. We also have a variety of general site support volunteer positions for anyone interested who does not have a particular skill set. If you would like to get involved in any way please contact us to be added to our volunteer database. CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP Do you own or work for a local business which would like to make a difference in your community? You can sign up to get your staff involved in a corporate build day. Donations of funds, materials or services are also welcomed. For more information on individual or corporate volunteering, please contact Sarah Pachkowsky, Community Engagement Manager s.pachkowsky@habitatmvi.org or on 250 758 8078 x 106
ReStore reno in Nanaimo The Nanaimo ReStore, which has been open at its location on Mostar road since 2001 has had a long awaited facelift. The ReStore was closed for two days so the renovations could take place and re-opened to customers on May 1 st. It's brighter, cleaner, uncluttered look was envisioned by staff and volunteers who then put in lots of hard work to make it a reality. Over two days, 47 volunteers put in over 220 hours of labour to complete the renovations, which included a fresh new look with brightly painted walls as well as a neater and more organized retail display. The group included some of our regular volunteers, students from Nanaimo District Secondary School and sweat equity family partner teams. ReStore Manager Dawn McHarg said: "Our staff and volunteers came up with the idea for the renovation after seeing how good the new Duncan ReStore looked. I'm proud of everyone who worked so hard on the renovations. We hope customers like the new, bright store and that the changes will have a positive impact on sales". Did you know: The Nanaimo ReStore was the first ReStore to open in all of British Columbia! Pictured: Some of our amazing volunteers who helped out with the ReStore renovation.
Thank you volunteers! National Volunteer Week (April 15-21) is our chance to celebrate and thank the people who give up their time to help us achieve our aim of providing families with the opportunity of affordable homeownership. Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island has over 300 volunteers registered who have used their skills to help in our two ReStores, in our administration office and on our build sites, with 180 of those actively volunteering in the past 12 months. This year, to show our appreciation to our volunteers, we provided snacks and catered lunches to our volunteers as well as sending a group of volunteers to the special luncheon hosted by Volunteer Nanaimo. Sarah Pachkowsky, Community Engagement Manager for Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island said: "Our volunteers are amazing! They are the backbone of our organization and give thousands of hours of their time every year to help us. We can never thank them enough for their dedication, support and desire to help provide affordable home ownership in our community!" Did you know: We have lots of varied volunteer opportunities including: Build Site Volunteers: construction, carpentry, painting, general labouring, clean-up crews, lunch support. ReStore volunteers: retail sales, stocking shelves, refurbishment of donations, collections and deliveries, admin support, warehouse attendants.
Local team builds family home A group of seven staff, volunteers and board members from Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island and Habitat Vancouver Island North headed to Nicaragua in April where they helped build a home for a local family in need. The build was organised as part of Habitat Canada's Global Village program, which Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island donated $10,000 to last year. This was the first international build Habitat Mid- Vancouver Island had initiated and participated in. Sarah Pachkowsky, Community Engagement Manager at Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island led the team. She said: "As an organization we made a strategic decision to become more involved in Habitat's international efforts. Coming from a developed country we are fortunate to have skills and expertise to offer." The team was involved in building a new home for a family of nine who had been living as squatters, using garbage to fill holes in the home they had put together using found materials. "They now have a small, single room home with solid walls, a roof and doors. It is called a seed home and has been built so that it can be easily extended when the family is able to do so." explained Sarah. It took only nine days for the team, who were joined by staff from the local Nicaraguan Habitat for Humanity, to build the home, minus the roof which was due to be added soon after. For the entire team of volunteers, the trip was an emotional one "Happy tears were shed for and by this family who now have a home which won't be flooded in rainy season. Every one of us who was involved wants to go back and see the family and Habitat Nicaragua staff and see how they are doing." said Sarah. A fundraiser to raise enough money to build another home in Nicaragua will be taking place on July 6th. For more information contact Sarah Pachkowsky on 250 758 8078 or s.pachkowsky@habitatmvi.org About Nicaragua: Capital: Managua Population: 6.1 million Nicaragua has one the highest housing deficits in South America 40.5% of the population live below the poverty line Pictured above: Sarah Pachkowsky with a member of the Nicaraguan Family Opposite: The team hard at work on the home build /projects/international...
in Esteli, Nicaragua... for more information on the Global Village Program
Habitat wins business award Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island was honoured to be recognised at the recent Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce Business Awards. We were declared the winner in the award category of 'Corporate Social Responsibility'. This award recognised Habitat Mid-Vancouver Island as an organisation which excels at corporate citizenship and demonstrates social responsibility within its business model. Rob Hallam, Executive director, said: "We were delighted to be recognised by the Chamber with this award. The Habitat model is based on the 'triple bottom line' philosophy. This means all our decisions take into account social, environmental and financial responsibilities. Our primary mandate is enabling families to have the opportunity of affordable homeownership, which can fundamentally change their future well-being and success. Our ReStore diverts tonnes of household goods and building materials that would have otherwise have gone to the landfill and had a negative impact on the environment. Additionally, we have increased the wages of our ReStore staff so that they are now making a living wage. A key aspect of our business model is that the proceeds from the ReStore sales cover off all of our overhead costs. Therefore 100% of the donations we receive support the business of affordable houses for our Habitat families. Pictured: Board Chair Dave Hitchcock receives award from Philippe Lucas Vice President, Patient Research & Access at Tilray (Award Sponsor) Donating to or Buying from a ReStore? We will pick up free of charge! If you have items you wish to donate to your local ReStore but they are too big or heavy for you to transport them to us yourself, we offer a pick-up service. To schedule a pick up, please contact: Nanaimo ReStore : 250 758 8078 ext 109 Duncan ReStore : 778 455 1888 If you purchase a larger item such as furniture or a refrigerator from our ReStore we will deliver it to your home for a small charge. Just ask a member of staff for more information. How to donate to Habitat for Humanity Mid-Vancouver Island We are a not-for-profit organisation and as such we rely on donations to help us build homes. As well as donations of goods to the ReStore which we can sell, we gladly accept cash donations, contractor donations and Gifts in Kind. Tax deductible monetary donations can be given at either ReStore, by cheque mailed to our office or online via our website. Tax receipts will be issued for any cash donation and for any donated item valued at $100 or more. Contractors or businesses who wish to donate tax deductible goods, services, supplies or equipment can contact Sarah Pachkowsky at 250 758 8078 ext 106.