Serving Families in Multiple Ways

As we celebrate our 10~20~30 milestones this year, (10 years ReStore in Camrose, 20 Habitat in Camrose, building our 29th & 30th homes) we also celebrate the ways we serve families in the community.

1. Affordable Home Ownership

We all want strength, stability and self-reliance for our families.  Habitat’s Affordable Home Ownership program empowers families to take care of themselves and build their own brighter futures by owning their own home.

Having a safe and secure place to live benefits everyone in the family and community.

Moving into a Habitat home can happen in two ways:

Moving in to a new home – This is normally what people think about when they think ‘Habitat.’ Along with numerous volunteers and contractors, families help directly in the construction of their home. Upon completion, a home dedication ceremony is held and the keys to the home are passed on to the family.

Christina and son Kaden in their new home.

In its 20 years in the community, Habitat Camrose has served 30 families the keys to new Habitat homes. An average of 2 families per year.

Moving in to a refurbished home – The purpose behind the Habitat program is to be able to give a family a hand up through home ownership, so that they can build equity in their homes and move on to another home and a traditional mortgage. When families are able to accomplish this, the Habitat homes are refurbished and serve a new Habitat partner family, who then sign a mortgage with Habitat Camrose.

 

2. International Work ~ Home for a Home – Habitat for Humanity has always supported international work.  In 2015 Habitat Canada officially launched the Home for Home model of tithing in Canada. The goal is to generate $2500 for every home built locally to support the construction of a home internationally.  You can read about the results of our international work in the 2015 Impact Report included in this newsletter.

Habitat Camrose has tithed for 30 homes internationally over our 20 years in Camrose.

Camrosian, Barry Stotts, participates in a Habitat Global Village trip to Guatemala.

In 2016 we celebrate with the community the milestones that Habitat has made in Camrose.  We celebrate you, the volunteers, donors, contractors, and those that attend our fundraising events.  All of you make Habitat possible in Camrose. And most of all, we celebrate with you the difference we have been able to make in the lives of families in our community.

We thank you for your ongoing support.

 

Cody McCarroll

Executive Director

Habitat for Humanity Camrose

Volunteering on the Habitat Build Site

Individuals, groups or businesses can all be involved in the Habitat build.  It’s an exciting time to work alongside Partner Families building a future for a family and a better community in the process.

INDIVIDUALS

As an individual, volunteering on the build site is an excellent way to share the skills you already have or learn new ones and learn about the build process.  If you have time to volunteer one day, one week, or multiple days, we welcome you!  We especially encourage individuals who can volunteer on a consistent basis (ie. 2 hours every Monday afternoon, or a full day every Wednesday). Our timeline is reasonably flexible to fit yours to make it the easiest for everyone involved.  If this sounds interesting to you and you’re excited to learn and share, we would love to hear from you!

ADOPT-A-DAY

Adopt-A-Day is a unique teambuilding opportunity for businesses or groups to participate in a project that builds a longlasting solution to poverty in our community.  Teams will work hands-on building homes for hardworking local families while covering some of the costs for the day.

Work alongside the Partner Families

 Your business, church group, or service club can strengthen bonds, share their knowledge, and learn new skills together while giving back to the community.

Adopt-A-Day is an investment in Habitat for Humanity, your team, and your community.  Together we will empower deserving families to prepare for the future and pursue their dreams by giving them a ‘hand up’ into the safety and security of home ownership.

2010 Partner Family

For more information contact us at 780.679.0369 or info@habitatcamrose.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

By supporting the ReStore, YOU help to BUILD HOMES!

Here in Camrose and throughout Canada, Habitat ReStores strive to help build safe, secure and affordable homes for families in need.  The Camrose ReStore began in an unheated warehouse in 2004 and the current building was constructed in 2006, both by volunteers and generous community individuals and business partners.

 

How does ReStore translate into homes for hardworking families?

ReStores are retail stores that are open to the public. Every product we sell is donated. These donations range from building materials, furniture, appliances, and other home products. These items are sold to generate funds to support Habitat for Humanity building programs.

Each and every item in the ReStore is a donation from individuals, schools, and local small businesses, as well as from major donors like Home Depot and All Weather Windows. Local retailers often have high quality items that can no longer be sold in store.  Individuals are frequently upgrading, renovating, and changing items in their homes. Contractors are always constructing and deconstructing and are left with very usable leftover materials.

Each and every item in the ReStore is a donation. Most from individuals like you.

 

Major corporate donors also help ReStore raise money to build homes.

 

The profits generated by selling these items are put into a fund used to finance local Habitat for Humanity builds. Donating to ReStore not only substantially reduces waste going to the landfill, it helps to build homes for hardworking families in need in our community!

How your donations help to build homes.

What about operating costs?

Charities, like any other organization, incur administrative fees to keep them running. So besides raising money to fund local builds, revenue from items you donate to the Camrose ReStore covers 100% of Habitat Camrose’s administration costs. As a result, 100% of every dollar raised by Habitat Camrose through other means, such as individual and corporate giving, can go directly towards our local builds and provide more families in Camrose with safe, decent and affordable housing.

What does this mean for you and your community?

The Habitat Camrose ReStore continues to grow because of tremendous support from donors, customers, and volunteers. It continues to play a huge part in the ability for Habitat Camrose to keep on building homes and changing the lives of hardworking families from year to year.

2015 partner family Azeneth and Jomer (Noah) Garcia with Habitat Board President Mark Schneider.

        What can you do?

Each time you donate, make a purchase, or volunteer, you are opening the door to a brighter future for a hardworking family.

To SHOP ReStore come visit us at 5007 – 46 St Camrose, Tuesday – Saturday, 10:00am – 6:00pm.

To DONATE bring your items to the ReStore or call us for pickup 780.672.4484.

To VOLUNTEER call us at 780.672.4484 or stop by the store.

To make a monetary donation follow the link or call 780.679.0369.

 

 

 

Safe and secure homes for children benefit everyone in the community.

 

Quilt Raffle: Local Volunteer Donates Time & Craftsmanship to Raise Money for Habitat

My name is Susan Paterson.  I have been living in Camrose and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity Camrose ReStore for 2 years.  My passion is quilting and machine embroidery.

I decided that I needed to combine my passion for quilting and my work with Habitat into a fundraiser for this wonderful cause.  THIS QUILT IS THE RESULT.

To help me with this project I approached Ardele Kerr, owner/operator or the local quilting store, Quilting from the Heart.  She readily agreed to assist me and donated the time and craftmanship with her longarm quilting.

On the back of the quilt you will see a square with a dedication on it.  This quilt is dedicated to Kari Clements Bell, who was a friend of Ardele’s and also the first recipient of a Habitat home in Camrose.  Kari passed away in 2012 from cancer.

 

BUY A TICKET FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!  Quilt is 6′ x 7′ in size.   All proceeds to Habitat Camrose.

Tickets will be available until Nov 30.  Draw date Monday, Dec 1, 2014, 5:00pm at the Camrose ReStore

Tickets available in Camrose’s beautiful downtown at:

Camrose ReStore   5007 – 46 St

Crafty Crafters 4712 – 52 Ave (by Fox Tae Kwon Do)

Wisemen’s Way  5028 – 50 St

Treasures  4912 – 50 St

The Sewing Centre  4944 – 50 St

and Quilting from the Heart   5710 – 48Ave  (on the main drag by House of Thunder).

 

The quilt is displayed at QUILTING FROM THE HEART.  Feel free to stop by and have a look!

Special thanks to Susan Paterson and Ardele Kerr for their time donated to this quilt and to the mission of Habitat for Humanity.

 

Highlights From Our First Womens Build

In the days leading up to Mother’s Day, local women volunteers from Camrose and surrounding areas were using paintbrushes on a Habitat for Humanity Camrose painting site to bring awareness to the issue of women and children poverty in Alberta.This year, with much laughter and camaraderie, local women contributed to the 25^th and 26^th Habitat homes in Camrose by working together painting the doors, trim and baseboards for both homes.Women Build is about empowerment, encouragement, togetherness and inspiring one another, celebrating the strengths and contributions of women in Camrose. Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program recruits, educates and encourages women to come together to build homes, which in turn help families break the cycle of poverty and create a stronger local community.

The Mother’s Day timeframe is significant as families with children make up a staggering number of those in need of adequate housing.  Although we live in one of the wealthiest provinces in Canada, 11.3% of children in Alberta live in poverty (73,000).  Women in general and single mothers in particular are especially vulnerable to poverty and it is estimated that poverty costs Alberta $7.1 – $9.5 billion every year.

We profiled many of our wonderful volunteers on our Facebook page leading up to the event. We’ve linked to the posts here so you can learn more about why they’ve chosen to become Hope Builders with us. If you’re on Facebook, be sure to Like us to get the latest updates from our community of dedicated volunteers.

 

Building Hope With Cargill

Cargill Employees Thomas Mauthe, Heather Fleck and Nathan Hildebrandt spent the day building the fence and retaining wall for the Habitat for Humanity Home being built in North East Camrose.

May 21st marked the 64th day since breaking ground on this year’s Habitat home. 64 days since ground break means many people and 397.75 volunteer hours of dedicated time and effort to build a duplex in northeast Camrose for two very deserving families.

This sunny Wednesday also marked a Build Day for Cargill employees Thomas Mauthe, Heather Fleck, and Nathan Hildebrandt, who volunteered time with Habitat by building a fence and retaining wall for the property. Build Days are days where companies or groups of individuals plan to be on site for all or part of a day, or help with a specific project. Habitat Camrose hosts numerous Build Days throughout the summer ranging from women only days to companies such as Cargill sending out employees to assist with a project.

Family Profile – The Carroll Family

Between the busy construction season, all the activity at the ReStore and the fundraising activities, it can be easy to forget about why Habitat Camrose exists in the first place. We recently sat down with the Carrolls, one of our latest Habitat families, and asked them about what partnering with Habitat has been like for them.

How did you come to apply for a Habitat home?

MacKenzie Carroll: I found out from neighbors that they got a Habitat house. After you know, days and days of asking them questions, and then weeks of thinking about it, I finally went and applied for a Habitat house. I was actually really, really scared to do it because, well, what if they don’t call me back, what if, what if, what if? And then I decided just do it. The worst they can say is no. And they didn’t say no! They said yes.

Tyson Carroll: And Habitat offers a certain level of stability, so we don’t have to worry. Realistically, we have four kids. We’d have to have at least a three-bedroom house. And that’s expensive. And if we’re putting that much money into renting a house, we might as well just buy a house and put that money to actually owning it.

MC: Why rent when you can buy?

TC: We’ve had a lot of bad experiences renting. If you have a maintenance issue, it often takes them awhile to get around to you if it’s not a priority. There’s also a certain level of judgment that comes from them [landlords] too about normal children wear and tear.

 

How long have you been in Camrose?

MC: Four years. Actually we were homeless for a weekend. We were living in Tofield, and we couldn’t keep up with the rent. One thing led to another, we became homeless for a weekend. That Monday we got a place here in Camrose.

TC: The nice thing with Habitat, they’ve been pushing us to be responsible financially. The credit courses we took through them really opened our eyes as to how much money we had coming in and how much we were wasting on frivolous things. We’ve had to actually really look at our debt. We’ve spent the last eight months working extra shifts, budgeting everything to the last detail. We’re doing exceptionally well.

TC: This past Monday actually, we paid off one of our student loans that’s been around for…

MC: Ten years!

2014 Partner Family – the Carroll family

 

What are you guys hoping for the future through being involved with the Habitat? 

MC: Well we’re looking at doing more volunteering. We really enjoy it, we enjoy the people, and we see them even outside of the ReStore. Now we really want to give back to them even more and volunteer even after our house is done.

TC: Yeah, helping other homeowners in the future, absolutely, building roots like that in the community.

 

Do you have any future goals that you’re looking forward to in terms of your family?

TC: The girls are definitely excited to have their own individuality in their rooms. With the financial education we received, that gives us a little more freedom to do things with them like go on trips. I’m actually going to be finally going back to school because we couldn’t afford it before. It gives us a little more perspective on what our future could be. It’s all on us, which is nice. It gives us that freedom of responsibility.

 

What’s the best thing about getting a Habitat house?

MC: One of the best things about getting a Habitat house is it gives you hope for the future. Because living in like say, just an apartment, it feels like you’re stagnant, you’re not building your future, your future is just there and that’s it. But with a house, with your own house, with a Habitat house, it feels like you’re actually going somewhere.

TC: It’s sort of like you’re being gifted a future. It’s actually something that’s going to come along that’s great, and it’s just going to keep getting better.

 

MacKenzie and Tyson Carroll were interviewed by Brenda Murdock, Habitat Camrose’s Project and Volunteer Coordinator. 

Interview transcription by Kelly Milne.

4 Ways to Volunteer with Habitat Camrose

Volunteer Week is a time to celebrate all of the great volunteers that we have in our community. This year’s celebration takes place April 6-13th and it’s a great time to get involved. We’ll be hosting a Volunteer Appreciation BBQ on April 12th at the ReStore to celebrate our many dedicated volunteers. Whether you’ve volunteered with us for years or a day, come down to the ReStore so we can say thanks for everyone’s hard work.  If you’re thinking about volunteering with Habitat and aren’t sure how to get started, there are a number of ways to do it.

Here four ways that you can volunteer with Habitat:

1. ReStore

If you are looking for a volunteer position that is engaging, fun and flexible to your timeline, you’ve come to the right place. The ReStore can always use you! There are a variety of jobs available; cashier, sales assistants, assembly & repair, cleaning & sorting, pickups, and special projects. You don’t need any retail experience to join this fun-loving community of volunteers.

2. The Build

Whether or not you feel that you have enough experience in construction, we can put you to work. We operate as a team so there is always someone there to coach you through what you don’t know. A flexible schedule is always helpful when it comes to working on the builds, as timelines can shift due to weather and production changes. If you’re interested in volunteering on a build, there are a couple of ways to do it:

INDIVIDUALS

Cargill Volunteers on the 2013 Build

Sign up as an individual to help on the builds. If you have a particular construction skill that you want to put to use, let us know and we will find the right spot for you. If you don’t and are still looking to help out, we have leaders that can show you how.

CORPORATE/GROUP TEAM BUILDING

If your office needs some inspiration, bring your group together and make a difference in your community by having a Team Building Day on the Habitat Build site. We can accommodate small to large sized groups and you can tailor your day to what your team needs.

WOMEN’s BUILD

2014 will mark the first ever Women’s Build in Camrose! The Women’s Build is about empowerment, encouragement, togetherness, and inspiring each other, while changing the community. Sign up to meet, inspire, and be inspired, by local women in our community.

3. Youth

Students looking for valuable work experience and hours of community service that potential employers will look favourably upon need look no further than Habitat Camrose. We have a variety of positions that can help you build your skills, from working on the build site to education and promotions. Students must be a minimum of 16 years to work on the build site.

4. Global Village

Volunteer internationally to build decent, affordable shelter alongside members of the community in the country you visit. Each year people from Camrose have opportunity to join a group building homes in Africa, Asia and South America.

For more information on how to get involved, contact Habitat Camrose at 780.672.4484, email us hfhc@habitatcamrose.com, or drop by the ReStore 5007-46 St Camrose.

– Brenda

Brenda is the volunteer and project coordinator for Habitat Camrose.

Breaking New Ground – Why We Celebrate

It is that time of year again. The birds are singing, the snow is melting and Habitat for Humanity’s is getting ready for the spring building season with a groundbreaking ceremony!

For Habitat, the ground breaking is an opportunity to get excited, celebrate, give thanks, and reflect on what having a place to call home means to a family. We are excited that we are fortunate enough to be able to build another home in this community. We celebrate our ability to come together as a community to provide better futures for our members. We give thanks to the volunteers and community partners (from those that shop at the ReStore to major business partners) that help to make all of this possible. And we hear from the families. By partnering with Habitat for their home, families receive stability, safety, and a chance for a better future. Habitat homes symbolize opportunities that they did not have before.

2014 Partner Family Ken Dzus and Courtney Moore.

The children of the Carroll family overlook the building site.

A community comes together to build a home

2014 Partner Family – the Carroll family

2014 Habitat Building Site

Mackenzie and Angela Carroll meet Mayor Norm Mayer

 

The ReStore: Camrose’s Hidden Treasure

Camrose offers many services to its citizens and we at the Restore count ourselves among one of those valued conveniences. Not only does the Restore offer a variety of new and used building materials, furniture and appliances, but we also accept these items as donations. Here at 5007-46th Street in Camrose, we can help you find what you are looking for and take your unneeded belongings and resell them to raise money for Habitat Camrose.