International Women's Day at Habitat

On a whim, we sent an email to a few friends and family in February to see if anyone would be interested in playing hooky from work and doing a Build Day on our Mission site on International Women’s Day. We wanted to honour the women who, as our Partner Families, will be moving into our new homes in the spring.

We were thrilled with the immediate positive response and even more blown away by everyone’s commitment to fundraise. Within a short time (and with some friendship rivalries and bragging rights on the line) they raised over $11,000!!

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Donna was excited to have something to focus on (other than COVID), Sam was eager to give back, Kirsty loves wielding tools, Lisa had a Habitat Build Day on her bucket list and Andraya recently became her own boss and writes her own rules (lucky for us, she is incorporating more volunteer days!).

With strict COVID protocols in place, they built kitchen cabinets, installed door hardware, and painted trim. Most importantly, two of our partner families joined our mighty workforce for the day.

When I showed up here today, I was in complete shock
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Naomi is a single mom of two young children who found herself driving down the same road two years ago with her children and her belongings, not knowing where she was going to go. She courageously shared part of her journey with our group and later said, “I really wanted everyone to know how important this home is to me and my children just as I know how important it is to the other families. It is not easy starting over from scratch and it’s hard to reach out and ask for help. I really do feel truly blessed that there are organizations like Habitat around to help support families in laying down some roots and a foundation that can create freedom and opportunity for generations to come.“ March 8 was only the beginning of something bigger. In May, we are hosting Women Build, presented by Turner Construction: a safe and unique way to come together while we have been staying apart. Women from all walks of life (and in other affiliates across the country) will be joining together to pick up a hammer and help change lives. Participation requires a minimum $250 contribution (you can either fundraise or self-donate), and you will receive a rewarding day of labour with complimentary snacks, lunch, t-shirt, and joyous camaraderie. You or your donors will further benefit from a tax receipt.

Each Build Day accommodates a maximum of 16 volunteers and positions are filled on a first come basis. Learn more or register at www.habitatgv.ca/womenbuild2021

It is amazing to see what can happen when women gather together to make change!

HUGE thanks to our first POWER WOMEN of 2021.

Thanks for being #changemakers

A special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Turner Construction. To our Power Women Sponsors CBRE and Shaw Inc. Also our logistics partners Watson Gloves and Refined Interiors + Co.

Joe Norman