Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver

7977 Enterprise Street, Burnaby BC V5A 1V5 NEW ADDRESS!

604-681-5618 | communications@habitatgv.ca
habitatgv.ca

ReStore locations
2475 Douglas Road, Burnaby
OPEN IN FEBRUARY! 7977 Enterprise Street, Burnaby
126 Harbour Avenue, North Vancouver
69 West 69th Avenue, Vancouver

the blueprint

20142015 Fall/Winter Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

OUR MISSION
To mobilize volunteers and
community partners in building
affordable housing and promoting
homeownership as a means to
breaking the cycle of poverty.

It is with complete amazement that we send an

overwhelmingly well-deserved thank you to our
incredible volunteers and community partners. It
is because of your talent, muscle and support that
Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver was able
to achieve so much this year. The year has been
overflowing with incredible accomplishments that
would not have been possible without the ongoing
partnerships of our community. Our mission to
promote homeownership as a means to end the cycle
of poverty is only achievable through meaningful
and mutually beneficial partnerships with others.
Wishing you and your families a very happy holiday
season and a New Year of peace, joy and prosperity.
CEO Tim Clark (left) and CTVs Norma Reid.

Tim Clark
CEO

ABOUT US
Habitat for Humanity Greater
Vancouver
helps
move
modest-income families from
uncertain rental situations into
Habitat homes they own and
can affordgiving Partner
Families a hand up and not a
hand out towards their dreams
of a safe community and
homeownership. Habitat for
Humanity Greater Vancouver
helps families in need from
Langley to Squamish.
Left: Jillian Harris and friend at the Women Build launch; right: Team Ambleside Environmental.
Power Women Power Tools is powered by P&G. Photography by Scott Robarts.

HOW WE DO OUR WORK

FIRST ANNUAL WOMEN BUILD

We rely on the generosity of

our community partners and
volunteers to build our homes
and staff our ReStore operations.
What is ReStore? ReStore is a
store that sells donated new
and gently-used home dcor
and building supplies at 50 to
80% off retail. All revenue from
our Greater Vancouver ReStore
locations covers Habitat Greater
Vancouvers operational costs
and contributes to building
more Habitat homes in the local
community.

November 18th marked the launch of our

first annual Women Build campaign, Power
Women Power Tools. After months of
planning, the evening was a great success.
Many thanks to those who came to support
the work we do and our initiative: to rally
400 women to help build twelve homes over
ten days on our Richmond build site come
spring 2015. Over 200 guests and media
personalities filled the Pacific Ballroom at
The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, allowing us
to showcase our upcoming build and how we
create communities, one home at a time.

here in Greater Vancouver. Our goal? To raise

$500,000, and put it towards building more
Habitat homes for our Partner Families. With
the support of our Women Build ambassadors
(Premier Christy Clark, the Honourable
Linda Reid (MLA, Speaker of the House), Jill
Schnarr, Jillian Harris, Jan Rice, Norma Reid,
Monica Moretto, Dianne Watts, Fiona Forbes,
Kerry Sauriol and Jill Amery), we are confident
we will reach our fundraising target. To date,
we have raised over $145,000 with the generous
support of sponsors, community partners,
donors and 27 participants who have each
committed to raising over $2,500 each, making
them official Pink Hard Hat Club members.

Women Build puts women at the forefront

of social change and charitable giving right

To join the Women Build movement visit

habitatgv.ca.

Building Homes. Building Hope.

habitatgv.ca

the blueprint

the blueprint

RICHMOND BUILD UPDATE

HABITAT GIVES BACK TO THE COMMUNITY

The Women Build launch offered us the opportunity to showcase

the architectural and landscape renderings of our Richmond
build site. This build is a new model for Habitat for Humanity.
We are constructing six homes, each with its own rental suite.
It is a design unique to Greater Vancouver, as we address the
extremely expensive housing market in our city. Twelve families
will benefit from our efforts, as we create a housing complex built
as a community, to create a community. We anticipate breaking
ground in early 2015, and will invite our 400 Power Women
(and Men) to build in the spring. Together, we are bringing
homeownership and hope to local families.

Since August 2013, Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has

partnered with the YMCA Summer Exchange and Youth Skills at
Work Programs, Experience Education and the Vancouver School
Board to provide work experience placements for twenty-six
students. Youth ages sixteen to thirty work in our society office, as
well as in our ReStores, to learn valuable skill sets. To date, we have
had the pleasure of hiring four of our interns, as we continue to
work alongside our community partners in offering employment
experiences locally.
GivingTuesday sale at the Vancouver ReStore.

Interested in building as a corporate sponsor and give your

staff a team-building experience? Contact Stephani Samaridis
at funddevelopment@habitatgv.ca or call 604-681-5618.
For updates on the Richmond build site, visit habitatgv.ca.

While Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicked off the holiday
shopping frenzy, GivingTuesday opened the season of giving on
December 2nd. In support of this international campaign of giving
back, we threw a big sale at all three of our ReStore locations
(from Dec 24) and called it the Three Days of GivingTuesday.
All stock was 35% off.
Thanks to the support of Shaw TVs Fiona Forbes and community
members, our stores were buzzing and we experienced a 30%
increase in sales, all of which will go towards funding our
operations and building more homes, faster.

Top right: Guest taking in the Richmond site plans at the Women Build launch; right:
architectural renderings of our Richmond build site with work generously donated
by Abbarch Architecture Inc. and PWL Partnerships.

Left: Shaw TVs go! Vancouver Dunia Tozy at our North Vancouver ReStore in
October 2014; right: CEO Tim Clark (left) with host Dunia Tozy.

ReStore: ReTHINK WHERE YOU SHOP

ReStores are Habitats social enterprise arm; they sell donated
new and gently-used home dcor items and building supplies at
50 to 80% off retail. Think furniture, bathroom fixtures, kitchen
appliancesto flooring, lumber and everything in between.
ReStores are Vancouvers hidden gem. All revenue from our
ReStore sales covers Habitats operational costs, and contributes
to building local homes in our community. Visit one of our three
locations in Greater Vancouver, and everyone wins!
Shop, donate, recycle or volunteer at the ReStore closest to you.
For hours, locations and what we accept, visit habitatgv.ca.
A Habitat Partner Family in front of new home.

Partner Family children at playground in Burnaby. To date, we have housed 45

children through our home builds.

HOW WE PICK OUR PARTNER FAMILIES

Before every build, we ask you, our community members, to
reach out to your network of neighbours, colleagues, friends
and familyto let us know of any deserving families in need of
decent, safe and affordable housing. From there, we get potential
candidates to complete a pre-screening form, and then, if eligible,
a full application (for full details see habitatgv.ca). Successful
families will be pre-qualified, asked to attend homeownership
workshops and then fulfill 500 sweat equity volunteer hours
at Habitat events, our ReStores or on our build sitepayment
towards the building of their own home. These are our Habitat
Partner Families.
The Habitat homeownership model is simple. We remove families
from uncertain rental situations where 50 to 70 percent of their
income often goes to shelter costs, and provide them with stable
safe homes. Their monthly interest-free mortgage payments are
fixed at 30 percent of their household income, indexed annually,
giving families hope and security while allowing them to save
and build upon their own successes.

habitatgv.ca

This year a Partner Family moved out of a Habitat home and into
the traditional mortgage system. As a Habitat Partner Family,
mortgage payments are banked as equity, and upon moving
out, are given back to the family to invest in their future. That
home then comes back to Habitat, allowing us to house another
deserving family and continue to give a hand up and not a hand
out to those in need.
Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver currently provides
safe and affordable homes to thirty-one families in Burnaby
and Vancouverwith forty-five children on a path to succeed
in life. In 2015, our Richmond homes will welcome twelve more
Partner Families to our Habitat family.
We are currently accepting family applications. If you or
someone you know would benefit from a Habitat home, please
fill out a pre-screening form at habitatgv.ca.

Top: Vancouver ReStore; bottom: Nissan Foundation Canada taking part in a team
building experience at our ReStore.

Big news on the ReStore front! In early 2015 we are opening our
fourth ReStore location in Burnaby at 7977 Enterprise Street.
This will also be the new home of our societys office and our
distribution centre. The latter will help to streamline our business
model and expand our ReStore operations. We are adding new
departments to our ReStores and will be accepting sporting goods,
entertainment equipment, music, gardening, pet, housewares and
book items. With more space, we will kindly accept your donations
with open arms!
ReStores are environmentally friendly. Our locations divert over
600 tonnes of useable material per store from our landfills every
year. Recently, we partnered with ContainerWest, who has kindly
donated the use of its containers at three Greater Vancouver
transfer stations. This green initiative will reduce waste in our
landfills and inform the public at large that recyclable products
can be donated and sold at our ReStores rather than thrown away.
In the same vein, ReStores recycle anything metal. They will also
come and pick up salvaged items (in good condition) from your
latest renovations.
Stay tuned for more information on our upcoming environmental
programs by visiting habitatgv.ca.

Avoid the landfill and bring your metal items to our ReStores for recycling.

habitatgv.ca

the blueprint
HABITAT CELEBRATES VOLUNTEERS
As a mainly volunteer-run organization, we owe much of our success
to our volunteers! On October 6th, World Habitat Day, we celebrated
those who have made our homes, ReStores and events possible.
Since we began in 1995, our volunteers have banked over 65,000
hours. Thats the equivalent of 31 annual full-time employees.
No wonder we are so appreciative! With over 670 dedicated
individuals in our roster of community partners and time-givers,
we thank you. You are integral in our ReStores and at our latest
event, the Women Build launch. You also contribute to our trade
shows at BUILDEX, BUILDEX Express, BC Home + Garden
Show and Vancouver Home + Design Show.
Interested in volunteering on our build site, at our ReStores or
Habitat events? Sign up at habitatgv.ca.

Top: Celebrating our volunteers on World Habitat Day, October 6, 2014.

GET INVOLVED!
Looking to give back to your community? Look no further.
Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has many ways you
can get involved:
Donate or recycle your home dcor, building supplies, metal
and renovation items to our ReStores
Volunteer with Habitat!
Become a Good Neighbour and donate monthly to our cause
RUN4HOPE on behalf of Habitat for Humanity Greater
Vancouver, a National Charity, for BMO Vancouver Marathon
in May 2015

Top: Media and design personalities (including Norma Reid, Tamara Taggart,
Johanna Ward, Barbara Matson, Kelsey Klassen, Kelsey Dundon, Christine Friend,
Jennifer Scott and Jamie Banfield) upcycled a ReStore chair for auction at the
Vancouver Home + Design Show (VHDS). A big thanks to Marketplace Events for its
ticket promotion and for supporting our third annual upcycling challenge.

Donate to Habitat and get AIR MILES for your good deed

CALL US

Use your mobile and text HOMES to 20222 and donate to

your closest Habitat affiliate

604-681-5618

Organize your team and Sponsor a Build Day on our build site

TWEET US
@HabitatVan

We are ever grateful for the ongoing support of so many

individuals, organizations and community partners throughout
the year. THANK YOU!

FACEBOOK US
facebook.com/HabitatVan

SHOP/DONATE
2475 Douglas St., Burnaby
7977 Enterprise St., Burnaby - 2015!
126 Harbour Ave., North Van
69 West 69th Ave., Vancouver

VOLUNTEER
Build sites
Events and trade shows
ReStores
Corporate Sponsor a Build Day on our Burnaby build site. To join our Richmond
build, contact Stephani Samaridis at funddevelopment@habitatgv.ca.

habitatgv.ca

Christine Friends upcycled chair.

Building Homes. Building Hope.