habitat for humanity april 2009 volunteer newsletter

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: National Volunteer Week 2 UBC Civil Engineers Present Projects to CEO 3 Volunteer Video Debut 3 Be a Fundraiser! 4 Long-time Volunteer Gives His All 4 Calendar of Events 5 Letter from Site Supervisor 5 Volunteer Donates Scholarship 6 This Month on Site 7 New Baby Joins Habitat Family 4 Volunteer News APRIL 2009 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 4 If you would like to volunteer for any of these positions or would like more information, please contact Tanya, Volunteer Coordinator at: 604-681-5618 [email protected] We Need Your Help!!! Construction workers who are comfortable working with volunteers on a unique site to help build on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 5pm. Tradesmen/ instructors, retired/semi- retired home handymen and reno-enthusiasts to be Crew Leaders on our Burnaby build site Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A Crew Leader is someone who can lead groups of unskilled volunteers on site projects, help familiarize them with site tools and techniques and make the on-site experience more comfortable for less-practiced volunteers. Previous knowledge of construction is useful but not essential. Most important is that Crew Leaders have transferable skills from a related field and the patience to help others learn. Site Hosts who can welcome site volunteers, ensure that they sign-in and sign the safety waiver properly, pick up and set out supplies for coffee breaks and lunch and ensure that the site is adequately supplied. Site Hosts work from 8am to 1:30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday at our Burnaby Build Site. Level 2 and 3 OFA First Aid Attendants to fill in when the regular attendant is not on-site. An extra First Aid Attendant is needed every Saturday on our Burnaby build site. Carpenters, electricians, cabinet builders, fixer-uppers for Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday and our Burnaby Build Site Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Floor Helpers to help with shipping and receiving, organizing, pricing and stocking shelves in our Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday. Cashiers/Customer Service Representatives to ring in sales, make change, and help answer customer calls and questions at our Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday. “Habitat gives us an opportunity which is very difficult to find: to reach out and work side by side with those who never have had a decent home—but work with them on a completely equal basis. It’s not a big-shot, little-shot relationship. It’s a sense of equality.” —Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

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Page 1: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

National Volunteer Week

2

UBC Civil Engineers Present Projects to CEO

3

Volunteer Video Debut

3

Be a Fundraiser! 4

Long-time Volunteer Gives His All

4

Calendar of Events

5

Letter from Site Supervisor

5

Volunteer Donates Scholarship

6

This Month on Site

7

New Baby Joins Habitat Family

4

Volunteer News A P R I L 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4

If you would like to volunteer for any of these positions or would like more information, please contact Tanya,

Volunteer Coordinator at:

604-681-5618 [email protected]

We Need Your Help!!! Construction workers who are comfortable working with volunteers on a unique site to help

build on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 8am to 5pm. Tradesmen/

instructors, retired/semi-retired home

handymen and reno-enthusiasts to be Crew Leaders on our Burnaby build site Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A Crew Leader is someone who can lead groups of unskilled volunteers on site projects, help familiarize them with site tools and techniques and make the on-site experience more comfortable for less-practiced volunteers. Previous knowledge of construction is useful but not essential. Most important is that Crew Leaders have transferable skills from a related field and the patience to help others learn.

Site Hosts who can welcome site volunteers, ensure that they sign-in and sign the safety waiver properly, pick up and set out supplies for coffee breaks and lunch and ensure that the site is

adequately supplied. Site Hosts work from 8am to 1:30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday at our Burnaby Build Site.

Level 2 and 3 OFA First Aid Attendants to fill in when the regular attendant is not on-site. An extra First Aid Attendant is needed every

Saturday on our Burnaby build site.

Carpenters, electricians, cabinet builders,

fixer-uppers for Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday and our Burnaby Build Site Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Floor Helpers to help with shipping and receiving, organizing,

pricing and stocking shelves in our Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday.

Cashiers/Customer Service Representatives to ring in sales, make change, and help answer customer calls

and questions at our Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday.

“Habitat gives us an opportunity which is very difficult to find: to reach out and work side by side with those who never have had a decent home—but work with them on a completely equal basis. It’s not a big-shot, little-shot relationship. It’s a sense of equality.” —Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

Page 2: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4 P A G E 2

Happy National Volunteer Week!!

Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver

wants to send a special thank you to all of

its volunteers. People like you who give

from your hearts and help make the

world a better place.

Thank you!!!

Page 3: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4

The collaboration between UBC’s Learning Initiative, UBC Civil Engineering students and Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has come to a successful conclusion with outstanding results.

From January to March of this year, the students have been working on two separate research projects for Habitat.

In early March they presented the fruits of their labour to Anneke Rees, CEO after giving fascinating presentations on what they found.

The first project yielded a report entitled “Designing Greener Houses” and was put together by Derek Lee, Joseph Kim, Niraj Sunuwar, Robinson Bancroft and Mary Jane Howie. The group found ways for Habitat to make its next project more environmentally-friendly than the current one. Some of the things their report covers are alternative energy sources, photovoltaic systems, water conservation and management and alternative

insulation techniques.

The second project included a report called “Site Acquisition and Land-Use for Future Development” and was researched by Manvil Lo, Rocky Yau, Kelvin Chand, Travis Pehlke and Javin Chen. The students outlined ways Habitat could go about getting land for its next project with a special emphasis on the acquisition and development of existing structures for use as social housing.

Anneke was very impressed with the work the students did for us and was grateful for the tips and reminders that the students gave her.

Tanya, Volunteer Coordinator, was proud of

the two groups and all of the hard work they put into their projects. Special thanks to Komiete Tetteh, a UBC Planning student, who helped Tanya lead the groups.

UBC CIVIL ENGINEERS PRESENT RESEARCH TO CEO

Anneke Rees, CEO, accepts final research reports from UBC students in the Vancouver office boardroom.

Habitat Volunteer Goes Hollywood! James Hughes, Habitat Volunteer Recruiting Consultant, will be making his big screen debut at Volunteer Vancouver’s 21st Annual Volunteer Celebration at the Centre in Vancouver on April 30th 2009.

James was approached by Volunteer Vancouver and asked whether he minded appearing in a set of video clips on volunteering that will be shown on the big screen on the big night.

Being the generous soul that he is, he conceded. The shots include James on the Habitat build site.

So, stay tuned and watch out for this rising Habitat star! Break a leg James!

James Hughes has been volunteering for Habitat since September of 2008. He is a recruiter and has been helping Tanya, the Volunteer Coordinator, recruit more skilled labour to the site.

Page 4: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4

Be a Fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity Today in Canada more than 1.3 million families live in substandard housing. Raising funds for Habitat for Humanity is a great way to help us eradicate this national and local crisis.

To help you get started, Habitat for Humanity provides easy-to-use online tools for building a personal fundraising page. Your webpage will help you promote your fundraiser and keep family, friends and any other visitors to your page involved every step of the way.

Here's what you can do with

your fundraising webpage:

*Share the page with friends, family and supporters

*Personalize it with a video and images

*Email your fundraising message and your page

*Track your fundraising results

Here's a handful of suggestions to help you get started or spark ideas for your own original Habitat for Humanity

fundraiser:

*Raise funds for a special event on behalf of Habitat for

Humanity, or start your own event! These could include a bike-athon, walk-athon,

local penny drive, charity formal, bake sale, car wash - let your imagination loose!

*In lieu of a gift for special

occasions like weddings, birthdays, an anniversary, dinner party - any occasion! Send a donation to Habitat for Humanity. Set up your webpage to help raise awareness and support your request.

*Volunteer on an upcoming build. Ask family and friends to support your volunteer efforts by making it a pledge-drive. Build in a goal, post it on your webpage, and try to meet your target!

Visit www.vancouverhabitat.bc.ca to get started today!

WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE HEART OF GOLD Terry McKenzie, a long-time volunteer for Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver, started volunteering on Phase 2. He has been with us ever since putting in sewer lines, water lines, roads, excavation and more. Now, a contractor with his own business specializing in infrastructure, he is working on Phase 5 and 6.

He has a wealth of construction-related knowledge and experience. For the past 40 years, he has been a Construction Superintendent and before that a Construction Foreman.

He holds a Construction Management Degree from Kwantlen College and certifications of competency in Advanced Blueprint reading and estimating from the Amalgamated Construction Association of B.C. He also has various First Aid certificates.

Terry’s dedication to Habitat over the years is admirable. He hopes to help Habitat produce more housing units and get other tradespeople like himself to give back and make a difference by offering their services at a reduced rate, or for free!

Habitat Staff Member Welcomes New Baby Boy! Marvin and Laurie Wingett are proud to announce the birth of their

first son:

Jake William Dennis Wingett

Jake was born on Friday April 9th at 7:49pm at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster. He weighed 8lbs and measured 20

inches long. The proud mom, dad and baby are all happy, healthy and resting at

home. Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver extends its warmest congratulations to one of our dear staff members and his family.

Page 5: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

APRIL 2009

Sun Mo Tue Wed Th Fri Sat

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26 27 28 29 30

MAY 2009 Su Mo Tue Wed Th Fri Sat

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

24/31

25 26 27 28 29 30

Schedule of Events

April 2,3,4—Build Days

April 10—Good Friday—Site closed

April 9, 11—Build Days

April 12,13—Easter

April 15—Volunteer Orientation

April 16, 17, 18—Build Days

April 23,24,25—Build Days

April 30—Build Day

May 1,2—Build Days

May 7,8,9—Build Days

May 14,15,16—Build Days

May 20—Volunteer Orientation

May 21,22,23—Build Days

May 28,29,30—Build Days

V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4 P A G E 5

Hi all,

Spring has sprung and the warm weather has returned. We had a tough winter of building out at the site, but despite lots of snow and temperatures that dropped as low as minus 14 degrees, we have made great progress.

We have completed the installation of the sewer and water service for phase 5 and 6, and the work has been inspected and passed by the City of Burnaby. All of the work on the road has been completed except for the blacktop, which we will install at a later time.

Over the winter volunteers have made good use of the covered work area and framing table that we built at the top of the site. Volunteers have framed all of the exterior wall panels for phase 5 and stored them ready for use. In recent weeks crews have framed all of the laminated beams we will need to install around the stair openings and pre-built all of the interior stair units.

We have installed and compacted the crushed rock pad for the base of the phase 5 foundation and we began work on forming the foundation. The foundation should be complete in the next couple of weeks and then it is full steam ahead to erect the walls and get the roof in place before fall.

Well done you guys.

Happy National Volunteer Week. I hope you’ll come out and join us!

Terry.

Terry, Site Supervisor, overseeing Operations in the site office.

Site Supervisor Appreciates All Your Help

Page 6: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

P A G E 6 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4

High School Volunteer Wins Award for Work at Habitat Victoria Lee has been volunteering for Habitat since last summer and has been a huge proponent of the work Habitat does at her school, Collingwood High School in West Vancouver.

She recently won a $200 Violet Richardson Award from the Soroptimists and has generously decided to give it to us.

The Violet Richardson Award is a recognition program for young women ages 14-17 engaged in volunteer action within their communities or schools.

The Violet Richardson Award is given to young women whose volunteer activities make the community and world a better place. The award is in honour of the president of the first Soroptimist club, Violet Richardson, a woman of action, whose indomitable spirit and sense of personal responsibility were demonstrated by her lifelong commitment to volunteering in her community.

All awards are given for activities conducted on a volunteer basis.

Volunteer projects can include, but are not limited to, projects that address social problems such as homelessness, violence, drug abuse, unemployment, illiteracy, discrimination, AIDS, and pollution. Projects may assist any group including the elderly, the disabled, and mentally or emotionally challenged groups.

Projects that benefit women or girls are especially valued. Topics can include, but are not limited to mentoring, sexual harassment, sexual decision-making, teen parenting, careers, finances and any other projects that specifically benefit women, young women or girls.

This award is based solely on her volunteer work. This award is an opportunity to honor a girl who might not otherwise receive recognition. She may not be the best student, the best athlete, or the most popular girl in school, but she is committed to making the world a better place.

We sat down with this inspiring 17-year-old and asked her why she is so dedicated to Habitat for Humanity.

Why did you decide to start volunteering for Habitat?

While passion for helping and sharing with others has been with me since I was young and the three-week journey to India 2 years ago was the turning point of my volunteering life.

I stayed in Anandwan, a small village of outcasts in India, where I witnessed many wonders of life and redefined my volunteerism.

When I came back to Canada, I wanted to do something worthwhile in my own way, making volunteering an integral part of my life, not an annual or special occasion that I could only perform

especially six thousand miles away.

Thus, I researched for more ways to volunteer locally, in addition to visiting a local elderly home and teaching dance to younger students at school.

As I wanted to give other students the same opportunity as my India trip has bestowed upon me, I created a volunteer group called 'Home Ground First’ at school. Coincidentally, a recent newspaper report confirming an increase of 300% in homelessness in my area raised an even greater urge in my heart to employ a hands-on volunteering approach.

Why did you decide to donate your scholarship award money to us?

Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has given the Home Ground First participants and me so many opportunities to learn not only about construction process but also about the world outside of school. We met new people, acquired new skills and chances to apply our knowledge beyond textbook.

We are grateful for the

organization’s help throughout the year and this donation is one of many ways to express our gratitude. We hope that the Home Ground First’s contribution has aided the organization.

What are your plans for the future?

My post-secondary aspiration is to be a broadcast journalist in a proactive role, advocating for the balance of our economically bipolar world.

An alternative career path I have contemplated is that of a valuable United Nations official, those so often hidden from the public eye, standing up for the underprivileged and disadvantaged.

Whichever path I embark, I will continue to volunteer, helping those in needs, both locally and internationally.

Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver would like to thank Victoria and her school for all the help they’ve given us over the past year.

Victoria’s work, leadership skills and philanthropy are to be admired. Thank you!

Don’t forget to join our group on Facebook! Just search Habitat for

Humanity Greater Vancouver and click to join. It’s easy, quick and a great way to stay in touch and keep updated on what’s going on at Habitat. See you there!

Victoria Lee (centre) and her mother, Sophia Choi (left), pose alongside Soroptimist co-ordinator Bonnie McLaren at the So-roptomist International awards dinner (photo courtesy of North Shore News)

Page 7: Habitat for Humanity April 2009 Volunteer Newsletter

P A G E 7 V O L U M E 2 I S S U E 4

THIS MONTH ON OUR BUILD S ITE

Special Thanks to Harvey McKinnon Associates and

Investors Group!