As the current Habitat for Humanity build inches closer to completion, The Co-operators General Insurance Company is donating not only money over the next three years, but also committing 300 volunteer days toward the project.
On Wednesday, about 12 employees of The Co-operators spent one of their Build Days at the site on Cityview Drive South, contributing to Phase 1 and 2 of the build, which is scheduled to house 20 families by the end of the year.
A three-year, $75,000 commitment was made Wednesday during a door-hanging ceremony at the Cityview Vilage build sit by Lisa Guglietti, executive VP and Chief Operating Officer of P&C Manufacturing at Co-operators.
In addition to participating in seven Build Days, The Co-operators offers employees two paid volunteer days every year to work on charitable projects in the community. The company is committing 100 of those days each year for the next three years toward Habitat projects.
“They can come and volunteer in projects just like this,” said Guglietti “They have their choice of where they want to spend their time within the community.”
Organizations, companies and individuals in the community can purchase a Build Day Experience, which allows up to 12 members to come on to the job site and contribute to the construction.
Employees get a taste of the Habitat experience during the company’s Build Days, said Guglietti.
“They get to come with their teammates and experience something that is exciting and new. Once they get a bit of a taste of what it’s like to work in a Habitat volunteer program, we have more than enough people willing to participate,” she said.
Steve Howard, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, said the volunteer hours will be put to good use, as the project faces a busy few months before the first two phases are ready for new homeowners.
The two buildings that make up Phases 1 and 2 are framed and roofed and much of the work is now focused on finishing off the 20 units.
“We are coming into the home stretch and will move forward to completion. It’s been a journey to get here, but it’s well under way and it’s looking very good,” said Howard.
Wednesday’s door-hanging ceremony celebrated the contribution by The Co-operators. Howard said there will be a key ceremony when the families are ready to move in.
“It’s a tradition within Habitat. The key is really the signal that the family has committed its 500 hours of sweat equity — which is a part of the bargain — and that the home is ready for the family and the family is ready for the home. The front door, the key are really the ceremonial aspects of what we do,” said Howard.
Phase 1 of Cityview Village is a 12-unit town home with a mix of single units as well as 2 and 3-bedroom units.
Qualifying families will be supported with a no interest, no down payment mortgage. To qualify, the families must be in need of affordable housing and able to pay a modest mortgage, as well as being willing to volunteer 500 'sweat equity' hours.
Some families have been accepted already for the units, but Howard said some interviews are still being conducted.
Although Habitat uses professionals for aspects of the construction like roofing, mechanicals and infrastructure, Howard said much of the interior work is volunteer-driven.
“We will go right in to the end of November. We hope to have the families in for December,” he said.
Drywall will soon cover inspirational messages left by Build Day volunteers on the framing studs inside the buildings.
The two buildings have been laid out to accommodate a number of different kinds of families.
“We are supporting a broad spectrum of families — when we use the word — of seniors, special needs and single and dual parent families,” noted Howard.
Lower units will have three-bedroom units to accommodate larger families with children, main floor units are intended for seniors and people with disabilities and upper units will house single-parent families.
“Every family has a unique space, every family has a front door off the street,” said Howard.
The concrete foundation for Phase 3 is adjacent to the first two phases. Work will begin on that phase early next year, said Howard.
Guglietti noted that The Co-operators has been working with Habitat for Humanity for a number of years in a number of ways, participating in past builds in Guelph and Burlington.
The Co-operators also contributes to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore.
“We work as part of their reclaim program, which provides materials from some of the homes that have been damaged, so salvaged materials we can then put into the ReStore program,” said Guglietti.
