Volunteer News V O L U M E
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Calling all Volunteers!!! Phase 4 is almost done! We need as many people as possible to come out in the next few weeks to put the finishing touches on it for the families to move in by February 1st. We need people who can clean, hang and trim closet doors, do finishing carpentry and do finishing paint touch ups. We also have the following volunteer opportunities: “Is it cold enough for you??”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Retired or semi-retired tradesmen/instructors, 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-practised volunteers. Previous knowledge of construction is useful but not essential. Most important is that a Crew Leader have transferable skills from a related field
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.
New Year’s 2 Resolutions You Can Keep!
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.
Habitat’s Most 2 Northern Home
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Carpenters, electricians, cabinet builders, fixer-uppers for Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday.
Tradesmen Open House
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Floor Helpers to help with shipping and receiving, organizing, pricing and stocking shelves in our Vancouver and Burnaby ReStores Monday through Saturday
Spotlight: ReStore
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Site Supervisor’s Letter to the Volunteers
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
Volunteers Find Love on Site
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Professional Recruiter
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Volunteers Invitation
The ReStores will have a booth in the 2009 BC Home + Garden Show and we will need volunteers to staff it from February 18th to 22nd. If you are interested, we can give you more details closer to the date.
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If you would like to volunteer, please call Tanya, Volunteer Coordinator, at 604-681-5618 ext. 23 or email her at:volunteer@vancouverhabitat.bc.ca
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“REASON FOR VOLUNTEERING”
WRITING CONTEST Have you ever thought about why you volunteer? Well, Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver wants to know! Write your reason for volunteering and win a Habitat t-shirt and a pin. Plus, be one of the lucky people who gets their writing published in our next newsletter. Send your submissions to volunteer@vancouverhabitat.bc.ca before Febru-
A WORTHY CAUSE: Ever wonder how much your volunteer work helps? *Over one million Canadians have to choose between food and rent *750,000 Canadians struggle for an affordable, suitable place to live *Children who grow up in suitable housing do better in school and build better learning and social skills *Parents who partner with Habitat are more likely to go back to school and learn a new trade or upgrade their job skills *Habitat families are more likely to know their neighbours and feel part of a community and more than half feel that they are participating in their community
4 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Keep Happy New Years everyone! Each year we try to make resolutions. If you’re like most, you eventually end up Frustrated for Failing to keep them or Forgetting you even made them in the first place! No one likes the three Fs. The following are four resolutions that are surprisingly easy to keep. Make this year different from all those in your past. Make this the year you change the Fs to Bs and resolve to Believe, Behave, Beware and Belong.
Believe: Believe in the capacity of people to do good, believe that you can make a positive difference in the lives of others. Behave: Live an honourable life! Do good to others. Live in such a way that others will know that you care and that you focus on others rather than yourself. Beware: There are a lot of things we need to beware of; from the evil french fry to the subtle temptations to take short cuts, to be dishonest, to live life carelessly and without convictions. Belong: We need one another, we need community. Do you belong to a group that keeps you accountable, that looks out for you and cares about you as a person? We are not meant to live in isolation, find your community!
Habitat for Humanity Canada’s Most Northern Home Have you ever wondered where Habitat for Humanity’s most northern home was built? Did you know that Habitat for Humanity Canada even builds in Nunavut? It’s true, Habitat for Humanity Iqaluit obtained official affiliate status in 2005 and began its first build in 2007 – the most northerly remote build Habitat for Humanity (HFH) has done in its 32 year history, and the first HFH home in the Territory of Nunavut. HFH Iqaluit solely consists of volunteers, and the fact that this was the first build project for an affiliate where no one had participated in a HFH build before is truly remarkable. Nunavut’s “hidden homeless” sleep in shifts within already overcrowded homes that average less than 1,000 sq. ft. in size, and offer
living-spaces cramped by potable water tanks, furnaces and hot water heaters. In a territory that represents more than one-fifth of Canada’s land mass, adequate living-space is a scarce resource rather than a basic right. These acute needs constitute a severe housing crisis that is worsening daily as the population booms and existing housing stock ages. Unfortunately, homeownership remains unattainable for most Nunavummiut. Increasing the number of homes, and improving the condition of existing homes, are crucial steps in beginning to address social problems faced by Nunavut children and families. Although HFH Iqaluit alone cannot put a dent in the extreme need for affordable housing in Iqaluit,
the project is intended to build hope by uniting the community and supporters in a common focus.
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SITE SUPERVISOR’S LETTER TO THE VOLUNTEERS Dear Volunteers, You guys did it! We have all been working feverishly over the last couple of months to complete phase 4 by the end of 2008. Well you did it; I met with the City of Burnaby Building Inspector on the afternoon of December 31st and we passed inspection and received our occupancy permit. We are now putting the finishing touches to the phase 4 interiors ready for move in on February 1st. We now have the panel drawings for the phase 5 exterior wall panels (thanks to volunteers Kaz and Simon) and we will be starting work on completing the road and the foundation in the next couple of weeks. Thank you to all the people who worked so hard to make this happen, you guys are amazing. A happy New Year to all, Terry.
Tradesmen Open House Has High Hopes Attracting and maintaining skilled workers is a challenge at Habitat for Humanity. The previously robust economy and busy construction industry made it difficult for any tradesmen to give up some of their free time. Now with the economy slowing down and a lot of construction developments halting work, we hope our numbers of construction volunteers will increase. On Saturday, January 22, 2009, Habitat for Humanity Greater
Vancouver is holding its first Tradesmen Open House at 9am at our build site at 8745 Government Street.
Habitat, allow them to see other volunteers at work and give them a chance to have all of their questions answered.
volunteers we have, the faster we can build. The faster we build, the more families we can get into homes. The more families we can get into homes, the happier we will be!
“ReStores need This event will be a great way to In the end, we hope to show them volunteers as introduce our organization to skilled how great it is to volunteer for us tradesmen who may have always and the satisfaction that they will Please see the last page for a poster we need wanted to volunteer for us but get if they become a volunteer. announcement for this event. water and wanted more information. the build site If you know any tradesmen, please We will give them a tour of the site, invite them to this event. The more needs the introduce them to the Site people know about our Vancouver ReStores and Supervisor, give them some affiliate, the more people are going background information about to want to volunteer. The more the families need homes. So, wherever you I would like to introduce myself first. Having a volunteers that’s where we're heading. With all of volunteer— long, traditional, Portuguese name doesn't help our dedicated volunteers such as Al, Pat, Jane, the you are but my name is Rui Miguel d S T Flores and I’m magnificent couple Tod and Laurie, Barbara, from Coimbra, Portugal. Alexandra, Shaw and Rick, June, Michael, Jason, helping a I come to Canada at the end of the summer of plus all the other volunteers that come dream to 2006. Before that, I enjoyed the Portuguese sun sporadically, I'm sure that this store will be an come true.” as much as I could because this Canadian lady, adult soon and make more profit for our homes.
ReStore Really Values The Essential Work of Volunteers
my wife now, thought I would be a nice "souvenir" and brought me to this country! Anyway, I couldn't work for one year (because of visa rules) and that's when I saw an ad for the new Restore in Vancouver. The project just blew me away; especially the fact that those homes were being built with money generated by the sale of donated materials!
Top: ReStore Manager, Don Beaupre with loyal volunteer, Al. Left: Miguel Flores, ReStore employee and author of this article.
I didn't look back and started to work in the Vancouver Restore when it was still a "baby", before the grand opening. I remember especially how a volunteer is so special and how everyone made me feel welcome and glad for my help. It made me feel special and useful so I was dedicating almost full-time hours to the organization. That's how a volunteer feels, useful and peaceful while making this world a better place to live for you and others. I tried to get on the build site too, where the real action is I thought. But the ReStore needed volunteers in order to grow and profit so the other side (the build site) could make its contribution as well. So I never left the ReStore. It grew up slowly but steadily--not a baby anymore but not an adult yet--and with all the help of the
We are an open family always ready to welcome a new volunteer to be part of it. We work a lot but we have a lot of fun too. Challenging but rewarding is the spirit of the ReStore. It is known how important one volunteer, Allan, is in the Vancouver ReStore. He has been unstoppable and we much appreciate it. All the others too. Everyone has a different background and that’s what makes it even better: sharing ideas, connecting abilities and taking the best part of it is fun and rewarding. I'm not a volunteer anymore. After one year of working in the ReStore, I got my working visa and became an employee in the place that I helped to grow. Actually that is what happens to some volunteers in this organization too. That shows how much you are appreciated in the organization. I know that Burnaby and Vancouver Restores need volunteers as we need water and the build site needs the ReStores and the families need homes. So, wherever you volunteer—you are helping a dream to come true.
—Miguel Flores, Vancouver ReStore
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Love and Sawdust: Singles Build on Valentine’s Day Don’t get stuck on February 14th with nothing to do just because you’re single! Come on down to the Burnaby build site and meet some hunky construction men and women. We will be opening our site from 8am to 4pm to any single volunteers out there who don’t have other plans. It is a day of fun and philanthropy that offers participants a chance to meet Mr. or Ms. Right; gain new skills; and, make a hands-on difference in the community by building affordable housing with families who need it. So, what are you doing on Saturday, February 14th? Why not build homes, build hope and build relationships? Grab a hammer, take a chance and maybe you’ll find love—you never know!!
UBC CIVIL ENGINEERS SPEARHEAD TWO FANTASTIC PROJECTS As part of UBC’s Community Learning Initiative, a total of 12 UBC Civil Engineering students will be spending three days volunteering for Habitat from January to March. Under the supervision and direction of Tanya Fink, Volunteer Coordinator and Masters of Planning student, Komiete Tetteh, project leaders Derek Lee and Manvil Lo have started two exciting projects for Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver.
site even ‘greener’ than the one we have right now.
The second project, “Site Options for New Development,” is going to look at options Habitat for Humanity has when it comes to land acquisition and land use. As our current project is nearing towards completion in the next few years, Habitat is looking for land on which to build its next project. The research will look into land acquisition bylaws, zoning regulations, land availability ‘Community service-learning’ refers to a model of experiential prospects, land and structure use optimizing innovations and the learning that combines classroom learning with volunteer work possibility of developing existing structures. During their that achieves community goals. This approach to learning helps research, the students will be speaking with developers, municipal students understand how their course work relates to critical social officials, other housing organizations, engineers, contractors, real issues by linking real-life experiences in the community to estate agents and a residential law practitioner. This research academic content through processes of critical reflection (e.g., could help us decide what our next step in building will be. journal writing, small group discussion, writing analytical papers and reflective essays). The students are doing this volunteer research as part of their coursework and will be graded on the final projects. They will The two projects are titled “Designing Greener Houses” and “Site spend the first day actually volunteering on the build site in order Options for New Development.” The first project, “Designing to get a good feel for what Habitat is all about. The next two days Greener Houses,” is going to look at how Habitat can improve the will be spent on their research and the projects will culminate in design of its houses in order to reduce the environmental impact two written research documents that will be given to Habitat to and ecological footprint that are created. This is going to be use. broached from the perspective of affordable home-building and will factor in everything from affordable construction costs to Habitat for Humanity is very excited to see what these students affordable maintenance costs. In keeping with Habitat’s come up with in their prospective research projects and thanks commitment to LEED standards of energy and environmental UBC’s Community Learning Initiative for making this partnership design, the students will research everything from energy possible. For more information about community service-learning efficiency, waster management and water management to visit: http://www.csl.ubc.ca/csl.html landscaping. The research could be used to make our next build
Professional Recruiter Helps Habitat Find More Invaluable Volunteers Habitat for Humanity and Volunteer Coordinator, Tanya Fink, are about to get some professional help recruiting new volunteers. James Hughes committed to help us in September after Vancouver’s
recruiting in Canada, sourcing the best and the brightest in creative and technical talent from across the globe.
His first plan of action for Habitat was to create a Recruitment Strategy which is now being actively implemented. With Tanya’s help, James James joined Business Objects in 2005, where he will be looking at who is a typical Habitat volunmanaged Recruiting Teams and oversaw teer and how we can attract more of them. Recruiting Operations for the Americas. Recently he has joined CHC Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has a Helicopter as Director of Recruitment. special challenge of finding volunteers who are skilled labourers. James is confident that our James is an active member within Vancouver’s new Recruitment Strategy is going to help the first-ever Timeraiser event. recruiting networks, sharing his wealth of organization overcome this obstacle. knowledge from the hundreds of hires and With over15 years of experience in the field of various hiring situations he’s encountered over Welcome James and thank you so much for recruitment, James has hired from within the US, the years. He has a keen understanding of volunteering! Canada, South America, Europe, and managing relationships and the expectations of Asia. James has spent most of this time both hiring managers and candidates.
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Tradesmen OPEN HOUSE Thursday, January 22, 2009 at 9am
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to mobilize volunteers and community partners to build affordable housing for low-income families in need. Through homeownership, it is our goal to break the cycle of poverty. We are building a townhouse complex in Burnaby that will house 27 families with more than 30 children in total. We need people like you to make this vision a reality. Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver welcomes you to join us at our first 2009 Tradesmen Open House at our build site. This will be an information session which will include a tour of the site, a chance to meet with current volunteers and talk with our site leaders, an overview of the various skills needed and volunteer opportunities available and to have your questions answered. You and your contacts represent our ideal volunteer. Your connections and industry experience are tremendously valuable to us and we would love the opportunity to meet with you.
Please RSVP to: Tanya Fink Volunteer Coordinator 604-681-5618 ext. 23 volunteer@vancouverhabitat.bc.ca
Before Friday, January 16th Location: 8745 Government Street in Burnaby