Volunteer News September October2009 2009Edition Edition
Highlights 2: Wayne Helfrich - The Puzzle Man “Mini” ReStore BBQ
3: Social Media Frenzy Genworth’s “Meaning of Home” contest Volunteers Needed Homeshow
4: Blenz Cares - Coffee with Heart
5: All New iPhone App Sponsor and Community Group Spotlight
Annother Successful Habitat for Humanity Week! The Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH) hosted Habitat for Humanity fundraising week from September 20th to 26th, 2009. CIPH member organizations from across Canada held various fundraising activities (BBQs, raffles, etc.) at their offices last week. Not only do these events help raise needed funds for Habitat, they also help us raise awareness around the issue of affordable housing in Canada; and ideally provide affiliates with an opportunity to connect locally with another corporate partner.
Burnaby Build Site Update - 8745 Government Street We made some excellent progress at the Burnaby Build site on Phase 5 in August. Our dedicated volunteers were able to complete the installation of the 1st floor walls, ceiling joists and floor panels for the second floor. Vapour barriers were finished in the basements which allowed us to have concrete poured in all 5 units. Looking ahead we can expect to install the 2nd floor wall panels which were pre-fabricated in the winter, secure the ceiling joists for
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the 2nd floor and complete the framing in the basements. If all goes well, we will have roofs on our new homes before the colder weather hits the lower mainland.
Wayne Helfrich: The Puzzle Man Fundraising has always been an important part of the majority of non-profit organizations, with Habitat for Humanity being no exception. For several years now, Wayne has made it his mission to spread the good word of Habitat and the work that we do by appearing on our behalf at community events in addition to marketing his wood working. He even began to “charge” friends and family by donation for his assistance with home repairs and renovations. If a neighbour calls Wayne to install some shelves for example, Wayne asks for a donation to Habitat for Humanity in lieu of payment for his helping hands. Take one retired realtor, add a love of wood working plus a passion for helping the community and you’ll get Wayne Helfrich. Although not a volunteer in the traditional sense of the word, Wayne takes third party fundraising to the next level. In his spare time he creates beautifully intricate wooden puzzles which are sold by donation with all proceeds going towards Habitat for Humanity’s Greater Vancouver affiliate. Why Habitat? Because we are “doers” as Wayne puts it, just like himself. He argues that creating these puzzles is a labour of love and therefore cannot justify selling them to his own benefit.
After an overwhelmingly positive response to his message and one-of-a-kind wooden pieces, Wayne issued a challenge to himself in early 2009: Raise $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity, Greater Vancouver by 2010 which would essentially be twice the required amount for corporate build teams. This may seem like a lofty goal, but after just 7 months into his campaign Wayne had raised over $9,000! A huge component of his success is his puzzle website and online fundraising option which can be found at www.woodenpuzzlesarefun.ca.
On Tuesday, September 1, Wayne officially met and The idea of creating puzzles came to him after he exceeded his fundraising goal, but don’t count on had picked up a few wooden puzzles at a garage him slowing down anytime soon. His next goal is to reach $20,000 fundraising dollars for Habitat for sale a couple years ago. These small pieces of Humanity Greater Vancouver. The Puzzle Man’s wood piqued his interest, inspiring him to make next project is a run of wooden piggy banks for his own puzzles. He was fondly dubbed “the children with sections for saving, spending, Puzzle Man” shortly after. His creations are not investing and of course donating with the intention limited to wooden mind mysteries, however; of inspiring another generation of Habitat for cutting boards and washer games are just some of the other wood crafts which can be purchased Humanity Greater Vancouver fundraisers!
Vancouver ReStore Hosts “Mini” Volunteer BBQ Our Vancouver ReStore hosted a small BBQ last month for all of their current Vancouver ReStore volunteers. Don Beaupre, ReStore Manager cooked up a feast to show Habitat for Humanity’s appreciation for the amazing work and dedication that our volunteers have shown. Barb Raymor with over 550 volunteer hours and Pat Harper with over 900 volunteer hours were recognized for their contributions to the store. Last but certainly not least, Alan Ralph was named the ReStore volunteer of the year with 2000+ hours to date! Congratulations on your achievements and thank you to each and every volunteer who has made Habitat for Humanity’s mission a reality. 2
Join the All New Facebook Fan Page! “F” is for Facebook Fan! Help us reach 500 fans by 2010! We are pleased to introduce our all new Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver Facebook Fan Page! Stay in touch with the organization, keep up to date on the construction progress and check out latest photos from the build site. Become a fan today and post your own comments, photos or videos from your volunteer experiences. Our goal is to expand our fan base to 500+ individuals by 2010. Show your friends and family what all of your hard work is going towards and ask them to become a fan of HFHGV today! Simply login to your Facebook account and search for “Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver” and locate the fan page in your search results. From there it’s just a simple click on “become a fan” and you’re in!
Taking Social Media by Storm And if you think that’s all for Habitat for Humanity in terms of social media, guess again! Catch the latest and greatest from the Greater Vancouver ReStores including upcoming sales, the arrival of new shipments and volunteer opportunities on Twitter by following HFHGV_ReStore. Because of all of these great new channels to communicate our progress and needs, you will begin to notice that the volunteer newsletter is sent out less frequently. Social media has given us the opportunity to let you know in real time what is going on at the build site and at our ReStores.
Genworth’s “Meaning of Home” Writing Contest for Grades 4-6 Now in it’s third year, Genworth Financial’s hugely successful “Meaning of Home” writing contest has returned. Students in grades 4, 5 and 6 have the opportunity to help out their community simply by writing an essay, poem or composition which tells us what "home" means to them. Not only will the winner of the contest receive a high performance Dell laptop, Genworth will also donate $60,000 to Habitat for Humanity in the community of the winner's choice. 5 runner up entries will receive a $100 gift card to Chapters/Indigo and Genworth will donate $5,000 to a Habitat for Humanity affiliate of the runner up’s choice. The contest runs from October 5 – November 13. For more information on the contest, submission details, tools and resources around the contest, please visit www.meaningofhome.ca
Volunteers Needed for the Vancouver Home + Interior Design Show We are pleased to announce that the ReStores will once again be making an appearance at the Vancouver Home and Interior Design show on October 15-18. The ReStores will be sporting a newly designed booth thanks to a great group of students from Kwantlen’s Interior Design program and tremendous support from the Interior Designers Institute of BC. The materials for the booth will be sourced entirely from our ReStores in an effort to showcase the items that we have available for sale and to encourage sustainable design. Do you know your way around our ReStores like the back of your hand? Maybe you love talking to people about the great deals you’ve come across? We need volunteers to represent the ReStores for 4 hour shifts during this event. Please contact Michelle Da Roza as soon as possible to secure your spot at this one of a kind event.
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Buy Premium Coffee and Build Homes for Habitat What if you could have premium quality coffee and all natural organic and fair trade teas delivered to your office or home with no delivery fee? Even better, what if approximately 45 percent of every purchase went directly to building affordable homes for local families in need?
Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver has partnered up with Blenz The Canadian Coffee to provide you with world-class coffees and loose leaf teas at affordable prices while raising money for our cause. To order, just go to www.blenzcares.com and remember to enter “Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver” as the affiliated charity of choice at the checkout page. Simply go to http://www.blenzcares.com/ to begin purchasing coffee and donating to Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver. Talk about Coffee with Heart!
Buy Online Save $$$! Come visit the ReStore display at the Vancouver Home and Interior Design show from October 15-18. We’re located at booth number 650 near the Main Stage. Buy advance tickets online and save $3. To learn more and to purchase tickets, go to vancouverhomeshows.com
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Our People
The Vancouver ReStore Manager, Don Beaupre has left Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver to pursue a new career path: Helping to organize the torch relay for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics! Good luck Don!
Our amazing IT genius, Marvin Wingett has gone on his paternity leave for 6 months. Marvin will be looking after his son, Jake. Best wishes, Marv! We are already counting down the days until you return.
Congratulations to Dave Russell on his yellow hat promotion at the Burnaby build site in August. Our new volunteers now have another experienced leader to look up to!
BE THE FIRST to Try an Exclusive New iPhone App! Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver is partnering with Mobio in the launch of their revolutionary new payment technology that eliminates the need to carry credit cards. It uses secure new bar barcode technology widely used in Japan and Europe. It’s the wave of the future. And you can be one of the fi rst to use it. This app will not be available from iTunes for a few months, but if you come visit us at the Vancouver Home and Interior Design show, you will have a chance to preview this awesome app before it is released to the public! Stay tuned for more details.
Thank you to our August Corporate Sponsors!
Delta Burnaby - Thursday, August 6
Genworth Financial - Thursday, August 13
Nissan Canada - Thursday, August 20
Goldcorp - Thursday, August 27
HSBC - Friday, August 14
Fluor - Friday, August 28
Thank you to our August Community Groups Tenth Avenue Alliance Church Brighter Green Consulting
Leaders of Tomorrow Business Transformation Leadership Development Program
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