Lisa Fedorak is shaking with excitement, as she accepts the small wooden box. It holds a house key that she and her family have been looking forward to for nearly six years. It holds the promise of a better future, one that includes home ownership. And thats something she and her husband, Frank, never thought would happen.
Flanked by their young daughters, Scarlett, 7, and Greta, 4, Lisa and Frank open the door to their new home and Lisa immediately bursts into tears.
I cant believe this day has come, says Fedorak. I couldnt sleep last night and Ive had butterflies in my stomach all day.
Thanks to Habitat for Humanity and hundreds of corporate and individual sponsorships and volunteer workers, six families, including 14 children, now have a home they can call their own. This is the last phase of H4Hs 27-unit townhome project in Burnaby.
The Fedorak family enters their new habitat for humanity home.To Fedorak, this new 1,300-square-foot home means freedom for her family. Scarlett has a rare genetic disease that took the life of her sister Chloe before her second birthday. For the last five years, the family has lived in a 750-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment.
We couldnt even get her wheelchair or walker through the narrow doorways, she says. She couldnt even go up and down the stairs.
Their new home is fully wheelchair accessible, with wide doorways and halls, a ramp out front and a wheelchair-accessible bathroom for Scarlett.
And the family can sleep easy now with an interest-free mortgage and payments that will never be more than 30 per cent of their household income. Their down payment was the 500 hours of sweat equity they put in with Habitat for Humanity. (In order for families to be eligible for a home, they must prove financial hardship.)
Scarlett spent a year in hospital and I had to quit my job for a few years to be with her, says Lisa. We were spending beyond our means, but Scarletts life well she was the most important thing in our lives.
Stephanie Baker is also moved to tears as she watches the families check out their new homes. She and her husband, Mitch Baker, own Karnak Pro Builders.
Three months ago, Mitch received a phone call from his sister, who happens to be in fund development at Habitat for Humanity, and she told him they needed help with the framing of the 10 homes and to take the project to the end, says Baker. We sat down together, and honestly, it dawned on us that this was the perfect fit for our company. We spoke to our staff and everyone was on board.
Baker has only thanks for the long hours and weekends the staff spent volunteering at the site to ensure the families could move in by late June.
Our site foreman, Chris Smallridge, did an incredible job The pride we felt was infectious and it was a nice feeling to know we were building homes for wonderful and deserving families.
Also on hand at the dedication ceremony was Jabin Saggu, Vancouver store manager at Home Depot of Canada. Across the country, under its Home Depot Canada Foundation, employees have logged in a whopping 60,000 volunteer hours. Since 1996, the national foundation has contributed more than $4 million in cash and product donations for Habitat for Humanity.
Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) also contributes to Habitat for Humanity, both at the local and national level. They provide expertise and access to sources of funding in the early stages of project development. CMHC employees raise funds for Habitat through charitable activities, and a team of 12 CMHC B.C. Region staff helped get the Government Street Build ready for its grand opening.
Nothing is possible without the support of community partners, donors and volunteers, says Tim Clark, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Vancouver.
Our families voices, like the story Lisa shared with us, capture what is possible when we all come together, he says.
This isnt just talk. A CMHC survey of 326 Habitat for Humanity households found that over two-thirds of the families saw their kids become more confident and do better in school. Families also reported that everyones health improved once they moved into their new homes.
