Champions of Change

Habitat for Humanity and Built Green Canada’s partnership

“Champions of Change” is this year’s theme for Habitat for Humanity’s National Conference & Annual General Meeting hosted in Alberta May 22 – 24. The conference brought together the organization’s 65 affiliates from across Canada and welcomed like-minded organizations. One of which was Built Green Canada, an organization that was also able to connect and find new development opportunities in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity and Built Green Canada’s partnership is not a new one and goes back to Habitat’s first BUILT GREEN® home, completed in 2010. Since then, Habitat for Humanity has built close to 150 BUILT GREEN® certified homes. And in Alberta, there have been 144 BUILT GREEN® homes completed with 113 of them in Edmonton.

It is not a big surprise that Edmonton has seen the majority of Habitat for Humanity homes enrolled with Built Green Canada, given the support from the builder community in the city. In April, business leaders and dignitaries celebrated Habitat for Humanity’s work in the capital region for the fifth year at the Habitat Day luncheon. Christenson Developments, Landmark Homes, Dolce Vita Homes in partnership with Beaverbrook Developments, Sterling Homes in partnership with Qualico, and Tristate Signature Homes announced that they would each provide a home for the Habitat program. Moreover, each of these builders that donated in 2014 has donated at least one home previously, reflecting their ongoing commitment to reinvesting in the community. This builder partnership has been significant in helping Habitat Edmonton become the largest affiliate in Canada.

Some of these same builders also invest in their communities through their commitment to sustainable building practices and are long-time champions of Built Green Canada.

• Christenson Developments: A multi-award winning, urban village community builder who’s support of Habitat for Humanity is congruent with their core overarching principles which strive for environmental, economic and social sustainability.
• Landmark Homes: BUILT GREEN® Gold Certified builder Landmark Homes is leading a revolution in home building by creating homes with unheard of levels of strength, efficiency and precision – all while passionately educating the community about the importance of ‘what’s inside a home’s walls’ with tours of their state of the art building facility and new museum style experience in their Education Inspired Showhomes.

Breaking the cycle of poverty and building a sustainable, healthy future for generations to come is where Habitat for Humanity and Built Green Canada come together, working as champions of change.

The Habitat program transforms families’ lives—building affordable housing and promoting home ownership is a means to breaking the cycle of poverty. Habitat for Humanity Canada believes in making affordable housing accessible to low-income families who could not otherwise afford to own a home. They make this possible for their partner families by building homes using volunteer labour and donated materials; selling these homes to partner families with a required commitment of 500 volunteer hours; and offering families an affordable and sustainable no-interest, no down-payment mortgage, with monthly payments set at 25 percent of gross income.

The BUILT GREEN® program offers builders and homeowners interested in responsible sustainability practices a means to a sustainable home. Homeowners are able to enjoy the benefits of a BUILT GREEN® home: a healthier, more durable home with a lower environmental impact; costs savings in monthly operational costs; and choices on which “green” features they want. Beyond the significant reduction of drafts in the home and sound reduction from outside the home, living in a BUILT GREEN® home may improve well-being and comfort for your family, as there is less stress on the respiratory and immune systems.

The opportunity to participate in Habitat for Humanity’s Annual Conference renewed Built Green Canada’s commitment to the organization. “It is a privilege for us to be included in this year’s national conference and work with Habitat for Humanity as collectively, we work towards change in communities across the country,” says Jenifer Christenson, Built Green Canada Executive Director.