REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District and Alberta Real Estate Foundation raise $49,500 for Habitat Lloydminster

27 September 2011

Habitat for Humanity “On the Border” Lloydminster Society is thrilled to announce a generous donation from a “Hammers for Humanity” fundraiser initiated by local REALTORS®  in Lloydminster, Wainwright and Vermilion. The REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District presented Rowena Epp, Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity Lloydminster a cheque in the amount of $49,500 from the REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation.

Epp said the timing of this donation is perfect as Habitat Lloydminster and the Habitat Vermilion Adopt-A-Home Project are both completing homes this fall – the duplex in Lloydminster, homes for two Lloydminster families and a single family home in Vermilion – while the Wainwright Adopt-A-Home Project is gearing up to build its first homes in 2012.

The REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District was incorporated in 1978, serving an area that covers both Alberta and Saskatchewan.  A fundraising campaign for the  Habitat for Humanity Housing Program encompasses the true meaning of community and this project was a great fit in our commitment to building a strong community, helping families become more independent and working together towards that goal say local REALTORS®.

The Alberta Real Estate Foundation supports initiatives that enhance the real estate industry and benefit the people of Alberta. Since its incorporation in 1991, the Foundation has awarded over $12.8 million to 420 real estate-related projects across Alberta. One of the Foundation’s key funding areas includes housing affordability. The Foundation makes funding available to Housing Projects that provide permanent accommodation to households earning less than the median income.

Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit ecumenical Christian housing organization that works in partnership with families in financially vulnerable situations to buy simple, affordable housing by reducing the barriers to home ownership. The underlying principle upon which Habitat for Humanity was built is “The Theology of the “Hammer”. It is about Christian partnership, building homes for people in need and doing so by using the biblical principles of no profit and no interest. Habitat homes are sold with no down payment, no-interest mortgages and payments set at 30% of gross income or less (including, principal, property tax and insurance). The hammers sold for this fundraiser were definitely a representative symbol of Habitat for Humanity “building homes, building hope”.

Local REALTORS® in Lloydminster, Vermilion and Wainwright sold 246 hammers,  at $100 each, which were donated by Wal Mart and etching donated by Signs ‘n More. The “Hammers for Humanity” campaign raised funds for their respective Habitat projects and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation, under its Housing Affordability Program, agreed to match the funds raised by the local REALTORS®. 

Habitat for Humanity Lloydminster and its Wainwright and Vermilion Adopt-A-Home Projects, the Alberta Real Estate Foundation and the REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District believe that decent housing and home ownership is the foundation which enhances the health and quality of life of families. As the financial situation of a family improves, they become long-term contributors to the community and the local economy.

Congratulations and thank you to both the REALTORS® Association of Lloydminster & District  and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation for your support of Habitat for Humanity in Lloydminster, Vermilion and Wainwright.

Century 21 and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation Continue to Support Habitat for Humanity "On the Border" Lloydminster Society

15 June 2011

A Barbecue Hosted by Century 21 of Lloydminster Raises Funds 

The Century 21 team and RCMP helpers

Anyone passing by the corner of 29th Street and 50th Avenue in Lloydminster on Friday June 10th, 2011 would have beheld an interesting sight.  An event tent, a police cruiser with lights flashing, a crowd of people, and RCMP officers dressed in the distinctive red serge.  Century 21 was putting on a barbecue to raise funds that will contribute to Habitat for Humanity "On the Border" Lloydminster Society's building projects. 

Beef on a bun, a bag of potato chips, and a drink for $5 turned into $20 for Habitat because Century 21 matched each $5.  That $10 was in turn matched by the Alberta Real Estate Foundation for a total of $20 donated for each meal purchased at the barbecue.  Community support of this event was so strong that many individuals and groups were donating much more than $5 for their meals. 

Some of the success of the barbecue can be attributed to the fact that the buns were being served by RCMP officers in dress uniform.  These officers were attending the barbecue as a result of the "Hire a Mountie" fundraiser for the Lloydminster Cancer Society to which Century 21 contributed significantly. 

The funds from the barbecue fundraiser, which came to approxiamatley $8000, will be added to the proceeds from the Hammers for Habitat program that the REALTORS Association of Lloydminster & District and the Alberta Real Estate Foundation have been carrying out.  Habitat Lloydminster has benefitted greatly from the efforts of the REALTORS Association of Lloydmisnter & District's members, who have also participated in a group build on the duplex project in addition to fundraising.   Habitat Lloydminster is looking forward to a continued partnership with this excellent group of Lloydminster community members.

Communtiy members enjoy a delicious lunch while helping Habitat for Humanity build decent and affordable homes.