Habitat for Humanity Toronto on the move again

One of my all-time favourtie organizations is, without a doubt, Habitat for Humanity.

It helps low-income families build and buy simple, decent affordable homes though a no-interest, no-profit mortgage with payments set at less than 30 per cent of gross income, according to its website.

Today was a very busy day for the Toronto chapter of Habitat as they broke ground at their new Ritchie Ave. site in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto. Loblaw Properties Ltd. generously donated the land.

The first home to be built will be a two-bedroom, fully accessible home for Lorena Sinato and her son, Bryan, who suffers from cerebral palsy and is legally blind.

Since arriving in Canada from Brazil in 2002, Lorena has been struggling to provide for Bryan, 9, who requires a lot of extra care.

“I will be able to give Bryan a real home with all the space he deserves,” Lorena said at the event.

Habitat for Humanity does such great work at providing affording homes around the globe, and Toronto CEO Neil Hetherington is one of my real heroes! I know he’s been involved in builds in many different third-world countries, including a recent foray to Haiti, where gun play and riots were a normal part of the work day.

Today, Neil was pleased to be in Toronto and welcoming the Sinato family to their site of their new home.

“Breaking ground to mark the beginning of a build is a truly touching event,” he said. ays Neil Hetherington, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Toronto. “It brings together the partner family, donors, community members, and those alike to witness the start of a new chapter in the life of a family who deserve it.”

Habitat for Humanity also insists that families volunteer 500 hours of “sweat equity” toward the construction of their home, a new community or volunteer in other programs that Habitat runs.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity and their programs, go to torontohabitat.ca or follow them on Twitter at @HabitatToronto. You can also follow Neil Hetherington at Twitter at @NCHetherington.

From left, Neil Hetherington, CEO Habitat for Humanity Toronto; Cheri DiNova, MPP of Parkdale-High Park; Gord Perks, Toronto City Councillor; Gina Morsillo, manager of the Dundas/Bloor Loblaws store; Paul Finkbeiner, President of Great West Life; Gale Kelly, board member for Habitat for Humanity Toronto; and Lorena Sinato and her son Bryan at the ground breaking.

 

David Suzuki and Pure Energies is a perfect pair

Pure Energies and David Suzuki is a perfect pair — they both care deeply about the planet and both are doing all they can to make a difference.

I don’t think I need to tell you about Suzuki, but perhaps you’re not so familiar with Pure Energies. The company will install a free solar power system on your home (if it qualifies) and maintains it and then shares in the revenue from the power generated with the homeowner. They also offer the option to the homeowner to buy the system and collect all of the revenues.

So, back to the David Suzuki Foundation: Pure Energies will donate a minimum of $10,000 to the David Suzuki Foundation’s efforts to promote energy conservation and renewable energy solutions. Here’s how it works: for every homeowner that signs up to find out if they qualify for a solar power system, Pure makes a donation to the foundations; for every homeowner that installs a systems, more money is donated.

The more people that sign up here and has a free solar power system installed, the more will be donated to the foundation.

Chris Stern, co-founder of Pure Energies, told me he’s extremely proud to support the David Suzuki Foundation, which he calls “one of Canada’s most respected, science-based organizations that is laying the groundwork for the much needed shift to more sustainable, healthier communities.”

In fact, go here to see Chris Stern, Mike Holmes and David Suzuki's appearance on the Rick Mercer Report on CBC. It's a great bit!

“The David Suzuki Foundation is keen to support innovators that are driving the move to a brighter, more sustainable future,” Dr Faisal Moola, director of science at the David Suzuki Foundation said in a press relase. “Companies like Pure Energies are making it easier for Ontarians to join the green energy revolution and bringing much needed green energy into the grid.”