Thank You FCC for Your Support!

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Thank you, FCC for choosing Habitat Saskatchewan as a worthy recipient of a donation of $3,000.00 to support our goal of building strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership in our communities across the province.
This means the world to us!
Over the years FCC has also been there for us by volunteering their time on our build site! What a fun way to build relationships with your team!
At FCC, they care about the communities where their customers and employees live and work. Each year, FCC supports numerous registered charities, non-profit organizations, and schools. Corporate social responsibility guides how they operate and it helps them to achieve their goals as well.
We are in this together and we appreciate the support and partnership!

Over 100 new homes to support those most vulnerable in Regina

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Check out this article: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/media-newsroom/news-releases/2022/new-homes-support-most-vulnerable-regina

Regina, Saskatchewan, March 10, 2022

Everyone in Canada deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Affordable housing is key to Canada’s pandemic recovery for communities across the country, including in Regina.Today, the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, was joined by Tara Osipoff, Executive Vice-President, Avana, and Nicki Ackerman, CEO of Avana Foundation Inc., to announce a federal investment of $30.8 million to support the construction of new housing through the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF), representing the largest federal investment in affordable housing through the National Housing Strategy (NHS) for the city of Regina.Located on Trombley Street, the three-storey, wood-frame apartment building will be comprised of 116 units, with 39 units of affordable housing dedicated for women and children fleeing domestic violence. Building amenities include 117 electrified surface parking stalls, as well as an onsite turf play area, and a playground in the interior courtyard for children to play.

The building will be owned and operated by Avana Foundation Inc., the non-profit arm of the Avana, a real estate development and property management company based in Regina. Established in 2019, the Avana Foundation Inc. was created to provide affordable housing and give back to the western Canadian communities where they operate.

Construction of the Trombley Street project is currently underway and will begin welcoming residents in spring 2023.

This investment by the Government of Canada was made possible by the National Housing Strategy’s (NHS) National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF).

Avana Foundation

New Mortgage Signed with a Family in Prince Albert!

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November 2021, Nimo, Yasin, and their three children purchased their first home located in Prince Albert, SK.
This family looks forward to putting down permanent roots as their journey to a safe and peaceful home has taken many years.
With over 25 years spent in a refuge camp, let’s celebrate this family and their remarkable story about love, hard work, and a commitment to finding a better life.
Congratulations to them and we are so excited for their journey ahead as homeowners!
I guess you could say that is why we do what we do at Habitat Saskatchewan, and that is why people in our community and beyond give so genoursly to our charity.  Helping one low-income family at a time assume a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home, and giving them a chance to own a home is an amazing thing.
As the Director of Family Services, every day I show up at work means that I am one step closer to helping another family achive their dream.  I show up for them, not for me!
I hope that we can continue to do this for years to come!  That is why a donation means the world to us no matter how big or small.  The fact that someone thought of our charity brings us a sense of gratitude and joy.  I truly hope that the people who don’t know about Habitat have the opportuniyt to connect to our mission and vision at some point in their journey, and know that helping families in need of housing is the most gracious and important thing you can do in your life.
Thank you so much for listening!  We hope to connect with you soon, whether you are a donor, a family looking for housing, or someone who would like to partner with us!
Tara Goulet – Director of Family Services

Build Update!

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Our build team at Haultain Crossing in Regina has been hard at work finishing up the last 7 units of our 62 unit townhouse complex. Finishing touches like countertops, closet doors, and paint have all been completed in the last couple of weeks to prepare for the families’ possession date!

Volunteers are the Heartbeat of our Organization!

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Volunteers are the heartbeat of our organization, and the volunteer’s experience with Habitat Saskatchewan is of the utmost importance to us! Our goal is to follow up with our volunteer groups after their volunteer experience on our build sites to see if they would share their feedback anonymously. By doing this, Habitat can learn and grow from understanding their experiences and improve when improvement is needed.

My Volunteer Experience

Here is some of the feedback we have received from groups that have come and volunteered at
our build sites:

  • Volunteering was very rewarding. The staff and other volunteers that were not from our group were all friendly. I have, and will continue to, encourage others to volunteer with Habitat.
  • Great atmosphere! Great people!
  • Great build site staff! They were amazing to work with and all very knowledgeable, helpful, and polite.
  • Very well organized and a good program. I enjoyed working with the staff
  • RBC thoroughly enjoys these volunteer build days with habitat. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
  • The Habitat staff were very patient and upbeat. I appreciated that there were options for work that did not involve using power tools. It was a positive experience.
  • It was really great to work with all other volunteers. The coordinator also shared more about how the program works for prospective families, so that was great.

Thank you Habitat for our Accessible Home!

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Ta and Sah Blu fell in love in a refugee camp. Forced to leave behind everything they knew, they escaped from the civil war in Myanmar. After spending 14 long years in the refugee camp, their applications to immigrate were accepted. The only hiccup in this news was that Ta’s was accepted by the USA and Sah Blu’s was accepted in Canada. The couple spent five long years apart before they were reunited in Canada.

They moved into a small home with Sah Blu’s parents and siblings. There wasn’t much space for 10 people in the modest house, and soon, Ta and Sah Blu were expecting their first child, Michelle. They started saving for a home to call their own. Then, when Michelle turned two, Ta and Sah Blu welcomed another daughter, Milda, who was born with spinal bifida and hydrocephalus. This meant that Ta and Sah Blu’s hard-earned savings would now be used to purchase the equipment that Milda need to grow and play comfortably.

When they heard about Habitat for Humanity Saskatchewan, they knew the affordable homeownership program would be just the support they needed to stand on their own and would give them the opportunity they never thought was possible. They applied for the program and were thrilled to be accepted as future Habitat homeowners! They couldn’t believe that their homeownership dream was becoming a reality.

Thanks to Habitat and all supporters, sponsors, and donors, as Ta and Sah Blu have now purchased a safe, decent and affordable home for their family to live in that is also wheelchair accessible. Michelle is excited to paint her very first room pink. Milda will have room to move freely around the house in her wheelchair and has a wheelchair lift which allows her to come and go from the property with ease. Ta and Sah Blu will finally be able to put down roots in a home that they will be able to call their own.

Habitat Saskatchewan & Conexus Credit Union Announcements

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Habitat Saskatoon, Habitat Regina, and Habitat Prince Albert have merged to form Habitat Saskatchewan as of January 2021! As a  provincial organization, we will bring together our collective strengths to help build safe, decent, and affordable homes for families across the province.

Conexus Credit Union has pledged one million dollars to Habitat Saskatchewan over four years! This generous donation will build 80 affordable homes for families across the province.

Habitat Saskatchewan is grateful to Conexus Credit Union for their support and we look forward to working together to help Saskatchewan families build strength, stability and independence through affordable housing.