A dinner in Olds raised $10,000 for Habitat for Humanity.
The supper, hosted by Boston Pizza in Olds on Oct. 6 was a sell-out. Forty tickets to the five-course meal were sold at $125 each.
Pilgrim Auction also donated its services to sell donated merchandise that evening.
The money raised from the dinner will go toward building a duplex in Olds located on a patch of land south of the Elk's Hall.
Ron Sweetman, a member of Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta's Mountain View County chapter, said $250,000 is needed and they hope to start construction next spring.
“It's just nice to do something that's going to work right here in our local community,” said Leah Soriat, who organized the event as manager and community relations co-ordinator for Boston Pizza in Olds and Innisfail.
“It wouldn't have happened without the generous thousands of dollars' worth of donations that we have for the auction itself.”
According to members of Habitat for Humanity's local chapter, it's not just the price tag of a house that makes it unattainable for people but the onerous conditions required by banks to qualify for a mortgage.
“So it doesn't matter if it's an affordable house. If you don't qualify for the mortgage, you can't have it,” Sweetman said.
That is where Habitat for Humanity steps in, working with families who might only have a single income and can make monthly payments but don't have the savings for a down payment, said Dennis McKernan, chair of the chapter.
Instead of a down payment, those families put 500 hours of work into building their homes — “sweat equity,” as Habitat calls it.
Habitat partner families make monthly payments like any other homebuyer, except the amount is determined by their ability to pay.
“We basically look at what they've got coming in and we work with that amount of income. We tailor the payments to the actual family itself,” McKernan said.
The group also provides free counselling for families in the areas of home maintenance, budgeting and other life skills.
According to McKernan, Habitat for Humanity has built nine homes in Mountain View County over a span of more than 12 years.
The changes a home makes in people's lives are most noticeable in children, McKernan said.
In his experience, the children he meets are unhappy and reclusive prior to moving into their homes.
But once they enter a permanent home, they become more social and active, he said.
“It's almost like night and day to see the change in the children, just from before they move in to two or three years in a safe, stable environment,” McKernan said.
“That's the key thing that happens with Habitat and not a lot of people get to see that. I feel privileged that I've been able to see that, repeatedly.”
