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‘House’ party with Habitat for Humanity this past Saturday

October 6, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

In an appropriately named event, Habitat for Humanity hosted the Ultimate House Party to raise funds for future projects in Dufferin County.

The House Party took place at the Horizons Event Centre in Mono last Saturday, September 30, and featured craft beer in the ‘garage’, a lounge with cocktails on the patio, music, a silent auction, and a live band.

“All the funds we raise here, from the live auction or silent, are all going back to help us build homes here in Dufferin,” explained Rachelle Waterman, Habitat for Humanity’s marketing, communications, and PR leader for Wellington Dufferin Guelph. “This whole event is to let people know we are building affordable homes and offer affordable homes for families and individuals right here in Dufferin and we want to get the community on board to help us raise money to build those homes.”

Several businesses took part and donated food, beer, and liquor.

Habitat for Humanity has already built 24 homes in their catchment area, which includes Wellington, Dufferin, and Guelph. Funds raised in the community go toward building costs for new homes in that community.

“The families who move into the homes take on a mortgage and put in 500 hours of sweat equity. That includes building their homes, working at the Re-Store, and doing administrative work with Habitat – and that counts toward their down payment instead of a traditional down payment,” Ms. Waterman explained.

The Re-Store at 202 First Street (next to Fred’s Tire) is a Habitat-run store that takes donations including a variety of home building supplies and sells them to the public to raise funds for Habitat projects.

To apply to be a part of a Habitat program, you must apply.

“We have a website, www.habitatwdg .ca, and there’s tab that says ‘own a home,’ and you can apply from there. There’s an interview process with a family manager and family committee. They make sure that people who are moving into the homes are equipped to take on a mortgage. They have a mortgage that is tailored to their income,” Ms. Waterman said of how the process works.

While the Ultimate House Party turned out to be a blast for those that attended, it also turned a fun night into an event that will benefit local residents in the future.

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