Thursday, August 02, 2007: The Home Depot Canada and Habitat for Humanity Canada Take Action Against Canada's Affordable Housing Crisis with National Paper House Campaign
Canadians encouraged to 'Buy a House, Build a Home' to open the door to affordable housing across the country -
TORONTO, Aug. 2 /CNW/ - The hard facts of Canada's affordable housing
crisis are hidden behind closed doors: across the country, over 1.5 million
people lack appropriate housing and low income families - who earn an average
of $12,000 a year - spend nearly half their income on shelter. Almost
two-thirds of low income households live in rental properties - while 90 per
cent of high-income earners own their homes.(*)
It's time to open these doors to the possibility of affordable housing
for all Canadians. The Home Depot Canada, working in partnership with Habitat
for Humanity Canada, today announced the launch of the Paper House Campaign, a
national project that aims to raise money and awareness of the affordable
housing crisis in this country.
From August 2 to September 2, 2007, for the first time ever, The Home
Depot Canada customers across the country have the opportunity to directly
contribute to this cause by purchasing a Paper House for $2, available in all
Home Depot stores. 100 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of the Paper
Houses will go to support Habitat for Humanity Canada in building real houses
for families in need.
"The Home Depot is tremendously proud of its partnership with Habitat for
Humanity Canada," says Annette Verschuren, President, The Home Depot Canada
and Asia. "With the help of our Team Depot volunteers, we've built over 100
Habitat for Humanity houses in the past 11 years. Now, through the Paper House
campaign, all Home Depot Canada customers can contribute directly to this
cause by buying paper houses to build brick and mortar homes. This important
initiative empowers Canadians to better their communities - one Paper House at
a time."
Buy a House, Build a Home
Celebrating over 10 years of successful partnership, The Home Depot
Canada has been Habitat for Humanity Canada's lead sponsor since 1994, with
donations and gifts-in-kind currently totaling over $3 million annually.
Members of Team Depot, a national volunteer program for all Home Depot
employees, have worked on Habitat for Humanity Canada builds from coast to
coast, contributing thousands of hours towards making the dream of affordable
housing for Canadians a reality.
"Working with The Home Depot on national programs - like the Paper House
Campaign - and on a local, grassroots level with the Habitat for Humanity
builds has helped us immensely," says David Hughes, President and CEO of
Habitat for Humanity Canada. "With The Home Depot's help, we've not only been
able to provide housing for Canadian families in need, but we've also created
momentum for a much-needed national movement for affordable housing."
The Paper House Campaign challenges all Canadians to make a difference in
their communities through buying paper houses to build real homes. Stop by The
Home Depot to purchase a Paper House, or visit www.homedepot.ca to find out
more about this campaign.
Source: CNW
