On June 11th at the Brockville ReStore, Habitat for Humanity Thousand Islands marked 25 years of building decent, affordable housing for the families of Leeds Grenville at a community celebration. It was quite a party.
Dignitaries like MPP Steve Clark, municipal mayors Brant Burrow and Matt Wren, Habitat Canada’s CEO Julia Deans and Ontario Trillium Representative Tamara Baldwin opened the day with words of dedication.
One of the first members of the board of directors, Bob Gollinger unveiled a plaque dedicated to our late founder Valerie Kines. Andrew Kines and his brother David (Valerie’s sons) were in attendance and Andrew spoke about his mother’s dedication to Habitat and compassion for the families who needed housing. There was also cake cutting to mark the occasion.
Families took part and enjoyed the Shriners BBQ, bouncy castle, face painting, fire truck, slushy machine, cotton candy and donuts. The Liam Deery Project provided the music for the day.
Much appreciation goes out to Joe Botham , our auctioneer, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Tunis Shriners and the Elizabethtown-Kitley Fire Department for their participation at the event.
The supporters of the live and silent auction deserve special thanks for their contributions towards the day:
Angus Bickerton (Barrister)
Alan Browns
Arbu Solar Brewery
Aquatarium
Beauty Inside Wellness Spa
Brockville ReStore
Buell Street Bistro
Canadian Tire
Cedar Valley Golf Club
D.A. Vaughan (Artist)
Galaxy Cinema
G.C. Hudson Limited
Goliger’s Travel
Grand Hotel
Green Gables Winery
Larabee’s Auto Detailing
National Arts Centre
Rumble Fitness
Scheurmann Winery
SportChek
The Brick
Thousand Islands Playhouse
Upper Canada Village
Of course it goes without saying that this party couldn’t be possible without the staff and volunteers who worked so hard up to and on the day!
Over the 25 years, Habitat for Humanity Thousand Islands with the help of the community has built 18 homes and by next year, 4 more homes will be added to the list. It has always been a community effort and on June 11th we saw the community come together again – this time in celebration of their accomplishments.