UPDATE: Christmas with Habitat for Humanity
A couple of days before Christmas, the family that we helped this summer through Habitat for Humanity got its outdoor Christmas lights stolen. Our team immediately volunteered to donate and install some of STANDARD Christmas products to brighten the family’s Christmas.
Here’s what the family had to say:
“I want to thank you guys at STANDARD so very much. I can’t really put into words how you turned our bad holiday season into an absolutely amazing one. I want to let you guys know that as soon as the kids walked up to the house they were jumping up and down. They were so happy that our house had lights! From the bottom of my heart thank you. I wasn’t able to replace the stolen lights and this really put a damper on our spirits. You guys are our Christmas angels!! Thank you for saving Christmas for my kids. Without your generosity my kids would still be questioning whether Santa would find our house. It is now beautifully lit up and they are assured that Santa will indeed find them.
To everyone at STANDARD, I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season and a heathy new year.”
– Kimberley, Kevin, Kiara, Lillianna, Christian, Clifford, and Anthony
Key-handover ceremony at Habitat for humanity house in Ormstown
A day to remember
Kim, Kevin and their five children were handed the keys to their new home in Ormstown on September 28, 2017 in an atmosphere of happiness and excitement.
The STANDARD team contributed a day’s work assisting the family build its house as part of the Habitat for Humanity Build Day. See photos of this memorable day on STANDARD’s Website under the heading STANDARD Takes Part in Building a Brighter Community in Canada.
“This house is not a gift, it’s life-changing. I have no words to say how much my family and I are grateful for this home. I always thought that owning a house would only be a dream, but today it is a reality. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.” The family.
Kim, Kevin and their five children, Kiara (13), Christian (8), Anthony (7), Clifford (5), and Lillianna (4), love making T-shirts. It’s become a traditional family affair that offers them an opportunity to celebrate life’s milestone moments such as the first day of school, or the beginning of summer holidays. For this memorable day, Kim created a t-shirt for the family; in front, you can read “Thanks to you we have a house of our own and a place to call home.” And in the back, you can see roots to symbolize the roots the family will develop in the Ormstown community.
Their home
What makes this project unique is that it exemplifies an exceptional partnership between the Ormstown municipality, its schools and local businesses. This house is literally the result of a community working together to help and support a family in need. And this family is gladly returning the favor by expressing the wish to set down roots and establishing itself in its new community.
Family history
After having left Châteauguay four years ago with their reconstituted family, Kim and Kevin lived for a time in housing accommodations that were ill-kept by the owner of the building. It got to a point where they feared for the health and well-being of their children. When their eldest daughter Kiara returned from school one day with a brochure describing the Habitat for Humanity project in cooperation with the New Frontiers school board, Kim allowed herself to fantasize … Believing that her family would never meet the selection criteria, she shoved the paper at the back of a drawer.
Many months later, while viewing a video on Facebook describing the Our House project, Kim allowed herself to dream once again about a better life for her children. This time, she filled out the application and sent it in.
When Habitat for Humanity contacted the family, Kim and Kevin danced for joy in their garden, celebrating the beginning of an amazing adventure.
