With shovels in hand, members of Habitat for Humanity Sunshine Coast officially broke ground on their first housing project this week.
On Sunday afternoon, representatives from Habitat, the Town of Gibsons, Sunshine Coast Regional District and Capilano College, along with the selected family who will be living in the home, broke ground on a lot on North Road in Gibsons.
Rev. Ray Niebergall from Living Faith Lutheran Church, who is secretary on the local Habitat board, officiated at the ceremony.
Niebergall began the proceedings by outlining a brief history of Habitat's existence on the Coast.
"We've had our ups and downs, but that all goes away today. Today is a wonderful day," said Niebergall.
Niebergall then led those assembled in singing "Bless our Homes and Families" and followed that with a prayer and blessing.
Board chair Barry Smith then took over, offering thanks and appreciation for the hard work that has been done the past two years by many volunteers and community supporters.
Among those supporters in attendance were two representatives from Alcan. Richard Prokopanko, director of Corporate Affairs for B.C., and Bryan Tucker, corporate communications consultant from Montreal, were on hand to present Habitat with a cheque for $60,000.
Habitat and its recycling committee took part in an Alcan-sponsored contest. Habitat Sunshine Coast won for the total number of cans recycled on a per capita basis, a whopping 17,381.
"Only three months ago we announced the winners, and already you are building your first home on the Sunshine Coast. I don't see Toronto moving this fast," Tucker said. "That is a tremendous achievement and one you should all be very proud of. Alcan is proud to be involved with Habitat. We're inspired by your determination to meet the needs of affordable housing on the Sunshine Coast."
Tucker flew out from Montreal and took a float plane to Gibsons Sunday morning, then caught a late flight back to Montreal that night following the ceremony.
"I felt it was important to be here and show our support," said Tucker.
Prokopanko also spoke of Alcan's further involvement, saying the company would do its best to assist in the construction.
"It's going to be a challenge, but I pledge to you today that we will try to get our employees here to help work on the project. We have been and will continue to be very close with Habitat B.C. and Habitat here on the Sunshine Coast," he said.Now that ground has been broken, there are a few more hurdles to be overcome by Habitat before construction can start.
Smith said the next step is to get proper building permits, so the foundation can be poured.
Once that is complete, the home, which has been partially constructed by intro-to-trades program students from Cap College, will be moved from the school district site on Trout Lake Road to the North Road site in Gibsons.
After that is done, final construction on the home will begin. If all goes as planned, Habitat hopes to turn over the keys to the recipient family just before Christmas.
"We still have some work to do, but we're finally here. We have a lot, we've broken ground, and we're close to construction. This is a huge day for us," Smith said.
