HEARTWOOD

This meant that the contamination could be managed, not removed. This is one of the fi rst projects of this type and essential forredevelopment of lands in urban settings. Dr. Karin Guiguer and Thomas Gnanaydam joined us to receive the award for Best Small Scale Project. This is signifi cant success for HEARTWOOD PLACE and recognition of our commitment to develop challenging urban sites.

PROVIDING AN ADDRESS. . . TURNING ON LIGHTS. . . OPENING NEW DOORS. . .

The Year in Review

Canadian Urban Institute Brownie Award

It’s been an exciting year, watching the new building at 26 Ainslie Street South progress through many stages of construction. It’s also been a challeng-ing one as we continued to face ongoing require-ments of building on a contaminated site. However, HEARTWOOD PLACE on AINSLIE is fi nished with 66 affordable apartments now home to over 100 tenants. The problems along the way are fading and we are working on fi nding a third site! Although our focus was primarily on the new building, we were glad to have the stucco abatement completed at 19 Gaukel Street. We welcomed new staff and volunteers, hosted special events and received two important awards. It was a busy and memorable 12 months!

PLACE NEWSD

ecember 2010

When we began work on the former Reporter property in downtown Galt, we did not anticipate that the project would take 7 years or that it would receive national recognition with a prestigious Brownie Award. Thanks to the expertise and commitment of Franz Environmental, HEARTWOOD PLACE received approval from the Ministry of Environment for a Record of Site Condition.

Working together to build & manage

more aff ordable

housing

From demolition to comple-tion, it was only 12 months and every day was exciting. Watching the demolition of the Reporter Building was a sad but necessary step, espe-cially for many people who had worked there over the years. But the memories are being preserved. The building includes The Reporter Café where the red bricks from the old exterior have been used to create handsome wain-scoting and the front wall of the adjoining Courtyard.

WHY WE NEED TO

Comments From The Chair The team from James-

way Construction and Pre-mier Project Management, including Al Way and Adah Trabulsi, ensured that the building was well-planned and well-built, using Insulated Concrete Forms and durable, effi cient materials. With ICF con-struction moved quickly, even during inclement weather. It was a signifi cant achievement to have the roof installed in April!

• Although the government has supported the creation of 1896 new affordable housing units in our region since 2000, there are still 10,000 people on the waiting list; the wait can take over four years

• According to the 2005 census, over 60,000 people in our community, (or about

15%) live in poverty, including many children and seniors

• Every $1 invested in building affordable housing generates $13 in economic growth in our community

• The cost of new housing has increased by nearly 40% in the last 10 years; the “gap” between minimum wage and the cost of housing continues to grow

• Businesses can’t attract and keep employees without affordable housing. It provides stability and keeps employees on the job

Many people have helped

HEARTWOOD PLACE build and

manage aff ordable housing

in our community. We do our

best to provide acknowledge-

ment and appreciation, but

there’s a concern that they don’t

know the importance of their

contributions. Everyone must

hear about the smiles and sto-

ries when we opened the doors at

HEARTWOOD PLACE on

AINSLIE in early September.

Welcoming over 60 households

into new apartments with large

windows, maple cupboards and

individual heating controls was

a wonderful experience. There

were moving day glitches but

mostly there were stories of long

wait times -- living on friends’

couches, in cars, in shelters. Our

new building has tenants of all

ages, from single mothers with

toddlers to elderly people with

disabilities. The common thread

is they all need a safe, aff ord-

able “place to call home” which

is the foundation to stabilize

their lives, improve their health

and well-being. Knowing this

makes our commitment stead-

fast and strong. With 10,000

names on the Regional Housing

List our work is far from done!

TWELVE MONTHS OF

Key contractors on the project, including Gosen Electric, Glenn Sider Plumbing and Farwell Heat-ing, were essential to our success. Other committed suppliers and workers included Ontario Panel-ization who did an amazing job on the stucco. Many people worked from dawn to dark to fi nish the project on time and on budget. It’s a great building which not only provides affordable housing but is a positive contribution to the revitalization of downtown Galt.

Our TRADEMARK

DEVELOP A THIRD SITE

Challenges along the way included extra work required by the MOE and extra cost to drill more test wells. Also, numerous old foundations on the site increased the cost and time required for additional excavation. Support from all levels of government, in-cluding $4.62 Million un-der the Brownfi elds Initia-tive, and contributions from both the City of Cambridge and the Region of Waterloo, were essential to our success.

• Basic pensions and subsidies have not increased at the same rate as rent and utilities. Many seniors spend more than 50% of their income on housing

• One in twenty households in the region is paying 50% of gross income on housing, others spend up to 80%

• Nearly 40% of people rent. 30,000 of these households have total income of less than $25,000 per year

• 50% of single parents, especially mothers, cannot afford an adequate place for their children to live

• Emergency medical and shelter services are 10 times more costly than developing a long-term housing strategy

Our trademark represents signifi cant aspects, including commitments and goals. Our donors, contributors, volun-teers and staff have “big hearts” for the less fortunate. However, good intentions must be accompanied by strong commit-ments and sound decisions, hence, the importance of the strength of “wood”. Another aspect is that “heartwood” is the centre, the strongest part of the tree, which provides stability. We need that to build and manage aff ordable housing. It’s also what we want for our tenants so they have an opportunity to develop and grow through the housing we provide.

We share the belief that a safe, decent “place to call home” is the basic founda-tion and an essential requirement for improvements in individual lives. Social services can’t have much impact for peo-ple who don’t have an aff ordable home.

The image in our trademark is a strong, fl ourishing tree growing along a stream, protected by a row of trees in the back-ground. We see this as representing our role in providing a place where individu-als and families can fl ourish through decent housing and supportive man-agement. In this environment, every-one has an opportunity to develop and reach new heights of personal growth.

BUILDING ACTIVITY

Many events raise awareness

The WATERLOO 10KM CLAS-SIC is a wonderful Father’s Day event for participants, their friends, families and volunteers. As the Charity of Choice, HEARTWOOD PLACE is the recipient of the dona-tions. This year Andre Hutchinson

HEARTWOOD BLUES has been a great event for our organization for the past 8 years. We’ve enjoyed a variety of venues in the community and a wide range of local talent,

A new event in 2010, June 21 is now a permanent date on the HEARTWOOD PLACE calen-dar. The evening featured delight-ful music by Murray McLauchlan, accompanied by Dennis Pendrith. Suzanne Doyle and Ian Taylor opened including Colin White,

Daddy Long Legs, Shawn Kellerman and Cheryl Lescom. Great music, great times!

HEARTWOOD PLACE cre-ated “Not Just Gingerbread” three years ago, a commu-nity-based event which in-cluded building houses out of gingerbread ---or any other materials which the participants chose to use.

raised over $1800, followed by Shawn Davies with $1300 and a total of $8000!

with their melodic songs. It was a spectacular set-ting, great ambience and a memorable experience.

Building Little Houses

Sometimes people wonder why we host a number of special events throughout the year and there’s several good reasons. The primary one is that we have enthusiastic volunteers who want to help HEARTWOOD PLACE provide more affordable housing in our region. But since we construct apart-ment buildings, there’s little opportunity to be an active participant on site. However, our volunteers have a good time planning and hosting events which introduce new people to our organiza-tion and also raise money. The Reporter Cafe will offer a new aspect of participation. There will be training/employment opportunities for our tenants but there will also be many opportunities for volunteer activities in the Cafe and adjoining Com-munity Room. This space, recipient of an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant, will feature special programs and entertainment—including evenings focused on music, movies and card games. These will bring together residents in the apartments and many folks who live in the local community.

and encourage broad support

Participation is EssentialIt was great fun and a good way to meet new people with Workshops at the KPL and in the Community Room at HEARTWOOD PLACE on GAUKEL. This year’s version, Lebkuchendorf, was part of the Family Events for Oktoberfest. Held in The Rotunda at Kitchener City Hall and sponsored by The Record, it was an afternoon of lots of frosting and colourful candies. It was also an oppor-tunity to greet new folks and share information about HEARTWOOD PLACE. In addition, there were prizes from Stone Crock Group and treats to share. The event received the Best New Event of the Year from Oktoberfest!

BUY SOME BRICKSBUY SOME BRICKS was created several years ago to pro-vide HEARTWOOD PLACE with a community-focused appeal to a broad base of supporters. We have an attractive trademark and a promi-nent mascot which have been in-corporated into a number of events and promotional materials. These have included bright red T-Shirts, Red Bracelets, delicious Chocolate Bricks. For new promotions, learn about Buy Some Bricks Boutique.

Visit our website for details www.heartwoodplace.ca

Mortimer the Brick is a busy fellow. He attends many events and likes to meet new folks, especially kids of all ages!

First and Second Place winners in the Family Division were the Do-Gooders and Team Rickert. Other winners included the Potbelly Prevention Protago-nists, Road Rash and Team ICE. Lots of fun, challenges, suc-cesses and over $34,000 raised! Mark your calendars for next year’s Race on September 17.

THE FIFTH ANNUAL AMAZING RACE was an AMAZING day! Each year’s Race is bigger and better with more teams and more fun. Generously sponsored by Dave FM & The Beat, The Waterloo Region Record & Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty, win-ners included The Team To Beat with most points and The Hot Flashes with nearly $4000 in donations. Other successful fundraisers included The Queens Of Heart, Willi’s Wran-glers, The Desperados and John’s Hairem.

HOMES, GARDENS & ALL THAT JAZZ

A New VentureBuy Some Bricks Boutique

BUY SOME BRICKS BOUTIQUE is a new variation on an established theme. Wanting to have new opportunities to encourage additional donations to HEARTWOOD PLACE, we have prepared Note Cards with the BSB trademark. Inside the message says “Instead of a gift, I’ve Bought Some Bricks to support Heartwood Place.” These can be per-sonalized to suit the occasion and all amounts contributed will be receipted for tax purposes (minimum of $20). It’s a “win win” for everyone and makes shopping very easy!

Another year and another special evening! Generous sponsors, great contributors and accommodating staff at Deer Ridge Golf Club ensure that this is always a night to remember. Add a wide array of donors and friends of HEARTWOOD PLACE, superb jazz by the Paul Stouffer Quartet and Brent Shackleton, our skilled auctioneer, and we have all the requirements for a memorable evening. Sponsored by The Waterloo Region Record and Coldwell Banker Peter Benninger Realty, it’s a casually elegant event with marche style supper and time to visit with friends, along with bidding on exceptional items. Pro-ceeds of $35,000 will support our commitment to build-ing and managing more affordable housing in our region.

Handsome paper weights, handcrafted at the Thorn Glass Studio, are an-other feature of the BUY SOME BRICKS BOUTIQUE. Embossed with BSB, these are given to donors who contribute $250 or more. Display one on your desk and wait to hear the questions and compliments! These $$ will also be receipted for tax purposes.

For details, visit www.heartwoodplace.ca

BOARD MEMBERS

Mary BalesChair

Jake Benjamins

Scott Hartlieb

Fred McConnell

Lois A. Peterson

Kristen Porritt

John PrnoVice-Chair

Susan Raymond Vice-Chair

Tim RickertTreasurer

Dale RossSecretary

Andrew Roth

STAFF

Bonita DuaResource Development

Keith FaulconbridgeSuperintendent

Community Liason

Maria FlikkemaOperations

Robert Roche & Gail StevensSuperintendent

Tiffany DejakGraphic Designer

Housing Coalition Awards

• • • • • • • • • • •

Our Guiding PrinciplesMISSIONTo provide safe, affordable and adequate housing.

VISIONThat lives of individuals and families will improve and communities of hope will emerge as we provide safe, affordable and adequate housing.

VALUESWe respect the right of each person to have a place to call homeWe believe that our local community will actively support our fundraising effortsWe work in collaboration with community stakeholders in envisioning each projectWe select effective partners in project development/management whose values complement oursWe benefi t cities by reclaiming old sites and constructing environmentally sound buildingsWe facilitate the creation of community through designing welcoming and functional environmentsWe ensure fi nancial stability for our organization through wise use of resourcesWe plan each project for long-term viability and sustainabilityWe commit to provide sound property management for each project and strong support for our tenantsWe honour everyone’s contribution, including volunteersWe advocate our collective responsibility to address issues of homelessness and inadequate housing

CELEBRATION of NATIONAL HOUSING DAY is an annual event hosted by the Region of Waterloo which addresses many aspects of affordable housing, including the continued demand, and also celebrates achievements in several areas. This year’s theme focused on the need for adequate, affordable housing around the world and included a presentation by Rick Tait from the Habitat for Humanity Global Program. It’s clear that the locations are widespread with different housing styles and cultures, but the rest is remarkably similar. Many local achievements were recognized, including innovative projects andprograms. Nominated by Anne Tinker from The Bridges, Mary Bales received the Outstand-ing Volunteer and Housing Champion Award from the Waterloo Region Housing Coalition.

Charitable Registrations No. 86600 4419 RR0001

107 Young Street, Kitchener ON N2H 4Z2 P: 519-745-9315 F: 519-745-0341

housing@heartwoodplace.cawww.heartwoodplace.ca

HEARTWOOD PLACE