Habitat for Humanity: Elliott House Restoration (8/2/2008)

Some of you know that I volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Brampton. The Habitat for Humanity movement was founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia. The program developed from the concept of "partnership housing" where those in need of adequate shelter work side by side with volunteers from all walks of life to build simple, decent houses for needy families. The families help in building their houses through a process known as 'sweat equity' - each adult family member contributes 500 hours of time to their build. Most families are so thrilled with the process and the result, they end up coming back on future builds. Habitat's upbeat motto is 'Building Homes, Building Hope'.

This past year, the Brampton affiliate has been moving and restoring the Elliott House, a 150-yr old brick farmhouse with Heritage designation - this is a first for Habitat in North America! The move was successfully completed (not too many lost bricks) on July 23, 2007. Since then, we have been working like beavers to get the house levelled and the foundation finished so that the inside work can start. Pictures of the move can be viewed here.

If you have ever considered volunteering with Habitat, or would like to experience working on a construction site with a bunch of other non-specialist volunteers, now's your opportunity.

A typical day is from 9-12:30, an hour break for lunch, then continue working from 1:30-4:30. I've no idea what you'll be working on but you can bet it will likely involve power tools, mess and a lot of fun. Hardhats, coffee, tea, cold water and snacks will be supplied.

Driving directions:

1. Take 427 North or 407 West to Airport Rd - from 427 N, exit at Dixon Rd and turn left onto Airport Rd.
2. Head N on Airport Rd.
3. Cross Bovaird/Castlemore, turn left on Sandalwood (next lights).
4. Turn right on Torbram.
5. Drive up Torbram and turn right onto Father Tobin Rd.
6. Turn left onto Soapstone Trail, go to the end (t-insersection).
7. Turn left onto Sled Dog Rd and turn right at the next intersection which is also Sled Dog Rd (it's a loop!).
8. Follow Sled Dog around until you see the Habitat Trailer and the Elliott House.
9. Park anywhere on Sled Dog before or after the bend.

There is a safety document that you need to read and a waiver that has to be signed (Habitat waiver, not TOC) - I will send the documents to people when they sign up for the event

The Build Site Supervisor schedules work mainly based on the number of volunteers expected on a given day so please don't sign up for this event unless you are certain that a) you intend to do it, and b) you are available on August 2. Tasks are scheduled days, if not weeks, in advance - this is a huge project and there are many interdependencies between the various activities. It's very disappointing for ALL volunteers when a particular set of tasks cannot be completed, or sometimes even attempted, because less than the planned for number of people participate. Many thanks for your understanding.

- We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines at all times while participating in TOC events.
- Details of this event are subject to undergo a change at any point in time, with or without warning.
- Questions about equipment or rentals? Send them to safety@torontooutdoorclub.com.
- Notice any errors or problems in the information on this page? Please notify our Content Editor(s), Stacy, at content@torontooutdoorclub.com.

• Donation to Habitat Brampton - I will collect during initial orientation on site