Message from the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Red Deer
Greetings to all of our families, volunteers, donors and community partners -
The board of directors and staff at Habitat Red Deer remain fiercely committed to ensuring the health and safety of all those we work to serve as we grapple with the unprecedented impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Effective March 18th, we temporarily closed our ReStore to staff and the public on the strong recommendations of government officials, health experts and the Habitat Canada federation. Although a difficult one, this was a necessary decision to protect the well-being of our staff, customers and donors. As well, our Blackfalds build project may be delayed until later this spring as the situation evolves.
As a result of our Restore closure which provides necessary operational funding for our affiliate, we had to make the hard decision to issue temporary lay-offs to some of our staff. It is our every intention to resume operations, but only when it is safe to do so based on the advice of health experts and community leaders. We will continue to monitor the situation on a daily basis, including consulting with the Habitat Canada leadership team and with our affiliate colleagues across the country as we decide on a future path forward together.
In addition, we know many of our Habitat homeowners are deeply affected by the economic and financial turmoil caused by this epidemic. We are working with families on an individual basis to address their concerns and implement measures that will help see them through these difficult times.
We strive to always put our families first.
To our incredible volunteers, donors and partners: we know you stand with us in our commitment to health and safety for all and look forward to continuing our work with you to build strength, stability and independence through affordable homeownership as we move forward.
THANK YOU for your unwavering support and varied contributions that fuel our mission – we simply can’t do it without you!
Please continue to tune in to our social media platforms and check our website at: habitatreddeer.ca as we post further updates.
In the meantime, we will ‘Keep Calm & Habitat On’ as best we can! Be safe and take care of one another.
Sincerely,
Karen Vavrek, CEO
Habitat for Humanity Red Deer