Local Habitat team issues challenge to other local companies

February 5, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brock Weir

As January came to a close, Marie-Christine “M-C” Perron was able to take at least one item off her bucket list.

The Innisfil resident and employee at Aurora’s Bunn-O-Matic has long-wanted to take part in a Habitat for Humanity build, and last year she got the opportunity to do just that.

The fruits of “M-C”’s labour, along with that of her Bunn-O-Matic Habitat for Humanity Team, were on show Sunday at the official dedication of York Region’s latest Habitat build in Sutton.

At the house, soon to become the home of the Strain family, several members of the Bunn team were on hand for the occasion, including Andrea Nadon, who knows all too well the good service Habitat for Humanity can provide.

“I wanted to help out because when I was younger we had Habitat build my house, so I thought it would be nice to build someone else’s,” she said. “That was when I was two or three in Mississauga and it was fun to help.”

She was joined at the ceremony by Jackie Burton, Purchasing Administrator for Bunn, who recalled the “sweat” that went into making the house a reality.

“You could have said tears because we thought we were there to work outside and put the siding on,” she said, remembering her feeling while working in the basement when she saw a truckload of rocks approaching for them to work with. “The first place I am going to go [at the dedication] is back into that basement!

“Habitat is a great idea and has helped people get into homes and be safe and warm. I am very handy with my hands around the house, so getting out and actually doing something to help somebody else was good.”

For M-C, now that the job is done, she can put a well-earned checkmark on her bucket list, but looking back she is not about to take it off her list altogether should further opportunities crop up.

“I’ve wanted to do it for quite a few years, and it has such a great reputation and is such a worthwhile endeavour that I wanted to have a little piece of my own personal life associated with it,” she said. “I have my name, as we all do, written inside the walls so there is a little piece of my history there. If I die tomorrow, whatever sweat and tears was put into that house will remain. It is a legacy – and I most probably will do it again!”

If the team has their way, however, they will do just that. Looking back over the fun they had, Jackie proposes a bit of a gender challenge throughout the community.

“Maybe we could challenge the corporations in Aurora that if Habitat had another Women’s Day, maybe we could challenge other corporations to come out,” she said.

The women around the table were more than enthusiastic about the idea and, if it comes to fruition, their male teammates will join them as their loudest cheering section.

“We get a lot of joy and pride out of it,” said Chandra Lodhia.