Are you interested in joining a small group that share a passion to put our faith into action by helping our neighbours, whether they live in the next house, next province or next continent? This group meets twice a month, once to delve deeper into God’s
word regarding poverty and social justice, and once to plan our activities, such as the Airdrie Food Bank, Mustard Seed, and our own Airdrie Habitat for Humanity build. Contact:
Ian Babey
Local Group Seeking to Build Habitat Home in Airdrie
Written By Dawn Smith - reprinted from the Airdrie City View
A local group is acting out their convictions that everyone deserves a decent place to live. Linda Ray, a long time resident of Airdrie, has spearheaded a committee whose goal is to partner with Habitat for Humanity in building sustainable housing in Airdrie.
The group, whose members are involved in Faith Community Baptist Church (FCBC), has met several times with John McMahon, manager of individuals and faith group partnerships at Habitat for Humanity's Calgary Chapter, to discuss the possibility of building a
habitat home in Airdrie. "This is four or five people that have gotten together and said, "We can do this, we want to do this,"" said Linda Ray.
Ray's vision started years ago after she read an article about a single mom in India who just wanted to put a roof over her children's head, but was unable to do so. Ray empathized with the woman and developed a real sensitivity and desire to help those who
have a difficult time providing a home for their families. This deep rooted concern led her to volunteer with a group that was building an orphanage in Mexico in 2007. After returning home, she realized that there are opportunities at home to help people.
"I thought, there are people in my own backyard that need help," said Ray.
The final impetus was the support of the newly formed social justice group at FCBC, which is determined to do some practical things to help people. "We are not a group that is just talking, we want something to happen soon," said Ray.
According to McMahon, Calgary's Habitat for Humanity (HFH) group is excited too. "We have only built in Calgary so far," said McMahon. "That is what makes this so exciting."
According to McMahon, HFH, which has built 83 homes in Calgary, will take care of the business end of things as well as the selection process for the family, and the FCBC group will be in charge of fundraising and volunteering. Many volunteers will be needed
for such a big project, said McMahon. Fortunately, getting volunteers to work on a Habitat home is not difficult, said McMahon. Perhaps it is because volunteers and communities seem to benefit from the experience of working on one of the homes.
"It is an extremely enlightening experience," said McMahon. According to McMahon, recipient of Habitat homes are hard working people who are struggling to make ends meet and are willing and able to put in 500 hours of sweat equity in their new home.