The Estevan chapter of Habitat for Humanity recently received a large donation from City Council, approved during the Council's meeting Monday night. The $10,000 is towards the Habitat's building project poised to begin in the spring of 2017.

Chairman Doug Barnstable expressed, "We are very excited that the City is going to partner with us on our build project in Estevan in 2017."

Barnstable says that the donation is contingent on the purchase of a lot, and then the money will be put toward the land.

"We have a tentative site location with one of the developers in town, and we have to get that site approved by our Regina affiliates. We don't see any issues with that at this point, but that's just the process we have to go through for picking a building site and developing a house plan that will suit the lot and the partner family.

Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig spoke his sentiments regarding the motion.

"I think it's a very worthwhile endeavour. It will give an opportunity for people to own a home, who would otherwise rent the rest of their lives because they wouldn't be able to make a down payment, or have a credit rating, to purchase or build their own home without help. I'm proud of the fact that Council passed the motion, and agreed to do this. I'm also proud of all the volunteers moving this project forward, so we can soon have a house for Habitat for Humanity."

Even though the donation is a great boost, there is still more fundraising to do. Barnstable mentioned, however, that the project is on track for commencement in the spring and they hope to have all the funds by then.

"We are cautiously optimistic that we'll get all [the funds] in place that we need to. We have the opportunity to purchase the lot at a reduced price, and the funding from the City will help make it even more cost effective. So generally, we think we're on track. We don't see any hold-ups, and feel we're looking good for the end of March."

He shared the excellent feedback they received from the community.

"We're appreciative of the help we've been receiving from various volunteers, as well as the response from the community. It's always encouraging to have people step up and say that they would like to be involved, on a financial standpoint and otherwise. We are grateful that the community is behind us and is supporting us in this project.

Barnstable adds that they are still looking for volunteers.

"We're still taking people's names down for volunteers, so when we do start construction we will have opportunities for them, and we'll contact them and let them know when they can be involved on the site. We also have volunteer positions within the committees, and we're looking at some fundraising projects in the first part of the New Year, that we'll be needing some additional help on those as well.

"We appreciate their willingness to be a part of our project, and look forward to beginning to build in April or May of next year, and completing by October," Doug concluded.

Those who are interested in getting involved in the project can contact Habitat for Humanity via email: info@habitatestevan.ca