The HomeStars Giving Back Award was created to recognize companies who go above and beyond to help out their communities. The following companies gave more than just monetary donations, they put in their time, effort and labour to give back in any way they can.
HomeStars would like to congratulate the following companies for the significant charitable work in their communities throughout 2017.
Alberta
24/7 Electric Inc.
24/7 Electric has been committed to community involvement from its inception. They celebrated their 4th annual “Be Seen on Halloween” event that promotes safety and reminds drivers to watch for excited children on this night. The event has grown from standing at a busy intersection with glow sticks and helping children cross; to handing out 2500 flashlights this year in our 4th year. This is a project close to the owner Stacy Walton, who has witnessed a child in a Batman costume being struck b a car running from house to house. Her goal is to give out flashlights at as many community centres as she can. She is pleased to see the growth of the event and feels it is worth it to interact with every child that she has hung a flashlight on.
Alberta Carpet Cleaning
Alberta Carpet Cleaning supports many non-profits in Edmonton & the surrounding area through what they do best – cleaning! One of their longest standing charity partners and one that has a deep connection with our staff is the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta. About 4 times a year, around 10 of our technicians, along with some of our managers, show up first thing in the morning and get to work helping to provide clean carpets and furniture for this amazing cause. According to the staff, “The company gets as much out of these opportunities as the recipients do! To see the amazing work that Ronald McDonald House does day in and day out, and the impact that they have on the community makes us really proud to be able to help out, even in just a small way.”
All Weather Windows Renovations
At All Weather Windows, their vision is to improve the lives of families, one family at a time. Over the past 39 years, they have worked with many incredible partners to help achieve their vision and assist those in need the best way they can in communities in which they do business. All Weather Windows sponsorship goals also include empowerment. Their goal is to set individuals up for long-term success by providing assistance for health and wellness initiatives, supporting students in industry related career studies, helping children and families below the poverty line, and by devoting time to aid in the construction of long-term shelter for those in need. When it comes to supporting their communities, they take a four-pillar approach: strengthening families, providing shelter, supporting education and health and wellness. In 2017, a major focus of their sponsorship program was on supporting the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Edmonton and Winnipeg. The goal of the Carter Work project was to build 150 homes in both cities, in honour of Canada’s 150th birthday.
Arpi’s Industries Ltd.
For over 50 years, Arpi’s Industries has not only been passionate about providing outstanding customer service and products but also giving back to the community. Arpi’s works with Habitat for Humanity doing their HVAC installations and donates to numerous companies such as The United Way, Cancer Society, Alberta Red Cross, Children’s Cottage Society (the company donates over 2000 diapers a year!), Salvation Army, and countless others. This year, the staff also donated their time and efforts to give a deserving family a new furnace! They truly went above and beyond for this project, not only did they donate their time to install the furnace, the technicians also helped with some odd jobs around the house, like raking leaves. It was wonderful to see this family’s wish of a warm and cozy home come true!
Certa Pro Painters of Calgary North
CertaPro Painters of Calgary North has made giving back to the community its mission. As a part of CertaPro Canada’s Childhood Wellness Initiative, and in celebration of CertaPro Painters’ 25th anniversary, the local CertaPro Painters of Calgary North has pledged to donate $25 from each job to either Ronald McDonald House (RHM) or Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids (BB4CK). Customers will then be able to choose which one of these charities will receive the donation from the proceeds of their paint job. “Our goal is to bring awareness in hopes that individuals will choose to donate to these worthy causes,” RHM and BB4CK are organizations who serve children in need.
Chinook Landscaping and Design
In 2017 The Chinook Landscaping and Design company provided all the materials and labour necessary for the St. Boniface Elementary School Playground rebuild in Lake Boavista at no charge.
Epic Roof & Exteriors
This past year Epic Roof & Exteriors flew 3 of their shareholders along with 4 of their employees to Nepal to assist with the continual re-build going on since the massive earthquakes that hit them. The team got into some of the most remote areas of the country, with one stretch of road only covering 140 kms, but taking over 10 hours to get through. Many communities in these remote areas have not received the attention of more populated areas and they wanted to be able to help those that were struggling to piece their homes and communities back together.
Furnace Family (Edmonton)
Furnace Family worked with not 1 but 2 families this year to give back to the community. They installed 2 furnaces for families in need so that they would be warm this winter and not have to worry about their furnace breaking down. The families were very grateful and all the staff donated their time to the community. Throughout December with any installations that happened, money was given back to the local Foodbank.
Green Thumb Landscaping
Three years ago Tamara Konopelky, the owner of Green Thumb Landscaping, ago kicked off the Christmas CarePack Campaign with the goal of assembling 200+ backpacks to distribute at Christmas to youth in need. In Canada youth make up about 20% of the homeless population and Tamara has made it her mission to let them know she and others care! In her first year Tamara was able to assemble well over 100 packs, and last year she managed to fill over 400 packs through donations. The amount of time Tamara has dedicated to this campaign over the years makes her most deserving of this award!
Impact Zone
Impact zone was started in 1995, since then they have volunteered with the local community association, using their trucks for anything required at the centre, with city councillors, and local MLA’s. Almost 5 years ago they opened up a second-hand store as they found too many items were being turned away from Charities that someone in need could use. Although they do not make a profit from the store, the moving subsidizes to keep the doors open. They have also forced local charities to lower their prices to match theirs which helps out the locals. The owner has also initiated a foundation fund when his father passed away in his name, donating money each year to local charities. On top of all of this, the team also help some of the local elderly people shovel walks, fix fences, trim trees, and anything required.
JPS Furnace
Since January 1st, 2017 they have raised over $2,000 for the Southern Alberta’s Children’s Make A Wish Foundation in hope’s to give another deserving child their one requested wish. In addition to this, every year the company donates $5 for every furnace or air conditioner sold.
Knight Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning
In May of this year, Knight’s Heating and Plumbing helped out in their community by making a $5,000 donation to Copperfield Elementary School, which was in need of some help. The donations that Knight made to Copperfield was divided among three important projects for the school.The first part of the donation took the form of planters and seeds. Knight’s was also able to provide the students at Copperfield with brand new science textbooks, which the students were reportedly thrilled with. Lastly, the company also provided some additional supplies for Copperfield’s music faculty, including some tone chimes. Knight’s founder and Ryan’s grandfather, Tony Hinger, was a great music lover and the musical donation was given in his honour.
Liberty Security
Liberty Security is a part of the Make-A-Wish Northern Alberta Calendar of Wishes, an organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. They were able to grant the wish of 17-year-old Omer, who lives with multiple neurological and cardiac conditions, and sent him and his family on their very first family vacation to see the beautiful sights of Vancouver and ride the ferry. In addition to this, they also held their 7th annual Liberty Classic charity golf tournament and raised over $60,000 with the help of their sponsors, community support, volunteers and golfers!
MaidPro Calgary
MaidPro Calgary is one of the founding members of MaidProCares.org. They support 4 childrens’ homes around the world, including Liberty Children’s Home in Ladyville, Belize. Every year they do a trip to the orphanage in Belize to donate their time and resources to completing building and learning projects at the Home. This year 17 people from Canada and the US went for 5 days and did a ton of cleaning, junk removal, painting, electrical repair and water-proofing. This was their 4th visit to Belize, and MaidPro Calgary’s owner – David – is one of only two people who has been on every single trip. More locally, they have done 6 free house cleans this year in Calgary and Airdrie for cancer patients.
MAXgreen Windows, Roofing, and Siding
MAXgreen donates $10 for every window and door replaced and $50 for every roofing and siding job completed to local charities. They also plant a tree for every window and door replaced and 5 trees for every roofing and siding project. The MAXcommunity by MAXgreen Fund has now raised over $135,000 to various local charities in only 8 years of that program and planted 7,000 trees in Alberta in only 4 years of that program. MAXgreen has also donated more than $20,000 worth of products and services to individual families in need, as well Habitat for Humanity and other smaller local charities. MAXcommunity by MAXgreen has been a Title Sponsor of the Max Robinson Children’s Foundation Annual Memorial Golf Tournament to raise funds for thr Alberta Children’s Hospital.
Nu-Life Carpet Care Inc.
To honour its clientele, Nu-Life Carpet Care makes special charitable donations to organizations such as the People for Progress Foundation, Calgary Drop-In Centre, etc. While this certainly represented a way to give back, three years ago Nu-Life complemented these donations and decided that, as much as possible, all gift items purchased would be produced by Fair Trade Producers and Artisans. Every year the staff get involved and find it a pleasure to search for and select unique and special items, wrap them up with a note regarding their origin and the Artisan’s story, and send them off! Not only do the recipients enjoy a gesture of thanks, but Nu-Life is thrilled to be able to help provide vital, fair income to those in great need!
Proline Electric
Proline Electric has donated to a 7-year-old girl with type 1 diabetes as she walked in the JDRF Walk in Edmonton to support Juvenile Diabetes Research. The company has also provided Christmas for 2 families who are down on their luck and can’t afford such festivities. Everything is brought to their home, from the Christmas tree to gifts for the entire family. Proline Electric has sponsored St.Albert Soccer Association making a contribution to allow a child to be able to play soccer and raised funds for local darts athlete Mike Dwyer; as he travelled to Europe for World’s Darts Championship, contributing $4000. Finally, Proline provides a Pizza lunch for Students at Our Lady Peace School in Edmonton, where they do crafts and provide safety demonstrations.
Trico Homes
In the summer of 2015, Chief Aaron Young of the Chiniki First Nation reached out to Trico Homes for help to restore 159 homes that had been badly damaged during the 2013 flood. The families had been living in badly damaged and unhealthy homes for two years, waiting for them to be repaired and Trico Homes was wanting to help. The restoration process came with many challenges including coordinating repairs and contractors in remote and spread out home locations and moving families to temporary accommodations during the restoration. Trico engaged the Nation to help effectively coordinate the process in this remote setting. They ended up employing over 60 Nation members during the restoration. Trico was able to complete the project and move 159 families back into safe and healthy homes in a 15-month period. Trico and the Chiniki First Nation have continued to collaborate and are working on future initiatives that will bring holistic change and self-reliance for the people of the Chiniki First Nation.
British Columbia
AAA Wildlife Control
For the past 20+ years, AAA Wildlife Control has maintained close relations with Wildlife Rescue Association of BC (also known as WRA), a non-profit organization that serves the Vancouver area in wildlife rehabilitation. Last year in early 2017, Wildlife Rescue looked to AAA Wildlife Control for some assistance with a serious rat problem. They had been experiencing an increasing problem in their main animal hospital building with rats throughout the structure. The countless hours, by at least 6 different team members of AAA Wildlife Control, over at least three months working on the rat problem inside the building, until finally in April 2017, there was confirmation that the rats were no longer residing in the structure. In the end, AAA Wildlife Control did not charge WRA any portion of the $2000 to $4000 in servicing fees to battle this problem.
Adanac Roofing
Adanac Roofing financially supports the community sports team, PoCo Wild Sox, a U16 girls softball team out of Port Coquitlam. This year, the company purchased the entire team (including coaches) brand new rain jackets, something that the team has been trying to fundraise for these for 3 years. Living in a temperate rainforest, we often have to play in light rain and wind so they have come in handy.
Bur-Han Garden & Lawn Care
Bur-Han Garden & Lawn Care is a company that has always believed in the importance of giving back to the community. This year alone they have donated money & services to local churches, horticulture based universities such as Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Museums and fantastic organizations such as Himalayan Life – Ride for Refuge, Jo Dickey Foundation, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and many more.
Centra Windows, Exteriors, Restorations
Centra Windows, in conjunction with the Centra Cares Foundation, works around the clock to provide much-needed comfort and warmth to those who struggle in their communities. Over the last three years, the Centra Cares Foundation has raised over $430,000 in support of local charities. 2017 was an exceptional year for giving back to those in need and included the full window renovations on three homes of well-deserved families in Maple Ridge, Kelowna and Nanaimo. In addition to these renovations, the Centra family, made up of employees and their families, volunteer at Nightshift every third Tuesday of the month to provide warm meals, a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen to those who are affected most in the Downtown Surrey area. In November a team of Centra employees went to Haiti to help build schoolrooms for neighbourhood children.
De Haas Landscape Design
De Haas Landscape Design is a company that strongly believes that we all have something to contribute to the community and that we share the responsibility for our environment. They make a special effort every year to gather what they can from friends, family, and clients in an attempt to make some sort of impact in the lives of those living on the City streets. For 2017, their goal was to purchase useful materials such as blankets, gloves, toques, socks, etc, and create care packages that would offer comfort, warmth, and perhaps serenity to people who had no roof over their head during that particularly cold winter. They assembled a truckload of these cold weather care packages and distributed them to people all over Vancouver.
Penfolds Roofing & Solar
During the month of December, Penfolds Roofing & Solar had a clothing drive to gather as many warm items of clothing as they could. They also put on a donation event to gather a charitable contribution that they put towards purchasing soup, sandwiches, hot chocolate and a variety of other items to hand out at Oppenheimer park on the downtown east side. Finally, on December 6th Penfolds was a Gold sponsor at the annual hope in the city charity even put on by the Salvation Army.
Gandy Installations
For the 4th year in a row, Gandy has spread the warmth not only in the households of their customers but on the streets to the homeless by hosting their annual blanket drive. Each year, they partner with Blanket BC and collect blankets for those in need. Their blanket donations help support over 75 different shelters including Lookout Aid Society, The Caring Place, Hope for Freedom Society, Triage Centre, Rain City Housing, Ann Davis Society, Haven in the Hollow, Emergency Services – first on the scene of housing complex fires. Their customers get a notification that they will receive a discount on their tune-up if they donate a blanket. The tech then brings the blanket into the office which makes it easier on people who are interested in donating as they don’t have to leave their household to drop off something off.
Green Coast Rubbish
In its daily operations, Green Coast picks up waste from clients and diverts an industry leading 82% of that material away from the landfill. All reusable items – including furniture, clothing, household goods, and valuable building materials – are donated to deserving organizations. In 2017, Green Coast donated 5.27 tonnes (over 11,000 lbs) of materials to charitable organizations who were then able to raise funds to benefit the community by selling these goods. The proceeds would assist the most vulnerable members of our society who may need help with food, shelter, medical and/or other services for their families. Community partners who receive these donations include the Salvation Army, Canadian Diabetes Association, Helping Families in Need Society and Spinal Cord Injury BC. In 2016, Green Coast Rubbish announced a new partnership with where they donate services to support Habitat for Humanity’s deconstruction program. This program focuses on diverting architectural waste from home renovations away the landfill, creating valuable skills building and work experience opportunities for volunteers and raising money to build affordable housing for local families in Metro Vancouver. They have completed 9 deconstruction projects with Habitat for Humanity, donating 15 kitchens as well as appliances, furniture and building supplies with a value of approximately $22,000.
JMT Roofing and Painting
JMT often volunteers at local food banks and donates their time and resources to surrounding schools and families. At the Food Bank, they provide support in multiple ways, from sorting and repacking donations and preparing hot meals and making deliveries, distributing literature, and even recruiting other volunteers to assist. In addition, JMT has given back to the community by donating roofing labour and materials for many non-profit buildings. They have also provided roofs at cost for families in financial need countless times. They also find time to serve as active members of our church and to help tutor children in reading and adults in business management, resume writing and career mentorship. Abroad, they have donated large amounts to charities in India which provide medical services to blind children, and in many cases allowing them to regain their eyesight.
Mainland Ventures Renovations and Restorations
Owners Paul and Mira and their staff jumped right in to help with an animal rescue helping hundreds of abandoned pet rabbits populating Richmond and other areas in the Lower Mainland. The shelter, Ribbitats, had hard-to-use taps in their shelter, so MainLand Ventures, Renovations and Restorations had their plumbers put in a new set. They dismantled and moved a large row of pens for them, and paid for new lights and electricians to install them. Whenever the shelter’s volunteers needed help, be it moving heavy fixtures or furniture or offering advice, Mainland was always right there. Finally, when the shelter decided to revamp their depressing, oil-stained old garage, Mainland was integral in helping them making it into a happy place that Rabbitats volunteers and supporters wanted to visit, and they also made a very generous monetary donation that paid for all the supplies it took to do so.
New Look Home Services
In 2017 the company ran a canned food drive to help fill the shelves for the Salvation Army. For every can that they collected, New Look Home Services matched can for can. Over the last few years, they have ran this food drive and have been able to donate over 1 million cans to help stock the shelves. In addition to all of this, they also help with the SPCA to raise money for our fur friends through paws for a cause.
Ontario
5 Star Cleaning
Bahman Geran from 5 Star Cleaning has been involved in so many donations and fundraising within his community. In May 2017 the company donated and fundraised for the Desmoid Tumor Foundation of Canada. They also provided some handcrafted rugs to use in an auction where all of the money collected was donated to DFC. On top of this, they also donated money to the people in Iran who were affected by the recent earthquake, supplying money and necessities to survive.
A&A Masonry
A&A Masonry is a top supporter of The Drug Free Marshalls in the efforts to educate the young people of Toronto and surrounding areas, thus thwarting the harmful effects that drugs have on too many families. The company provided financial support for the Christmas event they had and also had a staff member attend the event and judge the “why I want to be drug free” essay contest.
AlphaOne Staging and Design
For the past several years, Barbara Bryan, staging designer and president of AlphaOne Staging and Design, has taken time out from her busy schedule to help raise funds to support Shakespeare In Action. SIA’s “The Shakespearean Challenge, “ raises funds to provide education and literacy for youth-at-risk in Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods. Over the course of eight weeks, Barbara rehearses with other corporate Thespians who take to the stage for a two-night performance of a Shakespearean Comedy. Barbara firmly believes in equal access to good education for all children; she has witnessed firsthand the benefits a solid education has on the growth and development of youth and cherishes a belief in the need to support community.
Ambia Windows and Doors Inc
Amber Windows and Doors Inc. donates brand new, quality products such as windows and doors to Habitat for Humanity on an annual basis to contribute to their mission in helping underprivileged and needy people. On a personal level, they also donate goods to charitable organizations like the Children’s Wish Foundation, Kidney Foundation, Salvation Army to name a few and they also donate monetary funds via direct deposit to Sick Kids hospital on a monthly basis.
Avenue Road Masonry
Avenue Road Masonry has made financial donations to the Drug Free Marshals as well as helped numerous customers with free services such as, cleaning customers eavestroughs, putting up someone’s Christmas wreath on their 2 storey home and other acts of kindness. In addition to this, the company also sponsored someone for a 5k walk to build a home for a child/family in Africa.
Avenue Road Roofing
This year Avenue Road Roofing was contacted by the York Baseball Association as they were in need of a new roof for their storage house at their baseball diamond at Smythe Park. Avenue Road Roofing did the roof at no cost, covering all labour and materials. The company has also made financial donations to The Drug Free Marshals and a few of their staff participated in the yearly event of bringing awareness about the effects of drugs and its solution. Avenue Road Roofing as a company and its individual staff also sponsored an ARR employee for a 5k walk to build a home for a child/family in Africa.
Bensimon Design
Bensimon Design gives tirelessly to help people in the local and broader Toronto Community. In 2017 the company provided Canadian soldiers in transitional stages with off-cut materials, they also worked with school-aged children to learn tool safety and build confidence while creating something spectacular and mentored high school students with an interest in woodworking. In the past Moise, owner of Bensimon Design has volunteered countless hours to work on the Junior League of Toronto’s Show House.
Brock Doors & Windows Ltd.
Brock Doors & Windows started 2017 off with a compelling goal in mind, to participate and be a part of many charitable organizations in 2017 and onward. As a company, they have contributed to sponsoring four separate little leagues across the GTA, as well as hands-on involvement and providing all windows and doors for the Bett-Knowlton Project by Habitat for Humanity in Acton, ON. They sponsored The Knights of Columbus for their annual Golf Tournament were all proceeds were directed to notable causes. Their most recent achievement & project is their annual Holiday Party that took place on November 18th where they raised $4460 for the Salvation Army’s Family Life Resource Centre of Peel Region, a not for profit shelter for women and their children fleeing domestic violence. A number of employees within Brock get hands-on involved in buying each child a personalized gift, and each mother a body kit with an inspirational quote inside – as well as providing them with a full (perishable) nutritious holiday dinner. Admittance to the party is only through providing a non-perishable food item, which they have received hundreds of pounds in donations for.
Carter Painting Inc.
Carter Painting cares about the people and homes in their community. Not only do they provide quality home improvement services, founder Neil Carter gave his time as a dedicated Volunteer Firefighter for the City of Hamilton from June 2016 through June 2017. In this position, Neil would respond to various emergencies, including house fires, automobile accidents, personal injuries, and medical events. In addition, he actively participated in their Goods Drive at Christmastime where volunteers drove the fire trucks around the community collecting food for those in need. The company also volunteered at various festivals, providing information and teaching fire prevention.
Ciscon Landscaping
Two years ago, when Ciscon Landscaping completed their first giving back project, it sparked a level of satisfaction in them that they just couldn’t ignore. This year, Ciscon Landscaping partnered with 102.9 KLite FM in Hamilton to run a contest for a deserving family to win a $10,000 backyard makeover. Radio listeners had to nominate a family and describe in detail, why they felt they deserved a new outdoor living area! In the end, a family was chosen that has dedicated the last 20 years to fostering children that needed a loving home. Together, they designed a makeover to allow them an outdoor space for the foster children to enjoy during their sometimes longer than anticipated stay. The second project,hit close to home for the Owners, Paul & Carmen. Being an active member of the Parent Council, they suggested a makeover of the current play area to where the youngest children of the school play every day. Carmen & Paul, along with their team, have dedicated the labour involved for the playground build for the project as part of giving back to their community, and the children, that is estimated around $40k.
Convertible Heating & AC Inc.
For the last 10 years in a row, Convertible Heating & AC has been diligently sponsoring children’s physical development and healthy lifestyle choices through sport and recreation. They have been involved both at the coaching level as well as a corporate sponsor to ensure their funds are going directly toward positive experiences for the children. In addition to this, they have sponsored Mississauga House league hockey, A hockey and AA hockey teams, the East York Soccer teams, the East York Baseball teams and the East Toronto Baseball teams. Asides from sports, they donate money to many Breast Cancer foundations, participate in walks, and donate money to those in need. Finally, they donate equipment when needed to Habitat for Humanity and give discounts on their installation to seniors and those financially unstable.
Dave’s Duct Cleaning
Every year since 2014, Dave’s Duct Cleaning has been the official duct cleaning partner for Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area. To date, they have performed their services on new builds for the homes that have been delivered to families in need and have contributed $30,000. From January thru April, they will be contributing $10 from every home they service.
domilya GROUP
domilya GROUP has sponsored and supported several charities and events including, the Halton Women’s Shelter, the Oakville Hospital, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and INCITE: A Single Moms Support Group, Food4Kids, United Way of Milton, Circle of Women Who Care, the Milton District Hospital and its Black & White PJ Party, Milton Area Female Entrepreneurs events and most recently, Girls Inc. The owners, Rachid and Heba Malki, are both very passionate about what they do and are highly focused, energetic and driven professionals always ready to help build strong community relationships and enhance development opportunities.
Firemen Movers Inc
Firemen Movers continued to donate to the RedDoor Family Shelter in 2017, a company they have been working with for 5+ years, providing 4-5 truckloads of furniture for the women/families that the program is helping. The clients of Firemen Movers Inc. are gracious enough to donate their gently used furniture and they bring it back and store the items at no cost until RedDoor can come pick them up. The company also provided the SickKids Burn Unit with a monetary donation from a portion of our profits. On top of this, Firemen Movers has also donated their trucks to help Global Medic, a company that provides relief to those affected by natural disasters.
Fivestar Painting
This year Fivestar painting has decided to donate money to plant 10 trees for every project that they do. They make the donation to a wildlife fund called We Forest who then puts the money into their worldwide projects. In 2017 the company was close to hitting their lifetime mark of 10,000 trees.
Go Green Plumbing Ltd
This year Go Green Plumbing has partnered with a local organization, Community Crew that provides lunches and breakfasts for underprivileged children at schools in marginalized areas. Their monthly donation provides the supplies they need to make these meals. Relatives and friends of their team also volunteer their time with this organization helping distribute these meals and hanging out with the children.
Great Northern Insulation
In 2017, Great Northern Insulation picked up their power tools and dodged balls for United Way Oxford. In June, the employees built wood planters for Woodstock & District Developmental Services as part of the Day of Caring. In a partnership with Doug Tarry Homes, and along with more than 600 volunteers in the St. Thomas region, a Net Zero Ready Home was constructed over the course of just three days for the bereaved family of Johnny Nooren, a local community ambassador who passed away of cancer in summer of 2016. Great Northern Insulation donated both products and services to the cause.
Green Side Up Contracting Inc
Being a family oriented man, and someone who believes in everyone deserves a fair shot in life, owner Jay Saveall has also been a big believer in the Habitat For Humanity organization. Although it was Jay’s desire to help the construction team at Habitat build a house from the ground up, it was not possible for Jay to be away from his business given his responsibility to his clients, and employees. As an alternative, over the course of six months, Jay volunteered over 100 hours of his time as a drivers assistant where he would help pick up donated furniture.
Hercules Moving Company
Hercules Moving Company makes it a priority to assist those in need within their community. Over the years they have become involved with a number of organizations in their area by donating monetary funds as well as resources and time. This year a kind individual was willing to donate a piano to a retirement centre, Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities. They’ve explained that having a piano as part of their music program is essential for work they do with seniors with Dementia. Hercules Moving Company delivered the piano from the donor to the centre free of charge. Other organizations that the company is involved with include Raising The Roof, Move for Hunger, Humanity First, and Habitat for Humanity.
Home Decor Staging and Interior Design
The people at Home Decor Staging and Interior Design are huge animal lovers and do quite a bit for their furry friends. Every Sunday they go the Toronto Animal Shelter to donate their time to cuddle with the cats. Animals in the shelters are in an extremely stressful environment and they provide moments of relief by hold and loving the cats and kittens that are up for adoption. The team also fosters the cats, usually cats that are post surgery or kittens that are too small for adoption. In keeping with their commitment that all animals be treated with love and respect, they donate money not only to the Toronto Animal Services but also to The Wildlife Conservation Network that supports endangered species.
Home Improvement People Inc
This year the Home Improvement People Inc decided to donate 10 percent of all income they earned to Zareinu, a school for special needs children. The company also continuously donates unused cabinetry from their projects to Habitat for Humanity for those in need.
Home Painters Toronto
Alzheimers disease affects over 200,000 North Americans and at Home Painters Toronto they feel as if it is their duty to give back and support worthy causes that effects so many of fellow citizens. In May of 2017, the company worked as a team and raised $2000 towards this worthy cause. In turn, we also got to meet some great people including ex-NHL-ers John Scott, Darryl Sittler, Lanny Mcdonald, Wendel Clark and many others. What a great way to support such a great cause and to work as a team as well towards accomplishing this goal!
Horizon Plumbing and Piping Systems
In 2016 Horizon plumbing and piping systems started a project for the Nonprofit organization of the Christie Lake Kids Camp foundation. Working with the camp coordinators and a number of local high school students, in 2017 they were able to complete the project. This was a large scale project coordinated with many trades in order to supply solar power to an island in order to produce running water and heated water for fully functioning camp facilities. This island facility was created to help teach and train the future camp counsellors that will be working directly with the underprivileged youth that attend the camp on a yearly basis.
Hotwire Electric
This year, Hotwire gave back to their community in a number of ways. They were able to donate $2000 to a boys basketball rep team in Thornhill, $1500 to Nicky’s Dream for Sick Kids charity, $1000 to Ray of Hope, and $5700 to cancer research. On a more personal level, someone in their company passed away and they gave the family over $5000 to take care of their kids and widowed wife.
LawnSavers Plant Health Care
LawnSavers’ mission is to make their clients and community say “wow!” In fulfilling their mission, they offer all employees one full paid volunteer day each year to help out their community. Every Earth Day since 2011, the entire LawnSavers team goes down to St. James Park in Toronto to perform annual maintenance. They work with the community to rake, aerate, overseed and fertilize the park to ensure it remains a green gem in the concrete jungle of the city. LawnSavers also donated 8 large planter boxes to a school in York Region to allow students to plant vegetables and flowers so the kids could touch and learn to grow plants. They also provided lights and decorations to amp up their Christmas concert in order to make it extra festive and special.
Martino HVAC
This year Martino HVAC donated an HVAC unit, a roof A/C unit, and their time toward The King’s Way Outreach Centre. This organization provides a continental breakfast, hot lunch and empowerment programs such as Overcoming Addictions, Life Skills for Success, etc to 150 people every day. Those in the centre were coming in out of the cold, but often having to deal with a very chilly environment. In the summer, it was so hot in the kitchen, that the volunteer cooks were often not able to perform their job. Martino HVAC changed all of that and donated a furnace, a roof A/C unit, and helped with the instalment of both.
Norseman Construction & Development Ltd.
Norseman volunteered their time at the Beaches Spring Sprint to help hand out water and hot beverages. The company then participated in the Lions Easter Parade- where they dressed as Vikings and handed out candy and helium balloons. The people at Norseman are happy to go back to Scott’s Mission, to help serve hot meals and organize charitable donations. Lastly, they sponsored the local Beaches Chorale Choir for Messiah in the City and gave a charitable donation to the Amicus theatre.
Peinture Ottawa Gatineau Painting
In December 2017 Ottawa Gatineau Painting was hired to paint the ceilings of a commercial building in Buckingham, Québec. There were several different businesses and organizations in that building that the company met, including the great people of Centre Action Générations des Aînés de Buckingham, a centre that encourages seniors to be more active and social by offering free activities for them. While they were painting the other place they told them how happy they were with their work and how they wished they could have had the resources to paint their whole place but they just didn’t have the money, being a non-profit organization. Having done volunteer work many times for senior centres like Unitarian House they know how rewarding it can be to give back to their community so Peinture Ottawa Gatineau Painting offered to paint all the walls in the centre including all paint and materials for free.
Protection Plus
In a friendly, but important challenge to the business community, Protection Plus® has issued a challenge to other businesses, large and small, to use their incorporation date as an annual “Volunteer Day.” What better way to mark the anniversary of business incorporation than to give back to the community that made success possible in the first place! On Friday, May 26th, Protection Plus marked its 23rd year in business by volunteering at Second Harvest Food Bank in Toronto. All staff from Protection Plus worked with the Second Harvest to sort, pack, and load food that is incoming and outgoing. In addition to the provision of labour to assist in the daily challenges of running a Food Bank, Protection Plus also installed a surveillance camera system for Second Harvest that Honeywell Security Canada graciously donated.
RCC Waterproofing
Every Christmas RCC Waterproofing helps out deserving families from the Sick Kids Foundation, providing gifts for the entire family to make a difficult time a little less stressful and more enjoyable for them all. The staff at RCC Waterproofing take the time to individually wrap each and every gift to make it extra special for each child. This year was extra special, the president of RCC Waterproofing, Tony Romanelli, donated over $100,000.00 worth of toys (2 truckloads!) to The City of Vaughan toy drive. He has also donated $10,000 to help provide wells for clean drinking water in undeveloped countries. Tony has put a lot of his personal time in helping with local charities around the community each and every year. Aside from donating a $75,000 capital contribution for the building of the new Hospice Vaughan, they have one of their employees on the board who is dedicated to bettering our community.
Reliance Home Comfort
Reliance’s Community Involvement Team organizes and engages team members in fundraising events to support local charities across Canada. Reliance team members show incredible support for United Way in their annual United Way campaign donating over $300,000 in 2017. Their partnership with Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a world where everyone has a decent place to live, is a signature program that involves their entire team across Canada. In 2017, hundreds of team members across Canada participated in 40 Habitat Build Days donating well over 2000 volunteer hours to help build more than 40 Habitat homes. In addition, and in collaboration with their supplier partners, they increased their contribution to Habitat by donating $300,000 worth of equipment and installation hours. They also donated $10,000 to the Houston Food Bank to support families and communities affected by Hurricane Harvey.
Remember Me Roofing Inc
For the third year in a row, Remember Me Roofing has hosted their “Win a Free Roof” contest. Remember Me Roofing created this contest as a way to give back to the community and help a family in need. They work with their suppliers to provide the materials for the roof replacement and the staff volunteer their time to complete the project. The contest is open to the public and the winner is determined based on public votes made via the Remember Me Roofing website. Not only is Remember Me Roofing helping a family in need within the community year after year, they are also leading by example and making an impact with other companies, the suppliers they work with, and even their staff who are all encouraged to help and give back.
Rent-a-Son
Rent-A-Son and the company’s leadership, Ted Nash, Patrick Human, President and Chairman of Rent-a-Son Inc., respectively, have been incredible champions for Prostate Cancer Canada and the prostate cancer cause. Their support was seen during Father’s Day as Rent-a-Son joined the Plaid for Dad movement! Team members took to wearing plaid hats and shirts and worked together to raise funds to promote awareness of the most common cancer diagnosed among Canadian men. Rent-a-Son again demonstrated their support, joining Prostate Cancer Canada for a morning dedicated to raising funds and promoting early detection at the annual Wake Up Call Breakfast Series in Toronto. The event was led committee chair and Prostate Cancer Canada board member Ted Nash, who was presented with the Ferguson Award for his outstanding dedication to the cause, the organization, and for leading Prostate Cancer Canada’s most successful Wake Up Call Breakfast to date, raising over $186,000.
Roy Inch & Sons Service Experts
Roy Inch & Sons went to work to give back during their 90th Anniversary year in order to help out our community. They teamed up with the United Way to do a backpack drive, purchasing new backpacks with school supplies. They handed out over 23 new backpacks for kids in need. In September they also had a special day set aside for children with a handicap or disability go to the Western Fair called a Day of Dreams. Employees of Roy Inch & Sons donated their time to participate, welcoming the children to the fair, helping them on & off rides, & playing games. Throughout the year, the company also participated MS Bike Ride and recently the took part in two different auctions one for the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital which included a bathroom renovation and the second for the London Health Sciences Centre where they contributed an entire heating & cooling system. At their 90th Anniversary celebration, they raised funds for all Breed Canine rescue by selling food and asking for donations from all attendee’s. All in, the total money raised to help the community and others in need came to over $30,000.
SUSTAINABLE.TO Architecture + Building
Since 2009, the company has been working with the Community Design Initiative (CDI), at the East Scarborough Storefront in the Kingston-Galloway /Orton Park (KGO) community; the team’s long-term participation is exemplary of their dedication. In collaboration with other architects, planners, social sector workers, and members of the KGO community, the STO team launched Torontonians Envisioning Neighbourhoods Together (TENT), wherein the basics of planning literacy were explored so that the community members could engage in meaningful dialogues with both developers and with the City. Next, a number of the youth from the CDI program were gathered to now mentor the adults living in the apartment towers behind the Storefront towards the redesign of outdoor spaces surrounding the towers and the access ways to the adjacent ravine. This work caught the attention of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) who, through the City of Toronto Public Health Department (TPH), have funded a 5-year pilot program, Healthy by Design, at the East Scarborough site, and at a corresponding Weston /Mount Dennis site.
Skylights Unlimited
Denis Charron and the staff and crew of Skylights Unlimited were active in the community this year, donating time and money to worthy causes. Two that stand out are: Based in Uganda and North America, Save The Mothers is part of a global movement to improve the health of mothers and babies. Each year Skylights Unlimited donates a free Sun tunnel ( installed ) a value of $1150.00 at their Annual Fundraiser. Skylights Unlimited also donates yearly, the same to Emmanuel International at their fundraiser. Emmanuel International Canada is currently working in hundreds of communities in Brazil, Haiti, Malawi, the Philippines, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda to provide clean drinking water, healthcare and education.
The Crack Specialists Inc
When The Crack Specialists was established back in 2004, they knew that their small waterproofing company would be serving our community. TCS has become a sponsor for the KidsAbility Radio-A-Thon – our tag – “Kids deserve to start out on a SOLID FOUNDATION”. They continued their community efforts with providing their skills and labour (in kind) to support the local chapter of the Waterloo-Kitchener Habitat for Humanity – The project coordinator has their phone number on his cell phone and knows that TCS is there to provide waterproofing services when needed – this is their 3rd year supporting Habitat and they hope to expand into the Guelph Region for 2018. In addition to these two on-going charities and new to this year, is their support for a locally based charity called “Stuff In Stockings” – a non-profit charity makes it possible for children and seniors in our community have a Merry Christmas.
The Painting Hub
This year, The Painting Hub donated the time and efforts of 5 painters for one full 8 hour day to paint the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto, a three-story building with an added basement. This equates to approximately 40 hours and $1200 in wages provided to charity. An impressive community project that The Painting Hub should be proud of!
Torontonian Flooring
Last year Torontonian Flooring worked to help their community by installing carpet for both a Burlington mosque and a Church, with all materials and installation costs covered. This kind of work is what Torontonian Flooring was founded on and they continue to make it a priority year after year.
Verve Electric Inc
Nathan Parsons, Owner/Operator of Verve Electric Inc, has always believed in giving back to his community. One of the ways in which he does this is to volunteer his time at his local church. He is a member of the property committee which meets monthly to discuss on-going projects and future work that needs to be done to make sure the church is functioning properly for not only the congregation, but also the many groups that use the church for their functions. Beyond being a property committee member, Nathan also donates his time to complete electrical work at the church. He helped to install a new AC unit, upgrade the lighting, install automated lighting controls and new receptacles for audiovisual equipment.
Wow 1 Day Painting
In 2018 the owner of the company reached out to Big Brothers & Sisters of York Region and offered to paint the bedroom of 2 different families with Little Brothers in the program. He then in September reached back out to the foundation to ask us to find a family in the program that needed to have a large part of their home freshened up. Kim Rood, the owner of the company reached out to the family and arranged to have a large part of their home refreshed and absorbed all related costs for the effort.
You Move Me
You Move Me (along with our partner 1-800-GOT-JUNK?) served as Title Sponsor of the “Chair Affair”, a charity gala fundraising to end furniture poverty in the city of Toronto, put on by Furniture Bank. Raising enough money to furnish over 900 homes, the event was a tremendous success and connected the company to families in need.
