Carpentry students at Vancouver Island University will put on their work boots to help with efforts to raise money for a hospice facility in Nanaimo.
VIU has partnered with Nanaimo Community Hospice and the Canadian Home Builders’ Association - Vancouver Island to help build a grand prize home to be raffled off this spring. Proceeds from ticket sales will help fund a permanent stand-alone hospice facility in Nanaimo.
Kerriann Coady, CEO of Canadian Home Builders Association V.I. said in a press release that the new initiative is an exciting one.
“Nanaimo doesn’t have a standalone hospice facility with beds, so this project is the catalyst to building the nest egg to be able to make that happen,” Coady said.
The house will be built in the Foothills development in Lantzville. The 3,000-square-foot home is a project by Nanaimo-based Momentum Design Build and features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, an open-concept kitchen, dining and living room, entertainment room and a view side terrace with a pool. VIU students will be involved throughout various stages of the construction process.
“We will be working with the dream home team on as many aspects as we can, especially when we get to some of the envelope details, getting our students trained with some of the suppliers that have donated to the project, working with the energy advisor, windows and many more,” said Cameron Frenette, VIU carpentry instructor and program chairperson, in the release. “Each one of our classes has a house project in the community, but we also hope to be a major part of the dream home.”
The raffle draw date for the home is April 8 with the house to be completed in the spring.
READ ALSO: Learning outside the classroom suits VIU’s carpentry program just fine
Paige Karcynski, Nanaimo Community Hospice Society executive director, said in the release that her organization is thrilled to have the VIU carpentry program be a part of hospice’s largest fundraising initiative ever. She said the partnership is an opportunity to expand Nanaimo Hospice services and for students to gain hands-on experience on a home build that makes a difference in the community.
A total of 25,000 tickets for the raffle are available until the draw date or until they sell out, whichever comes first, at http://tickets.nanaimohospice.com.
photos@nanaimobulletin.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter