[VERNON, BC] October 21, 2010—Framing is underway at Habitat for Humanity Kelowna’s newest affordable housing project with help from Tolko Industries Ltd. The company is providing a lumber and sheathing package for use in a duplex on the Westside.
Habitat for Humanity volunteers are working to build the duplex side-by-side with the low-income families who will purchase the homes. “Our volunteers told me that Tolko’s OSB panels are easy to work with,” remarked project coordinator Ken Kunka of Flywheel Building Solutions.
This project is the first of two duplexes to be built on the Westside and will be ready for occupancy in early spring of 2011.
“We greatly appreciate Tolko’s enthusiastic support of this project,” said Lona Manning, Executive Director. “By helping us keep our costs down, more of the proceeds from the home sale can go toward building more affordable housing. Tolko’s donation is a gift that keeps on giving.”
“We are very pleased to be part of this worthwhile community project,” says Jonathan Rogers, Acting Vice President, Marketing & Sales. “This is a perfect fit for our business, in addition to being an opportunity to contribute back to the region where so many of our employees live and work.”
This partnership with Habitat for Humanity renews a relationship that grew in 2006, following donations and a team of Tolko employees who travelled to take part in the international association’s rebuild efforts near New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.
Background: Habitat for Humanity Kelowna is a part of the international Habitat for Humanity movement. The volunteer-run organization has built 17 homes in Kelowna since 1992. The homes are sold to low-income working families with children.
Tolko Industries Ltd. is a private, Canadian-owned forest products company based in Vernon, British Columbia. Tolko produces lumber, veneer, plywood, oriented strand board, and kraft papers for customers around the world. The Company’s Woodlands operations have received third-party certification of their sustainable forest management systems
Contact
Ken Kunka Flywheel Building Solutions
250-859-6062
Lona Manning Habitat for Humanity Kelowna Executive Director
250-762-7303
Sheri Greeno Tolko Industries Ltd. Communications Advisor
250-549-5341
