HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ANNOUNCES ROYAL PATRONS PETER & AUTUMN PHILLIPS

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1 MEDIA RELEASE For Immediate Release HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ANNOUNCES ROYAL PATRONS PETER & AUTUMN PHILLIPS Peterborough, March 17 th 2016 Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region (HFHPKR) announced Peter and Autumn Phillips as its new Royal Patrons during a media event at City Hall. Peter was named as the ambassador for Habitat s Youth Build Program and Autumn will serve as the ambassador for Habitat s Women Build Program. The Royal Patrons will help with local fundraising initiatives and highlight the work HFHPKR is doing to help low income families achieve their dream of homeownership. Peter Phillips is the son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips and the oldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Autumn Phillips (née Kelly) grew up in Montreal where she graduated from McGill University. Peter and Autumn met in 2003 in Montreal and were married in 2008 at St. George s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Peter and Autumn have two daughters, Savannah and Isla. The family resides in Gloucestershire. Sarah Burke, Executive Director of HFHPKR, announced that Peter and Autumn have scheduled a royal visit to Peterborough this summer during the last week of July. During their visit, Peter and Autumn will take part in special Youth Build and Women Build events. Our affiliate is very honoured to have Royal Patrons and the enthusiastic support of Peter and Autumn at the local level, says Sarah Burke. Peter and Autumn are extremely passionate about Habitat s mission and excited to help bring awareness to our Youth Build and Women Build programs when they visit in July. At the media event, Habitat was recognized as the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Kelly-Phillips Family Fund, a donor-advised fund held within the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough that is affiliated with the Royal Patrons. The grant presented to Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is the inaugural grant from the Kelly-Phillips Fund. The Kelly family looks forward to continuing to work with CFGP to invest in other charitable initiatives that will improve the quality of life in our community. Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region: Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization whose mission is to mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a way to break the cycle of poverty. Habitat gives a hand up, not a hand out to struggling families by offering a 0% interest mortgage, no downpayment and geared to income monthly payments. For more information, please visit Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough: The Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough, a public foundation that inspires giving to build a vital community for everyone. For more information, please visit For more information please contact: Emily Ferguson Resource Development Manager Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region emily@habitatpkr.ca

2 BACKGROUNDER & FACT SHEET INTRODUCTION On March 17 th 2016, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region (HFHPKR) will hold a media event at City Hall to publicly name its new Royal Patrons and announce the date of a royal visit to Peterborough. At this time, the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough (CFGP) will recognize HFHPKR as the recipient of an inaugural grant from a new fund that is affiliated with the patrons. Dignitaries and attendees at the media event will include: - Mayor Daryl Bennett, City of Peterborough - Sarah Burke, HFHPKR Executive Director - Betty Morris, CFGP Chair - John Good, CFGP Executive Director - Alan Ingram, Rotary Club of Peterborough - Tracy Utter, RBC - Representatives from Youth Build & Women Build Programs HFHPKR ROYAL PATRONS - PETER & AUTUMN PHILLIPS Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region will announce Royal Patrons, Peter and Autumn Phillips, who will represent the affiliate s Youth Build and Women Build Programs as ambassadors. Peter Phillips is the son of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips and the oldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Autumn Phillips (née Kelly) grew up in Montreal where she graduated from McGill University. Peter and Autumn met in 2003 in Montreal and were married in 2008 at St. George s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Peter and Autumn have two daughters, Savannah and Isla. The family resides in Gloucestershire. Peter and Autumn have scheduled a visit to Peterborough during the last week of July. During the royal visit, Peter and Autumn will be hosted by HFHPKR and take part in special Youth Build and Women Build events. 1

3 COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER PETERBOROUGH: KELLY PHILLIPS FAMILY FUND Established by Brian and Lynne Kelly, the Kelly-Phillips Family Fund is a donor-advised fund held within the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough (CFGP). Similar to a private foundation, income generated by the fund principal that is invested and managed by CFGP, enables the making of grants to charities whose work is of particular importance to the Kelly family. Today s grant to Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, is the inaugural grant from the Kelly- Phillips Fund and Brian and Lynne look forward to continuing to work with CFGP to invest in other charitable initiatives that will improve the quality of life in our community. A public foundation and registered charity created by the people of the City and County of Peterborough, CFGP inspires giving to build a vital community for everyone. The Foundation does this by investing the charitable gifts of donors to create endowment funds and using the investment income to make grants to charities in our area. Endowments are held in perpetuity, so that there will always be a pool of resources to support Greater Peterborough. The Foundation takes a broad and inclusive view of what a community is, and provides grants to the widest possible range of organizations and initiatives. Using the knowledge gained from Greater Peterborough s Vital Signs, a bi-annual snapshot of our community that measures the vitality of Greater Peterborough, CFGP invests in people, activities and ideas to build a community that is more vital, inclusive and resilient. For more information visit WOMEN BUILD PROGRAM AMBASSADOR, AUTUMN PHILLIPS Habitat s Women Build Program fosters courage and confidence by bringing together women from all walks of life who want to learn new skills and make an impact in their community. Launched locally in 2011, Women Build encourages female volunteers to make a tangible difference in the community by assisting with construction of Habitat homes. HFHPKR s 2016 Women Empowerment Campaign provides an opportunity for community leaders to come together and promote the breadth of influence that women hold, all while offering a handup to a family in need of a safe and affordable home. The WE Campaign will bring together 30 exceptional women; each with a challenge to raise $1,000 through their own creative, unique efforts. These 30 WE Leaders will put the challenge out to 100 more local women to join them in an effort to build affordable housing in our community. RBC is a longstanding partner with Habitat for Humanity. RBC employees are active volunteers on local Habitat build sites and a numerous female employees are taking part in the 2016 WE Campaign. As the Ambassador of the Women Build Program, Autumn Phillips will be part of a major Women Build event in July that celebrates the efforts of local female volunteers involved with the WE Campaign. 2

4 YOUTH BUILD PROGRAM AMBASSADOR, PETER PHILLIPS In 2012 Habitat Youth Program (HYP) was launched. HYP is an initiative aimed at engaging local youth directly in helping low income families realize their dreams of homeownership. The Habitat experience provides youth with a rewarding introduction to volunteering, allows for acquisition of valuable hands on experience and encourages long-term civic engagement. HYP and Rotary Club of Peterborough have teamed up to raise awareness and bring helping hands to the community. Peterborough Rotary Club is the premiere sponsor of HYP and has committed to donating $100,000 to the program over the course of five years. Peterborough Rotarians have also taken on the role of being mentors for youth volunteers. As HYP ambassador, Peter Phillips will celebrate the work of youth volunteers in our community at a special HYP event held during the royal visit. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY PETERBOROUGH & KAWARTHA REGION Established in 2002, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region (HFHPKR) is a nonprofit, non-denominational housing organization. Through volunteer labour and donations of money and materials, Habitat builds simple, decent houses in partnership with homeowner families. We offer low-income families a hand-up, not a hand-out, giving them the ability to break the cycle of poverty through home ownership. The hand-up comes in the form of a 0% interest mortgage, with no down payment, and geared to income monthly payments. Our Vision A world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. Our Mission To mobilize volunteers and community partners in building affordable housing and promoting homeownership as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty. Funding Model Habitat for Humanity affiliates build homes with volunteer labour and as much donated or costreduced material as possible. Fundraising takes place to help offset the expense of materials, services and land not provided through donations. Financial support is received from individuals, corporations, service groups and the community. By building homes at low cost and not collecting a down payment or interest on the mortgage, Habitat is able to provide a hand up for families that would not otherwise qualify for a conventional mortgage. 3

5 Habitat homes are sold to families, not given to them free of charge. Families purchase their homes at appraised fair market value. Monthly mortgage payments are geared to income and set at 25% of a family s gross income. Each year, HFHPKR assesses a family s income and revises mortgage payments accordingly. Mortgages are held by HFHPKR and payments are retained to fund future building projects. Each time a family makes a mortgage payment, they know they are helping another hardworking family into homeownership. Partner Families HFHPKR helps families realize their dream of homeownership. Families who apply to the Homeownership Program must demonstrate: 1) need for affordable housing 2) ability to make monthly mortgage payments 3) willingness to partner Partner families also invest 500 hours of their own labour, referred to as sweat equity, into building their home, assisting at the ReStore, and volunteering at special events. Benefits to Families The Habitat model offers families a chance to build wealth and self-esteem through homeownership. Over time, a family s equity in their Habitat home increases, most often resulting in an improved financial situation. Prior to partnering with Habitat, families are typically spending up to 50% of their household income on rent and depending on social services. As new homeowners, families become tax payers and actively contribute to the local economy. Stable housing enables a family to provide a safe and healthy environment in which their children can flourish and one day dream on homeownership for themselves.. 4