Less than a week after finding out their construction project had effectively been dropped, the Vancouver Island non-profit Power To Be is already seeing organizations stepping up with their time and donations to help pick the work back up.
“We’re happy to see things through right to the end,” said Marshal Mason, owner-operator of Red and Blue Heating and Cooling.
Local contractors, like Red and Blue Heating and Cooling, are volunteering their services to help Power To Be finish the expansion HeroWork could not.
“They really enjoy the sense of community,” said Mason, whose staff is offering up their free time to finish up the construction at Power To Be.
After 10 years of helping breathe new life into local charities, HeroWork is closing its doors.
“It was so difficult for us to come to this decision because it’s meant so much,” Paul Latour, CEO and founder of HeroWork, told CHEK News Thursday.
Some HeroWork staff are back on site at Power To Be finishing what they can before the non-profit known for breathing new life into local charities shuts down at the end of the month.
In the meantime, donors are stepping up to make sure the project continues moving ahead.
“Coast Capital is donating $50,000 to kickstart the campaign, really,” said Tanya Smith, manager of social purpose ecosystem with Coast Capital.
An injection of hope is coming from the construction industry as well.
“We certainly have a network to leverage and we’ll do our best to help them,” said Rory Kulmala, CEO of the Vancouver Island Construction Association (VICA).
New estimates show the project is about 70 per cent finished, but Power To Be says there’s still roughly $150,000 to $250,000 still needed to finish it.
“We’re really optimistic, that with the continued support, that with some more donations, we’ll get to the finish line by the end of the year,” said Jason Cole, Co-CEO of Power To Be.
Cole is hoping even more of the community will come forward to help raise the funds to get their project back on track.
Kori Sidaway
