The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

continued from p.1 Samantha choked back tears as she thanked her mother and the community for the support. "Mom, if it wasn't for you being as strong a person as you are, none of this would have been possible. You are my strength, you are everything and you sacrifice so much. I'm so thankful to have a mother like you," said Samantha. As Christine went inside, she said it's hard to describe "how awesome this house is. It's the most beautiful home I've ever seen." "It's been very fulfilling to be able to work alongside Habitat for Humanity and the many volunteers on your home. They become family. It's not just my kids and I, but everybody becomes family," said Christine. "Sponsors, donors and countless volunteers are the true heroes." Bal's submission, Happy Homes for Everyone, won first place from more than 7,000 entries received last year in Genworth's writing contest. The contest asks Grade 4-6 students Canadawide to submit an essay on what home means to them for a chance to allocate $60,000 to a Habitat for Humanity build of their choosing. Support for the project also included a $50,000 contribution from OMDREB. "It's important for people to have a home to live in, so they have a place where they can keep warm in cold weather, have a place for memories to be made and have a place where they can live their lives," said Bal. Bal said it was interesting to watch the house get "built from scratch," as he passed by weekly `It's the most beautiful home I've ever seen:' mother In January, Mayor Rob Burton offered an additional plot of land for a fourth Habitat home -- if the organization recruits Heritage Glen students to help with the construction. "I want to make sure we work with Habitat for Humanity as much as possible. I was sold on Habitat before I became mayor, before I even moved to Oakville 20 years ago," said Burton. Gerrard confirmed a fourth Oakville Habitat home will be built in the next 12-18 months, but details on a location were not disclosed. He said it will involve close to 900 elementary school students -- a first for Habitat Canada-wide. "Now that we have 100 per cent commitment from Town council, the school board (and school), it will be a very unique and exciting project. We've been working slowly on it as we finish this property," said Gerrard. Habitat for Humanity Halton's board has set a goal of building 75 homes over the next five years -- an average of 15 per year. Habitat is on track to erect 60 homes in the next four years, Gerrard said, noting plans are in place for new builds in Milton in 2015, Burlington in 2016, Acton and Georgetown in 2016 and possibly in Oakville in 2017 for a bigger project. "It's not good enough to build one or two homes a year, we're going to build 75 in five years. I'm very excited that we're well on our way to hitting our target," said Gerrard. "At the end of the day, this is why Habitat is so successful. We put well-deserving families in homes and it's going to make their lives so much better." For information, visit www.habitathalton.ca. 3 | Wednesday, August 13, 2014 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com The Pembroke Drive Habitat for Humanity house is now a home with the de Koning family receiving the keys Saturday. Pictured, from left, are mom Christine, Maddie, Curtis and Samantha opening the door to their home. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) inside today's Editorial Sports Beaver www.insideHALTON.com on the way to his soccer practice. "It's a really nice house. It's a good place for a family to live because it's got three bedrooms, a bathroom and a lot of space for them. I'm glad they got to have the house," said Bal. Habitat for Humanity Halton executive director John Gerrard noted volunteers contributed more than 4,000 hours of time to the build. Employees from Metroland Media West, Genworth Canada, OMDREB and other local companies spent time on the build site. Real Estate Rona Lowes Canada Halton Regional Police National Sports Bouclair Golf Town Carters Staples With the aid of community organizations, Habitat is able to "get the home built," Gerrard said. Nearly 100 per cent of the cost is covered by volunteers, donors and the government. "With all of those folks coming together, we're able to build a home so affordable that a family can take over and become very successful. Volunteers, corporations and donors give what they can and make it a reality," said Gerrard. The Pembroke Drive unit is the third Habitat home in Oakville. 6 11 Classified 13 *All flyers not necessarily delivered to all homes For home delivery & customer service call 905-631-6095, 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington New subscriptions call 905-631-6095 or subscribe online @ www.oakvillebeaver.com THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO DESIGN YOUR DREAM AYA KITCHEN Thank you Oakville for nominating us under the category of Best Financial Planner Peter Watson MBA, CFP, R.F.P., CIM, FCSI Certified Financial Planner Since 1991 AYA KITCHENS OF OAKVILLE · 1195 North Service Road West AyAoakville.com · 905.847.1522 220 Randall Street · Downtown Oakville Phone: 905.842.2100 www.peterwatsoninvestments.com