www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 17, 2016 | 10 Special Olympics flag makes its way through Burlington and Oakville Drumming up Special Olympics excitement, the Knights of Columbus Special Olympics Flag Relay made its way through Oakville last week. The flag is among a number being taken around the province as part of a five-month relay to raise public awareness, as well as funds, for the Special Olympics Provincial Games that will take place in Durham Region June 1-3. Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and other local politicians were among people in attendance at the flag raising ceremony held at Town Hall last Friday (March 11). It featured a short march led by a Knights of Columbus colour guard and included Special Olympics athletes. A cheque was presented to the Special Olympics from two Knights of Columbus Councils in Oakville. Prior to its visit in Oakville, the flag was raised at Burlington City Hall on March 7 and made a special appearance at Haber Recreation Centre in Burlington last Thursday (March 10) for a Special Olympics athletes' night. Dozens of Oakville and Burlington athletes participated in demonstrations of their skills in basketball, floor hockey and rhythmic gymnastics while members of Halton police, Burlington Fire, Knights of Columbus and Oakville Special Olympics made a special appearance during a halftime free throw competition. | photo courtesy Town of Oakville Special Olympics Burlington held a flag transfer ceremony at the Haber Recreation Centre, in Burlington, where they passed the Special Olympics flag onto its counterpart in Oakville, last Thursday. The flag (one of six) is travelling across Ontario visiting in 113 Knights of Columbus districts along the way, with a journey that began in early January. After the flag handover ceremony, the Special Olympics athletes put on demonstrations of basketball, floor hockey and rhythmic gymnastics. At left, Oakville Shooting Stars Kathryn Siujaric takes part in the halftime free-throw competition. Above, the Town of Oakville held a Special Olympics flag-raising ceremony last Friday. For more photos see page 11. | photos by Graham Paine Oakville Beaver Habitat Seeking Visionary Sponsorship Partners For Five New Projects That Will Build Homes For Families In Need Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga is looking for local businesses and corporations to sponsor the construction of affordable homes for families in need. The local Habitat affiliate is launching 5 new projects this year that will see them building more homes than ever before to meet the need in our community. "We're very excited to get these five new projects underway," explains Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga CEO, John Gerrard. "Transitioning from building one home per year to building multiple homes at a time is no small feat, but here at Habitat, we can see the need for affordable housing on the rise and we're growing to meet that need. With the help of our home sponsors, donors and volunteers, we can make a difference in the lives of local families in need." Has your company ever considered becoming a home sponsor with Habitat? When you become a Habitat home sponsor (aka. a Visionary Partner), you help Habitat change the lives of a hard working, local families in need for generations to come. Through your donation of $100K, you not only sponsor the construction of a home for the family, but you also eliminate the instability and stress that living in poverty can bring for both parents and children. Your donation alters the course of the family's future forever. It's proven that when you donate to help build a home, Habitat families reduce their dependency on food banks, improve their quality and stability of employment, enable and encourage their children to pursue post secondary education, increase their physical activity and donate their time as volunteers to help others in their community. As a thank you for your generous support, Habitat recognizes all Visionary Partners in a unique way that provides a great branding opportunity. Your company will receive a list of value-added benefits, including permanent signage on our build site, 10 build days where you and your employees can experience Habitat's Adopt-A-Day team building experience and communications exposure on web, in print and on social media (including our newsletter, Facebook and Twitter). Give back to your community and help Habitat build more homes this year than ever before by becoming a Visionary Partner. For more information, please contact Melissa Foley at mfoley@habitathm. ca or (647) 470-8413. Habitat's latest build, a town home complex on Queensway Drive in Burlington will house up to 21 families in need.