In our 20 years of building homes in this community, we have worked with some of the most dedicated, inspired people you could ever meet. Every single day we work with individuals that want to see their neighbourhoods become a more inclusive and equitable space for people from all walks of life. However, it’s safe to say we have never worked with an organization quite like CATCH 18.
For those who don’t know. CATCH 18 is a grassroots group of local organizations, including Knights of Columbus, Catholic Women’s League, schools, churches, local businesses and individuals. CATCH 18 brings these groups and individuals together to inform the community about Habitat for Humanity and building a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live.
CATCH 18 is an acronym for Communities Aligning to Create Habitats 2018. The groups that make up CATCH 18 plan and host fundraising events, then pool the money together to donate to Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga.
We are so inspired by this grassroots support. It was this same community spirit that brought Habitat for Humanity to Halton in the first place, and we’re so happy to see it alive and well.
High schools have held football tournaments, barbecues, and stud signing campaigns. Holy Rosary and St.Gabriel’s Church have placed donation bins on their property for Habitat, raising thousands of dollars for our charity in the process.
There are so many groups that have contributed to CATCH 18 in one way or another, and we wanted to take a moment to thank each and every single one of them:
- Knights of Columbus Council 15920 Burlington
- Holy Rosary Catholic Women’s League
- Holy Rosary Catholic Church
- Retired Teachers of Ontario District 15
- St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church
- St. Gabriel’s Elementary School
- ON Semi Conductor
- Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School
- Assumption Catholic Secondary School
- Holy Rosary Church Congregation
- Business Insurance Services & Alumni Insurance Services
- Louise Ann Bladek
- Anonymous Donations
To date, donations from CATCH 18 have totaled upwards of $18,990!
On top of their fundraising initiatives, CATCH 18 is teaching today’s youth how to give back and are now seeing the benefit in investing in something small. Students from Holy Rosary visited Notre Dame High School as part of CATCH 18 to learn about the life cycle of plants. The older students showed them how to plant seeds and help them grow. The goal was to show the elementary students how to dedicate yourself to something small, to take care of it and watch it develop into something strong over time.
CATCH 18 is not limited to youth initiatives however. The Retired Teachers of Ontario District 15 applied for a grant to help Habitat HM purchase bathroom materials for our Crew-Goetz Landing Project. The Holy Rosary Catholic Women’s league also sold flowers, pies and cookies to fundraise for Crew-Goetz.
CATCH 18 is all about committing to an idea that’s larger than yourself. It’s about coming together as a community to make a real, lasting change. If we’re ever going to build a world where everyone has a place to call home, it’s because of organizations like CATCH 18. We can all learn from the collective action taken by a group of people that want to see a community change for the better.
Thank you CATCH 18 for making such an impact on our charity and community. We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us next.
If you want to help CATCH 18 reach their goal of home sponsorship on our Crew-Goetz Landing build project click here! Your donation will directly help a family in our community finally realize the dream of home ownership.