Camrose Community Visionaries: Leona Calhoun & Cindy Olesen

On the evening of Dec. 13, 2017, Cindy Olesen was sitting outside of a local church waiting for her daughter’s Girl Guides meeting to finish. Her phone rang and, in that moment, she had no idea that this call would change her life forever. On the other end of the line was Leona Calhoun, Partner Family Liaison for Habitat for Humanity Camrose. Leona was calling to do more than wish Cindy a Merry Christmas, she was delivering the news that Cindy’s family was about to receive what they’d been wishing for most — a house to call home.

Leona Calhoun has successfully established two professional careers throughout her working life, in banking and real estate. Now retired, she’s been applying her background and expertise as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Camrose for the past 18 years. “At first I thought I'd like to go and help on the builds. I never did that. But I got on the selection committee and I found out that's where my passion lies,” she says.

Leona has volunteered in many different roles within the organization over the years, from the Board of Directors to the selection committee to the Snow Golf Tournament. But for Leona, her work with Habitat really comes down to one thing: helping people. “It’s to give families that wouldn't otherwise be able to get into a conventional mortgage the opportunity to have a safe, comfortable, good home to live in,” she says. “It’s to help families. It's a hand up, it's not a handout.”

Becoming a partner family and receiving a home through the Habitat for Humanity program certainly doesn’t involve handouts. There’s a rigorous application and screening process, followed by a commitment to 500 volunteer hours. “There are three criteria that they must qualify: they must have need, they must have the ability to pay and they must be willing to partner” says Leona “For every 20 to 25 applications, we're lucky if we get one that comes even close to qualifying. It’s tough.”

Cindy Olesen’s was one of the rare qualifying applications that crossed Leona’s desk.

And with good reason. As Leona can attest, there are two things immediately apparent about Cindy: she’s a hard worker and she’s a devoted mother of two girls. Despite these qualities and her best efforts, Cindy and her girls had fallen on tough times. “We’d been struggling. I was living in a house that was way too expensive for me. I was working three jobs to try to take care of my kids and I was barely making it...I was exhausted and I was never getting further ahead,” says Cindy.

Initially Cindy shrugged off a friend’s suggestion to apply to Habitat for Humanity, thinking the program wasn’t for her. Time passed and things weren’t getting any better, so Cindy decided there was no harm in walking through the Habitat doors. She walked away with an application and met Leona shortly after. “Within four days, I actually had everything back to them. Leona told me that's the fastest they've ever had it back…But I thought, you know what? If you're going to do it, you might as well do it ,” Cindy says.

Cindy vividly remembers the evening Leona called her to let her know she’d been accepted and that her family was receiving a house. It was a powerful, emotional moment. “It has changed our lives. It has afforded us savings. It has afforded me time with my children—which is priceless. It has afforded me less stress because my payments are now not so extraordinary that I can't take care of them…I can't stress enough how amazing this has been for us,” she says.

Now, Cindy’s on a mission to generate awareness about Habitat for Humanity and dispel misconceptions about how the program works and who it’s meant to benefit. “If it's pride, just swallow it,” says Cindy, “People are afraid, or don't know enough, or they feel like it's shameful. I own my own house, there’s no shame in that…Nobody handed anything to me, I worked really hard for it.”

Cindy’s volunteer hours have long been fulfilled but she currently meets weekly with Leona and the other volunteers on their Snow Golf Tournament committee, organizing the biggest fundraiser of the year. Both women have gained so much from Habitat from Humanity Camrose, including a special friendship. They're both believers in paying all that goodwill forward. “I'll never stop. I’ll continue to be a volunteer, a supporter and an advocate for Habitat for the rest of my life,” says Cindy. Leona echoes that sentiment: “It's my passion. I’ll continue doing it until I no longer can.”

Habitat for Humanity Camrose

The Snow Golf Tournament is Habitat for Humanity Camrose's biggest fundraiser of the year — plus it's a whole lot of fun!

Taking full advantage of our Alberta winter, Snow Golf is played over snow rather than on grass. There are 18 holes set up across the City of Camrose sponsored by local businesses, your car is your golf cart, a foam stress-ball is your golf ball and you can get as creative as you'd like with your clubs. From kooky costumes to uniquely themed holes, Snow Golf is an event like no other. Don't miss it...

Snow Golf information: https://habitatcamrose.com/news/puttupahouse-snowgolf/
Snow Golf registration: https://puttupahouse-snowgolf-habitatcamrose.eventbrite.ca

Habitat for Humanity Camrose
Website: https://habitatcamrose.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HabitatCamrose/