Building homes, strengthening communities: CUMIS provides funding and volunteers to support Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga

BURLINGTON, ON, June 2, 2016 /CNW/ - CUMIS and its staff members are strong supporters of Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga and its belief that everyone should have a safe, decent and affordable place to live. That's why the organization has donated $100,000 since 2013 to the local affiliate and CUMIS and The Co-operators are providing 120 staff members with 720 hours of company-paid volunteer time this year to help build homes in their community.

With 15 employees volunteering on a local build, Kelly Tryon of CUMIS presented a cheque for $25,000 to John Gerrard, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga.

"It is truly inspiring to see so many of our employees eager to get out here and roll up their sleeves to help build homes and strengthen their community," said Kelly Tryon, vice president of creditor insurance and retail distribution – eastern Canada at CUMIS. "Habitat does an amazing job of harnessing the power of volunteerism to build a more equitable society by providing local families with good, healthy homes. That's something we're proud to support."

This was the sixth of eight build days this year in Burlington involving volunteers from CUMIS and The Co-operators, which both provide all staff members with two paid volunteer days annually. CUMIS is part of The Co-operators group of companies.

"We're proud to welcome CUMIS and The Co-operators back to Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga's Plains Road build site in Burlington for another great day of team work" said Habitat Halton-Mississauga CEO, John Gerrard. "With their generous contribution today of $25,000 and their amazing teamwork on site, they are helping Habitat build safe, decent and affordable homes for 13 local families in need of a place to call home for the first time."

About The CUMIS Group Limited
The CUMIS Group Limited partners with credit unions to deliver competitive insurance and financial solutions. In doing so, it creates financial security and promotes the growth and success of the credit union system in Canada. CUMIS' principal companies are CUMIS Life Insurance Company and CUMIS General Insurance Company, and it has a 50 per cent interest in Credential Financial Inc. CUMIS is jointly owned by Co-operators Life Insurance Company and Central 1 Credit Union.

About Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga
Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga is a local, non-profit organization working for a world where everyone has a safe and decent place to live. Our mission is to use our knowledge, skills, community relationships, volunteers and other resources to create and promote affordable homeownership options. We aim to alleviating the cycle of poverty within our community by building a place for families in need that they can call "home" for the first time. We are a member of Habitat for Humanity Canada and part of a worldwide network that spans 90 countries. Habitat for Humanity is now building a new home every 24 minutes, has helped build or repair more than 800,000 houses and has served more than 4 million people around the world. Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga's ReStore locations continue to provide the public with affordable quality home products, including new and used building materials. The ReStore is a social enterprise that covers all of Habitat's administrative costs, making it possible for 100 per cent of all donations to support our HomeOwnership program and building homes for families in need. We now have three ReStore locations: 1800 Appleby Line in Burlington, 25 Brown Street in Milton and 4500 Dixie Road in Mississauga. For more information, please call 905-637-4446 or visitwww.habitathm.ca.

SOURCE The Co-operators

Leonard Sharman, The Co-operators, [phone]; Sarah Golan, Marketing and Communications Manager, Habitat for Humanity Halton-Mississauga, 289-962-1592, [email protected]