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College Home program celebrates latest donation

Oct 17, 2017 | 11:46 AM

LETHBRIDGE – The builders and contractors taking part in the College Home program were recognized Tuesday, Oct. 17 as the program reached another milestone.

The sale of the 2016 home, a house in south Lethbridge built by Empire Homes, has resulted in a $107,000 contribution to Lethbridge College, to put towards the just-completed Trades, Technologies, and Innovation Facility. It’s part of a five-year fundraising partnership wtih the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, Lethbridge Region.

“It feels incredible to finally be able to give back something to the community that you make your living in,” Empire Homes owner Wes Carroll said. Empire is a low-volume custom builder. Its contribution to the project is named “Serapis”, after an ancient god of knowledge and education.

The project has not just resulted in financial contributions, but also has a benefit for the Lethbridge homebuilding industry, producing a locally-trained workforce.

“It was the financial contribution that was going to help, for sure,” college president and CEO Dr. Paula Burns said. “But the integration with all of the tradespeople, everybody who has helped out on the homes, how we see the students going back and working in some of these companies, locally, staying here as well… really incredible just how it’s turned out.”

The new trades building opened in late September, and Burns is already receiving good feedback.

“The teaching and learning opportunities are just huge, and being able to see that, so before there were a lot of closed doors and you couldn’t see what’s happening. Now we can show the world what’s happening within our classrooms,” she said.

The College Home partnership is in its final year, with a home built by Stranville Living Master Builder listed for sale. So far builders have donated $720,868 from the proceeds of selling the homes.