Bounding Together With the Hope of a Better Future. Schneider “Women Build”
Credit to Author: Iram Shah| Date: Mon, 19 Jun 2017 22:45:40 +0000
I am honored to be part of Schneider Electric’s first “Women Build” with Habitat for Humanity in Chicagoland, along with other volunteers. I am particularly happy because this cause is very dear to me – helping women and their families to build strength, stability and independence through housing. The houses built and repaired by “Women Build” volunteers provide safe, affordable places for families to call home for decades.
Schneider Electric’s involvement with Habitat for Humanity and the “Women Build” project is much more than a financial arrangement—it reflects our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Furthermore, Habitat’s vision “A world where everyone has a decent place to live” perfectly aligns with Schneider’s perspective on energy “We believe that access to energy is a basic human right. We want everyone on our planet to have access to safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable energy…. that’s what we call Life is On“.
Schneider Electric is proud to be a Legacy Partner with Habitat for Humanity. Since 2000, Schneider has donated more than $24 million worth of electrical equipment to build homes in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The products that Schneider Electric donates include A/C disconnects, arrestors, circuit breakers, safety switches, load centers and metering.
Through this “Women Build” project we are helping two families build homes that everyone can take pride in— our employees, the volunteers, the communities, and of course the partner families. The two partner families we are helping are: Kierstin, mother of two girls, and the Perez family, a Dad and his fiancé, proud parents of a 3-year-old daughter and 1 year old son.
“Habitat for Humanity is giving me and my daughters the stability we have always wanted and needed,” said Kierstin. While Mr. Perez reflects: “One of my goals in life is to continue my education and provide a prosperous home for our children in a peaceful environment.”
Just in Chicago, about 420,000 of Chicago’s working poor live in substandard housing in the metro area. Half of these people live in downtown Chicago, and if you add those who are homeless and people facing foreclosures, nearly 1 million people are homeless, at risk of foreclosure, or living in inadequate housing. Our partner families, Kierstin and the Perez family, are proof that housing is more than just a roof over somebody’s head. Decent affordable housing provides stability for families and children. Owning a home provides a family with a sense of pride, and families in homes tend to have increased educational and job prospects.
Though my story and journey, from Pakistan to the US, may be different than the Habitat partner families and yours, we are all bound together — men and women from various backgrounds, creeds, ethnicities, and preferences — as human beings, with common interests and the hope of building a better future.
Thank you for your support of Habitat for Humanity and our first Women Build Day!
Coming soon!
In July, 75 Schneider Electric employees will participate in Habitat’s 34th annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, a week long event where volunteers and future Habitat homeowners will join the Carters in building 150 homes across Canada to mark the country’s 150th anniversary of confederation. Watch President Jimmy Carter sent a special message of thanks to the honorees, sponsors and guests.
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