Home upgrades done at SOS Children's Village

HUB International teams up with Vancouver Whitecaps FC and BC Soccer to build patios and create new living space for the children and foster families living in Surrey, B.C.

HUB International Insurance Brokers showed what can be accomplished with teamwork.

Employees of the largest insurance brokerage in British Columbia did that when they recently teamed up with the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, BC Soccer and leaders in the local construction and landscaping sectors to upgrade the backyard and outdoor living areas at SOS Children's Village in Surrey, B.C.

The team effort -- which encompassed more than 500 person-hours of work by the brokers and representatives of the Whitecaps and BC Soccer, both of whom are community partners of HUB International -- delivered where it mattered most: creating safe, new patios and clearing almost an acre of bramble for the kids.

To add an accent to the upgrades, the employee team power washed the homes at the Surrey village.

It was all part of HUB Gives Day, a company-wide campaign that allows employees to volunteer to worthy causes in the community. HUB International, which is headquartered in Burnaby, B.C., chose SOS Children's Village. And it was an easy decision.

"The cause and the work of SOS Children's Villages resonated with us as moms, dads and as caring people in the community," said Tina Osen, Chief Executive Officer of HUB International TOS. "Supporting SOS on HUB Gives Day was an easy and gratifying decision for us."

As part of HUB Gives Day, the community-oriented brokers worked with their partners to create more than $34,000 in upgrades to the homes of the foster families living at SOS Children's Village.

"The key for us is to not only enrich a cause that matters in our community, but to do so in a way that fosters the solid local relationships we have always prided ourselves as having in the marketplace," said Osen. "That's why we were so pleased to be able to work alongside our friends from the Whitecaps and BC Soccer to deliver the project. We were able to get so much more done by doing it as a larger team."

Osen also noted that several clients of HUB and other suppliers joined in with the team effort.

"We simply explained what we were trying to do and for whom and these companies stepped up without hesitation to help us make that difference," explained Paul Mendham, one of HUB International's senior vice-presidents and a long-time leader of the company's Marine insurance division.

Mendham noted that more than half of the $34,000 in project value came from contributions from the construction and landscaping suppliers, which included United Rentals, Malkin Enterprises, Abbotsford Concrete Product, Four Brothers Masonry and Cement, Creative Brick, Mainland Sand & Gravel, Canon Design and Goldblaum Trucking, Ltd.

He also thanked Subway Restaurants for their support.

"When you're in the garden and in the backyard working over two days, food and energy is important," said Mendham. "Needless to say, those Subway sandwiches tasted real good and helped us keep going."

For SOS Children's Villages, it was a special day.

"The team at HUB International pulled this off for us in a way that we could never have done ourselves," said Cary Gaymond of SOS Children's Villages. "The planning they put into this to ensure it all came together properly was absolutely terrific. They so exceeded our expectations in terms of what they were able to do and we're very grateful for that."

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