By Jeremy Davis
Last week, thirteen volunteers from the Manitoba REALTORS® Shelter Foundation rolled up their sleeves and joined Habitat for Humanity Manitoba for a full day of building, teamwork, and community spirit. During the Foundation’s fourth team build event, volunteers spent the day working on three townhouses in Transcona — moving drywall, framing, and raising an entire wall the length of a unit. It was a milestone moment that brought everyone on site together.
“I encourage everyone to join a Habitat for Humanity team build because you will learn an immense amount about construction and the complexity of building a home,” said Catherine Schellenberg, 2025-2026 President of the Manitoba Real Estate Association (MREA). “I had never been part of a wall-raising before, and with the assistance of some manual jacks, volunteers got the wall up and it felt like the accomplishment for the day. With today’s REALTOR® volunteers being from different brokerages in Manitoba, it was an incredible opportunity to connect, work side-by-side, and build something together as a team!”
Situated on three acres of land at 900 Pandora Avenue West in Transcona, Habitat Manitoba is building eleven blocks of five townhouses which will result in 55 homes when the project reaches completion in November of 2026. Once finished, the project will provide homes for 275 people, including 175 children. Each 1,365-square-foot townhouse will feature three to five bedrooms, 1.5 to 2.5 bathrooms, a parking space, and a private yard, creating safe and welcoming spaces for families to thrive.
The Team Build Day, held on October 7, 2025, was a powerful demonstration of partnership and community collaboration between the Manitoba REALTORS® Shelter Foundation, the Manitoba Real Estate Association, and Habitat for Humanity Manitoba — three organizations united in their commitment to helping families achieve homeownership.
“This is my third time volunteering at a team build event and it’s really rewarding doing the work because it’s for such a great cause to help families out and get into their first homes,” said Chris Magas, REALTOR® with Qualico Realty Services Ltd. “A side benefit to volunteering with the Manitoba REALTORS® Shelter Foundation and REALTORS Care® is meeting REALTORS® you may not know while building something meaningful. I’ve always enjoyed construction — I even built my own cottage back in the ’80s — so being able to use those skills to give back through Habitat for Humanity makes it especially fulfilling.”
In 2024, the Manitoba REALTORS® Shelter Foundation changed its funding model, where instead of donating funds raised to multiple charities in Manitoba, the foundation will donate all its funds raised to one singular charity. The reason for this change is to help deepen the impact REALTORS® make in our province and to help support deserving charities like Habitat Manitoba and its Pandora Avenue West Project. This partnership with Habitat Manitoba was established for 2024 and 2025.
This initiative takes place under the umbrella of the national REALTORS Care® program which has been gaining momentum since 2007 through the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to celebrate REALTORS® charitable achievements, advocacy in support of housing and shelter-related causes, fundraising in support of disaster victims in Canada and abroad, and inspiration and learning to advance the collective impact of the REALTOR® community.
Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 and has grown into a global non-profit organization working in more than 70 countries around the world. Habitat for Humanity Manitoba was formerly known as Habitat for Humanity Winnipeg and in 1987 became the first local Habitat non-profit housing organization founded in Canada. Habitat for Humanity Manitoba is built on the idea that everyone deserves a safe and decent place to live. Through the mobilization of communities, low-income families have been supported to gain strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership. Over the years, Habitat for Humanity Manitoba has helped over 500 families and more than 1,400 children in Manitoba, and including Kenora, Ontario.
The Manitoba REALTORS® Shelter Foundation will be at the Manitoba REALTOR® Expo on November 20, 2025, where they will be raising funds as an exhibitor at the event. Anyone who wishes to contribute to this monumental build are encouraged to visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/id/95142
With each wall raised and every nail driven, Manitoba REALTORS® are not only helping to build homes — they’re helping to build stronger communities and brighter futures for families across the province.
Jeremy Davis is the Winnipeg Regional Real Estate Board’s Director of External Relations & Market Intelligence.