Construction is a sector filled with givers. Nonprofits focused on construction help veterans, underprivileged individuals, diverse communities, and others in need through various social services, including financial assistance and worker training. While many are aware of the international nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, smaller organizations like Construction Angels, Building Up, Helmets to Hardhats, and CIASP are also significantly impacting their communities.
8 charities lending a hand to the construction sector
1. Construction Angels
Construction Angels, Inc. offers financial assistance and grief counseling to children 19 years and younger and spouses left behind after a construction worker is involved in a work-related fatality. The organization also provides construction scholarship opportunities to qualified applicants and additional scholarships to surviving children of fallen workers.
Construction Angels provides $8,000 to the spouse and/or children, $3,000 in Angel Support (if the worker does not have a spouse/children), and up to $1,000 in grief counseling services to the family and/or company employees. The group offers scholarships for children who have lost a parent in a construction fatality, for children seeking a construction education, and for educational organizations in the industry that need support.
2. BUILD
Building Urban Industries for Local Development (BUILD) is an Indigenous non-profit contractor and training program for people facing barriers to employment. Their mission is simple: BUILD hires, trains, empowers, and launches individuals facing barriers into long, meaningful careers.
The group strives to create prosperous communities by providing apartment turnover maintenance and renovations for landlords while employing local people. The group says its efforts reduce crime and help train a new generation of workers in the construction industry.
3. Building UP
Building UP uses construction to tackle multiple community issues simultaneously. Based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it is a non-profit social enterprise improving Toronto’s environmental efficiency and affordable housing stock to help people experiencing employment barriers develop the necessary skills to achieve a successful trade career.
By offering training and support to help workers pursue an upward trajectory in employment, this group provides opportunities for marginalized groups and provides the sector with a steady stream of eager, qualified workers.
4. EMBERS
EMBERS creates economic and employment opportunities for people by providing them with support, training, and jobs. Its Vancouver Downtown Eastside outreach program provides construction training and connects workers with jobs.
EMBERS employs thousands of individuals from diverse backgrounds, offering short- and long-term employment. The organization’s profits are invested back into the community through worker support programs, higher hourly wages, free tool and equipment rentals, and access to certified skills training opportunities.
The organization is backed by some of Canada’s major contractors, including PCL, EllisDon, ITC Construction Group, and Chandos.
5. Helmets to Hardhats
Helmets to Hardhats eases the transition from military to civilian life by offering career opportunities within Canada’s Building Trade Unions to military-affiliated community members. By connecting veterans to careers with the best industry wages, the group gives those who’ve served a leg up into civilian life.
Recognized as a leading service provider by the Government of Ontario, the Canadian Armed Forces, and Veterans Affairs Canada, this organization provides employers and unions with highly dedicated, well-trained workers to fill the pressing needs of the labor-strapped construction industry.
6. Constructing Hope
Constructing Hope provides construction work training for disadvantaged adults, including people of color, the unemployed, the formerly incarcerated, and low-income individuals re-entering the workforce.
Through a free 10-week training program, students learn various aspects of construction, including blueprint reading, construction skills, applied math, safety, workplace expectations, financial management, construction culture, safety, professional certifications, communications, plan for life success training, and more.
7. Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity believes affordable housing is critical to strong and stable communities and has been building on that idea for almost 50 years. Perhaps one of the most widely recognized construction nonprofits, Habitat for Humanity provides contractors and construction workers with opportunities to help their communities through volunteer work while providing adequate housing for people in need. The group works in more than 70 countries and has helped more than 59 million people with housing since 1976.
Habitat for Humanity puts boots on the ground through various programs to build better communities. Its Neighborhood Revitalization program is just one of many other outreach efforts that help revitalize homes, families, and communities. Habitat Capital, another group effort, builds houses, offers affordable mortgages, and provides financial services and capital to enable underserved people to access affordable housing.
8. CIASP
Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention was born from a need to address suicide in construction after the Centers for Disease Control noted that construction has the highest suicide rate of all industries. CIASP aims to raise awareness and prevent suicide by offering resources for mental wellness to the industry.
The organization’s suicide hotline provides 24/7 help to people experiencing mental health-related distress, such as suicidal thoughts or emotional distress. People can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org to receive assistance from a counselor or speak about a loved one who needs help. They also can text the crisis text line by texting HELLO to 741741.
CIASP also offers several helpful resources, including a needs analysis tool, an online training program, and several customizable downloadable toolbox talk PDFs covering awareness, safety, training, and more.
Help is available for those in need
Whether providing housing, grief counseling, job training, or financial assistance, nonprofit organizations like Helmets to Hard Hats, Habitat for Humanity, and BUILD focus on serving their community by providing essential services to people in need. Whether building houses, training new workers, or providing financial assistance, these organizations are doing their part to build thriving communities and fill the gaps in services and opportunities within our communities.
