At its 44th Annual Dinner & Volunteer Recognition last month, Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) celebrated the efforts of several individuals and organizations that are making a positive impact on Cape Cod.
More than 250 people attended the event which was sponsored by Shepley Wood Products and held at the Cape Codder Resort & Spa in Hyannis.
Awards were given to the following honorees:
- Bernadette and Richard Waystack (Harwich) – Volunteer of the Year Award
- Mashpee Boy Scout Troop 36 – Human Service Partner Award
- Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub (Centerville, Falmouth, Mashpee, Yarmouth) – Business Partner Award
- Home Depot (Hyannis, Wareham) – Making a Difference Award
Volunteer of the Year Award winners Bernadette and Richard Waystack of Harwich have taken part in the annual Bob Murray Housing with Love Walk since 2014, walking from Provincetown to Falmouth over the course of one week in July to support HAC’s housing programs on Cape Cod and the Islands.
Three of this year’s awards recognized contributors to HAC’s Big Fix, a day of service that raises funds for the agency’s programs and brings together over 200 volunteers who make small home improvements for seniors, veterans, and disabled homeowners in one town on the Cape. This year’s Big Fix will be held in Harwich on Saturday, September 22.
Since the Big Fix came to Mashpee in 2013, Mashpee Boy Scout Troop 36 has been involved in the event on an annual basis. HAC presented the scouts with its Human Service Partner Award.
The same year Troop 36 first volunteered for HAC’s Big Fix, the Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub became involved in the event. Since then, it has provided lunch for the hundreds of volunteers who make the Big Fix possible. The restaurant was the recipient of this year’s Business Partner Award.
The Making a Difference Award went to Home Depot which provided more than $20,000 in supplies used in last year’s Big Fix in Falmouth. The company also sent a large volunteer contingent from multiple stores throughout Southeastern Massachusetts to participate in the Falmouth Big Fix.
Along with its contributions to the Big Fix, Home Depot’s Hyannis store has hired several clients from HAC’s Angel House shelter who are recovering from substance abuse.
During the Annual Dinner, HAC presented a special posthumous award, the Lifetime Benefactor Award, to Barton Tomlinson of Oyster Harbors, who passed away in November. He was a longtime support of HAC’s Angel House shelter. Later this year, HAC will be naming the classroom space at the shelter where clients heal from the trauma of addiction, the Barton Tomlinson Clinical and Classroom Space.
About Housing Assistance Corporation
Housing Assistance Corporation (HAC) is a 44-year-old nonprofit based in Hyannis, whose mission is to ensure that all on Cape Cod and the Islands have a safe, stable, decent place to live. HAC operates four family homeless shelters on Cape Cod; develops affordable housing; oversees Section 8 vouchers for the region; conducts foreclosure counseling; holds educational workshops for first-time homebuyers and those looking to rebuild their credit; and keeps residents in their homes through its homelessness prevention program. To learn more about HAC’s programs and services visit www.HAConCapeCod.org.
