Not long ago, Cheryl Rowley was travelling the world as an interior designer for high-end hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco and the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires.
But for the past few years, Rowley has quietly volunteered her time in Victoria, helping to renovate spaces for charities with HeroWork.
The organization is upgrading the former Prospect Lake Golf Course grounds for the non-profit Power To Be, which helps people with disabilities access nature-based activities.
“When I got to Victoria, it was quite a shift from a busy career and business. I was looking for something to occupy myself, something meaningful,” said Rowley, who retired in 2011 and moved from Los Angeles to join her husband, who works in film. The couple live in North Saanich.
“I got in touch with [HeroWork founder] Paul Latour, at first to donate [household items], but then decided to take it a step further and sign up for shifts. Soon enough, I was very motivated and excited about what they’re doing.” Rowley volunteers as a designer, board member and general helper.
For the past six years, HeroWork has co-ordinated hundreds of volunteers and tradespeople to do what it describes as “radical renovations” of charities’ buildings and spaces.
It started in 2010 when Latour, then a server at the Oak Bay Marina Restaurant, decided to start a non-profit group after co-ordinating a successful garden reno for a friend with multiple sclerosis.
“The start of HeroWork really feels like the first building,” Latour said. That was the Casa Maria emergency housing for refugees in 2011 in Fernwood. Eight have followed, including a major renovation of the Mustard Seed Food Bank in 2013, a gutting and refresh of an apartment building donated to Threshold Housing Society for youth in 2014, and a project for the Citizens Counselling Centre and B.C. Schizophrenia Society in 2015.
Last year, the Rainbow Kitchen at Esquimalt United Church was given a major revamp.
This week, Latour is at the former Prospect Lake Golf Course, where Power to Be was recently given a 25-year lease by the Steele family for the 88-acre site, but had to make the campsites and grounds accessible for people with mobility problems and devices.
“We’re building camping platforms that are wheelchair-accessible and for families,” Latour said. Other aspects of the project include accessible pathways, post-and-beam gathering areas and a kitchen renovation.
Most of the renovation takes place over weekends, when volunteers are welcome. The final one is this weekend.
For each HeroWork project, the recipient charity covers the material costs. Latour and his team co-ordinate the project — which includes rallying hundreds of volunteers, business services in-kind and tradespeople to pitch in. The value of the projects has ranged from $100,000 to more than $600,000.
“It’s a model we’d eventually like to franchise to other communities,” said Latour, whose team has developed detailed templates and manuals, “which makes each project way more efficient each time we do it.”
Latour would also like to do an inventory of charity-owned buildings in the capital region to assess which ones need work the most, then work with them.
“It would be great if we could plan our work a few years out,” he said.
HeroWork’s next big project is a major renovation of Anawim House in Victoria in the fall. Anawim House is a residence that also offers services to the street community, such as meals, arts, shower and laundry facilities, health services and counselling.
Latour said the home requires expansion and renovation to make it more suitable for its services. The work will include adding a nurses’ room, counselling offices and a bike shop for clients to learn skills and work on their bicycles.
Longtime volunteer Lew Williams said he’s looking forward to the Anawim House project, like the many others he has worked on. “When I was 10, my dad died and left a widow with 10 kids and no insurance. We counted on places like the food bank, so I thought working with Paul was a good opportunity to give back,” said Williams, who worked for Houle Electric for 38 years. He said volunteering is fun and he gets a kick out of who shows up.
Williams said he likes to tell the story about one volunteer asking to put on the plug plates at a project.
“I asked her what she did in her outside life and she said: ‘I’m a doctor.’ You never know who will be working next to you,” Williams said.
For more information on HeroWork and how to get involved, visit herowork.com.
