News Release: Turner & Townsend Volunteers Celebrate Five-Year Milestone of Beautifying Community Housing in Ottawa

A group of 20 employees from Turner & Townsend, volunteered over 140 hours of their time to beautifying the exterior of the Lowertown Good Neighbours Community House. They fixed the deck ramp, painted the shed and planted some flowers in concrete planters throughout the community. 

With the support of the Lowertown Community Resource Centre, the Community House provides critical programming, such as emergency food assistance, clothing distribution and access to the internet and computers for homework.  

During their 5 years with OCHC, Turner & Townsend’s Ottawa-based employees have also worked on interior beautification projects such as painting and fence repair. Their hard work and dedication has benefited more than 2,000 tenants in five OCHC communities.  

 Quotes 

“Projects completed by organizations such as Turner and Townsend are critical. Exterior and interior beautification help to increase pride of place and improve the lives of tenants.” 

– Stéphane Giguère, Chief Executive Officer, OCHC 

“Thank you, Turner and Townsend, for bringing out 20 volunteers to fix the deck ramp and repaint the shed at the Lowertown Good Neighbours Community House! The organization’s commitment to giving back to OCHC communities is a wonderful example of partners coming together to build better and stronger communities.” 

– Mathieu Fleury, Rideau-Vanier Councillor and OCHC Board Chair 

“I am very thankful for the generosity of Turner & Townsend in their continued support of OCH, and for giving their time to make an impact in the community once again this year. Their work over the last five years, alongside all partners, has made an impact in the lives of over 2,000 tenants across six OCH neighbourhoods, including the Pinecrest Terrace Community House.” 

– Mayor Jim Watson, City of Ottawa 

“Turner & Townsend is proud to be a partner in beautifying the Beausoleil and Beauséjour communities. This is the fifth year of our collaboration with the Ottawa Community Housing team to support and improve the neighborhood for hundreds of residents. We want to thank Mayor Jim Watson, Councillor Mathieu Fleury, Stéphane Giguère and the entire team at OCHC for their leadership in uplifting these communities. And, we look forward to growing our partnership in the years to come.”    

– Jonathan Gilford, Director, Turner & Townsend 

Turner & Townsend’s Volunteer History with OCH: 

Since 2016, Turner & Townsend’s Ottawa-based employees have helped with projects such as: 

• Interior painting of the second story at the Pinecrest Terrace Community House in 2016 
• Clearing overgrowth and painting fences at Woodland Place in 2017 
• Building planter benches at Walkley Road and clearing overgrowth at Heather Manor in 2018 
• Repairing fences, fence painting, and overgrowth removal at Ashgrove in 2019 
• Planted flowers, repaired deck ramp and painted a shed in 2021 

They have contributed more than 260 volunteer hours towards these projects and OCH’s communities.  

 Quick Facts about OCH’s Volunteer Engagement Program 

Since 2011, Ottawa Community Housing’s Volunteer Engagement Program has: 

• Visited 100 OCH communities, about 69 percent of OCHC’s communities 
• Made 286 visits to communities 
• Organized 344 volunteer events 
• Worked with 7,452 community volunteers 

• Spent 30,613 hours on volunteer events and initiatives 
• Worked with 80 groups within the Ottawa community 
• Completed projects that have benefited 44,244 OCH tenants! 

 About Turner & Townsend
Founded in 1946, Turner & Townsend is an independent professional services company with 104 offices worldwide that specializes in program management, project management, cost management and consulting across a number of sectors, including real estate, infrastructure, and natural resources. www.turnerandtownsend.com 

 About OCHC
Ottawa Community Housing Corporation (OCHC) provides approximately 15,000 homes to about 32,000 tenants, including seniors, parents, children, couples, singles and persons with special needs, within many communities across the City of Ottawa. OCHC houses a diverse population of varying languages, ethnicity and cultures. OCHC is the largest social housing provider in Ottawa, managing two-thirds of the City’s social housing portfolio, and is the second largest in Ontario. OCHC was selected as one of the National Capital Region’s Top Employers in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.
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Media Contact
Jennifer McIntosh
media@och.ca
613-914-9953