Trucks for Change (T4C) network carrier JD Smith has delivered three truckloads of drywall for the Habitat for Humanity branch in Hamilton, Ont., where five townhouses are being built using volunteer labor.

Last Thursday, Bruce Leonard, a semi-retired driver manager for JD Smith, completed three trips from the Habitat for Humanity warehouse to the Sherman Avenue North construction site in the city. This exemplifies T4C work that connects carriers with charity organizations. 

Leonard says each truckload weighed approximately 20,000 lb., and the delivery wasn’t without bumps in the road. Even though the warehouse isn’t located far from the site, the pick-up was tricky. 

“Picking [the drywall] up was a little trickier because some of the stuff didn’t fit out of the door. So I had to back sort of half the truck inside the building,” Leonard said.

Upon delivery, Leonard used a Moffett forklift mounted to JD Smith’s straight truck, to help unload the material and bring it to the site. He says it was a rewarding experience.

“Being able to get some people into affordable housing — it feels great.”

‘An absolute blessing‘

Peter Walberg, the construction director at Hamilton’s Habitat for Humanity, says they did not expect the additional help they received, calling it an ‘absolute blessing’.

“We thought we were going to have to retain a separate company to actually bring a forklift on site,” Walberg said.

“They got everything removed from the vehicle and placed it right on our build site. It was so easy, literally, our volunteers just had to walk [and] grab the drywall,” he added, “and none of the product was damaged at all.”

Walberg also highlighted the T4C promptness and organization.

“In our work, sometimes you have to chase people and everyone’s busy. But I would say, we were able to firm up on this within a matter of days.”

Jeff Wolfson, marketing director for Hamilton’s Habitat for Humanity, added that behind-the-scenes support like this delivery helped them stay on track for deadlines.

“We need a lot of hands and we need a lot of support. And things like this are, literally, essential for us to be able to get to the finish line,” Wolfson said, adding that for the families with children, the goal is to provide keys to the units before the start of the school year. 

“So, we’re extremely grateful for what they did for us.”