Porte Cares
We create places where people love to live, work and play — in other words, we build communities. Not only do we create these places, we help strengthen the communities that already exist by supporting local people and charities.
Giving back to the community is a core value of our family and company. Tikkun Olam (Hebrew for ‘repair of the world’) is a concept in Judaism referring to the forms of action intended to repair and improve the world. This concept is emulated through each employee of Porte and is why we made Community Builders one of our Porte Promises.
In the spirit of giving, we set out each year to support charitable causes in the community. We have a volunteer committee amongst our staff to maximize our community involvement. And we have a program that matches our team’s individual charitable donations
Take a look at some of the charities we’re passionate about.
Cassie and Friends
David Porte, our company’s president, is also a founding member and chairman of Cassie & Friends: A Society for Children with Juvenile Arthritis and Other Related Diseases. Cassie & Friends is named after his daughter Cassie, who was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis when she was just 20 months old. The organization is run out of our head office and offers several opportunities for our team to get involved throughout the year. As Porte has grown, so has Cassie & Friends, and it now connects with and supports pediatric rheumatology clinics across Canada.
Food Banks
We run an annual fundraiser for food banks in every location we work in — and we match donations up to $10,000. Food banks believe people should have access to healthy and sustainable food where they live and in a dignified manner. We agree. From collaborating with dietitians to training 150 community kitchen leaders last year, they’re moving from a traditional food bank model to one that focuses on food quality, literacy and access. We also hold an annual volunteer day for our team at one of the local food banks — it’s a fun and meaningful way to connect.
Breakfast Club
For every new home sold, $100 is donated to the Breakfast Club of Canada to support a school in the local neighbourhood — which means our homeowners are giving back to their community before they even move in. The club is built on the dream that all children and youth should have an equal chance to succeed by starting their day with a nutritious breakfast in a safe and supportive environment. We love that our homeowners become part of this dream.
PORTE CARES PROGRAM
We launched our Porte Cares Program in 2017 to invite charities in our community to submit applications for sponsorship. Last year alone, we received over 30 applications. It’s always a difficult decision to select which charities to support, and we chose four: My Artist Corner, Some Assembly Arts, Calgary Minor Softball Association and Kids Sport. Each Spring, we send out a call for applications. If you’d like to get on our email list to receive information about the next sponsoring opportunity, send us an email at inthecommunity@porte.ca.