Building Community: A Philosophy of Philanthropy

Townline believes wholeheartedly in giving back to our communities in ways that really mean something to the individuals involved. We are incredibly moved by the stories that inspire us to help support various causes, and the people whose lives are directly affected. Our communities face times of need, and we are both humbled and delighted when we can help.

Philanthropy has always been a cornerstone of our company philosophy. We do everything in our power to ensure that our acts of giving are truly meaningful. We want to be involved, working to build community, caring for the children and families in our neighbourhoods, as well as for the wider framework of the cities in which these lives unfold. With this in mind, we take a layered approach to giving back, identifying where we can help at a local community, and broader city level. 

For the Kids

Back in 2016, funds raised to purchase new playground equipment at École K.B. Woodward Elementary in Whalley went missing. Upon hearing the news, Townline made a substantial donation to help replace the funds and provide fun-filled recesses to hundreds of happy children for years to come. When John Diefenbaker Elementary School in Richmond announced a fundraising campaign to replace its withered wooden play structure, it seemed only natural to Townline President Rick Ilich to match the school’s fundraising efforts to help rebuild a new playground for the kids.

Recently, a substantial donation on behalf of Townline and TL Housing Solutions was made to the Richmond Therapeutic Riding Association, which provides a unique, therapeutic riding program for children and youth with physical, mental, emotional, and learning disabilities.

Empowering Women and Girls

Soroptimist is a global organization that provides programs to foster social and economic empowerment and help improve the lives of women and girls. One of their initiatives in the TriCities is Bea’s Kloset – a free store of donated household items, where women transitioning to life on their own can independently shop for the things they need to set up their new lives.

With each new development Townline embarks on, we create a show home full of beautiful display furniture. After use, it’s common industry practice to sell these items below cost. But this year, Townline sought to find a solution that would be more beneficial to the communities in which we build. When we stumbled upon Bea’s Kloset, we knew it was the answer. Significant amounts of like-new furniture have since been donated to this initiative, along with financial contributions to cover storage costs and fund other Soroptimist program offerings.

Housing Communities

When residential properties are sold as “presale,” it can take two to three years for the homes to be move-in ready. While waiting, buyers may decide to move cities, switch jobs, have children – so it’s not uncommon for the property to be sold to another party before construction of the building has been completed.

In these cases, it’s standard industry practice for developers to collect an associated fee for the assignment of the original contract to another buyer. To Townline, this represented an opportunity to give back to the local community. Through assignment fees collected from Calla at the Gardens, Townline donated $46,485 to the City of Richmond Affordable Housing Fund. Building homes is what we do, and we are grateful to be able to help create housing options for a wide range of people in our communities.

At Townline, we believe in giving back broadly to our communities and the people within them, in meaningful ways and at multiple levels. This is the Townline Way.