Habitat for Humanity’s new executive director, Sandra Christensen, has a passion for fundraising.

She once ran her own events planning business in Canada, Corporate Planning Resources, organising more than 600 events a year for Microsoft Canada.

After coming to Bermuda 17 years ago to marry Bermudian Craig Christensen, one of her first projects was organising a show for the Rotary Club of Sandys. The work involved the importation of a magician and two white tigers.

“There was so much controversy over the tigers,” she said. “I lost sponsors left, right and centre.”

She even received a phone call from animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

“I said I’m just the events planner,” she said. “I told them I did not own the tigers. I didn’t even decide to bring them in. I was just handling the logistics.”

That particular fundraiser is one she tries not to remember but it raised her profile in the community.

More and more people started asking her for help with their projects.

Three years ago she volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. She helped executive director Sheelagh Cooper raise money to create affordable housing through renovation and expansion of existing buildings.

“I became really fond of the charity,” Mrs Christensen said.

In May, she helped raise $130,000 for Habitat through a gala event at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. Last year’s gala netted $120,000 and in 2023 $200,000.

“I love pulling a million little pieces together and watching an event come to life,” she said. “It is really rewarding.”

She became executive director of Habitat earlier this month.

“Sheelagh wanted to spend more time with her new grandchild,” Mrs Christensen said. “I have a real appreciation for her and all the work she has done over the years.”

Mrs Christensen admitted she did not fully understand the scope of the housing crisis in Bermuda until she became involved with Habitat.

“There are just so many people living under the poverty line,” Mrs Christensen said. “Many of the people who fill out applications for help from us earn less than $2,500 a month. That is not just for a household of one person, but often for a household with multiple adults and children.”

Habitat does not directly address the social or economic reasons behind the struggle for adequate housing. They leave that to the many other organisations they partner with such as Family Centre, the Department of Child and Family Services, and the Women’s Resource Centre.

“We always say we are the bricks and mortar,” Mrs Christensen said.

She will continue to fundraise in her new role but will also oversee development and projects. She works from an office in Habitat’s second-hand shop, ReStore, on King Street in Hamilton.

“ReStore is being beautifully managed by our new manager, Collin Cluett,” she said. “I will not have a sledge hammer and hard hat but I will often be on potential building sites. We have to look at every single project and determine the viability. We have to make sure that what needs doing is not beyond our scope.“

Her goal is to continue building Bermuda’s inventory of affordable housing to help address homelessness on the island.

She admitted that her new job was a little daunting given the scale of poverty and homelessness in Bermuda.

“As I’m peeling back the layers of the charity and everything that Sheelagh has been doing for 25 years, I realise just how big the need is,” she said.

Mrs Christensen believes that many of Bermuda’s social ills are bubbling to the surface after years of being brushed under the carpet.

“Now because of the work of different charities, these problems are finally coming to light,” she said.

One of her mandates is to better educate the community about the true scale of homelessness and inadequate housing in Bermuda.

“That will help us get the financial support we need and wake up the public about the realities that are out there,” she said.

“Before joining Habitat, I knew there was a problem. However, until you go into some of the homes we are working on and see how people are living, you just do not know how bad it is.”

Habitat sees many single mothers needing assistance.

“We refer many of them to the charity Home, especially in cases where their house is irreparable,” she said.

Mrs Christensen hopes to work more with the Government and other charities to identify derelict buildings that could be turned into housing.

However, she said it was about trying to find the right programme and purpose for them.

“Recently, we had an anonymous donor buy a derelict property for us in Devonshire,” she said. “We renovated it into a house for single women and their children.”

These women had learnt to care for themselves and their children through a residential programme at the Transformational Living Centre. They had jobs; however, the lack of affordable housing made it difficult for them to transition back into the community.

“The donors will retain ownership,” Mrs Christensen said. “We have renovated it for them and they are charging around $1,000 a month for rent.”

Habitat never thought of this model, before the donation, but are now hoping something similar will work for future projects.

They also fixed up the old St James church rectory in Sandys.

“It is now called Bridge House,” Mrs Christensen said. “The Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute needed to find a home for their long-term care patients.”

The Bermuda Hospitals Board, the Anglican Church and Habitat worked together to make the project a success.

It allowed eight MWI clients to be deinstitutionalised.

Mrs Christensen said: “They now have this incredible home. They are learning basic skills like how to get up in the morning and take care of themselves. At MWI, someone would always come in, get them up, bring them their food and make their beds. Now they are learning life skills, which is amazing.”