B.C. company a faithful Lifewater supporter

 

Very few corporations have supported Lifewater Canada as generously and consistently as BC Greenhouse Builders in Surrey, B.C.

The company (www.bcgreenhouses.com) owned by the Heinen family since 1972 has made 21 donations totaling $93,397 to Lifewater during the past 15 years, including a recent $16,000 gift through the new Beyond BCG Foundation that administers the Christian family’s charitable giving.

“We were interested in what Lifewater was doing and looked into it,” says BC Greenhouse Builders president Rick Heinen, in recalling his company’s first-ever donation.

“We saw a charity with low overhead that was doing fantastic work. We started donating every year and Lifewater has continued on as one of our main charities to donate to yearly.”

People who build greenhouses – where plants are nurtured in protective environments – certainly understand the importance of having consistent access to safe water, which Lifewater Canada provides by drilling and repairing wells for struggling communities in Africa and Haiti.

BC Greenhouse Builders has been operating since 1951. Rick’s father, Henry Heinen, joined the company in 1959. Thirteen years later, in 1972, Henry and his                                 Greta and Henry Heinen                                    wife Greta purchased the business.

“I’ve worked in the company since I was six years old really,” says Rick. “My brothers and I started working full-time in the summers when we were 12. After high school, I worked full time, got my glazing trade certificate, and have worked at BC Greenhouse Builders for 36 years now. I got the opportunity to buy 50 per cent of the business in 1995 and bought my dad’s other 50 per cent in 2009."

“Over the years, I gained so much experience in regards to manufacturing greenhouses but I also saw how Mom and Dad treated their customers and employees, and how generous they were with people and charities. They always saw opportunities to give back. We try to maintain those same values.”

The company’s first greenhouses were built with wooden frames from a backyard garage.

Today, the greenhouses are framed in much stronger and more durable aluminum from a large manufacturing facility in Surrey. BC Greenhouse Builders, now owned by Rick and other family members over three                      Henry Heinen and his children join staff in framing a greenhouse                generations, has clients all over North America that ranging from “hobby growers” to large agricultural production facilities. Thank you, BC Greenhouse Builders, for providing the precious gift of safe water!

Left-to-right: Cody Heinen - Beyond BCG Board Member & Co-owner of BC Greenhouse Builders; Scott Chapman - Grant Manager and Corporate Relations representative, Lifewater Canada; Rick Heinen - CEO of Beyond BCG & President of BC Greenhouse Builders; Kyle Exner - Co-owner of BC Greenhouse Builders; Kyle Thomas - Beyond BCG Board Member