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By CHRIS FOX
fox.chris@dailygleaner.com

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Employees at the Delta Hotels Global Reservation Services call centre helped raise about $8,000 for Habitat for Humanity on Saturday just by running around the city and building some birdhouses.

Well, sort of.

The employees took part in Operation Raise the Roof, a competitive race in which teams ran around the city collecting items which they then used to build a birdhouse in the race's final leg.

They raised money by holding bake sales and soliciting donations from colleagues, friends and family in the lead up to the race. Thirty workers participated.

"It is a great thing to get involved with," said Perry Kendall, the director of Delta Hotels and Resorts Global Reservation Services. "One of the Habitat board members told us last week that they are working towards securing the funding for this build that is happening later this year and it is events like this that are going to allow that to happen.

"If we weren't taking part maybe that house wouldn't be able to be built, so we are pretty excited to see that."

Saturday's event took place at several locations between the Delta call centre on Regent Street and Sweetwaters, where the final challenge unfolded. The event followed a similar one that took place in Grand Falls last weekend where Delta Hotels Global Reservation Services has a satellite office.

Martin Gilbert, a board member with the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, said events such as Operation Raise the Roof are important not only financially, but also from an awareness perspective.

He said he hoped those who saw participants frantically running through the city, might give some thought to helping out Habitat for Humanity themselves.

"This is huge," Gilbert said. "The more people know about Habitat the more support we can get and an event like this will definitely help with that."

Following the completion of Saturday's race, awards were presented to the top fundraisers, the team that built the best birdhouse and the team with the best time.

Gilbert said the money raised represented about one third of the cost of purchasing land for a house Habitat for Humanity hopes to build in Fredericton later this year.