THDA pledges $1 million to match
donations to Habitat for Humanity’s 33rd Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work
Project
Challenge grant will improve living conditions
for nearly 100 families in Memphis
Memphis, Tenn. Nov. 19, 2015 – The Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Habitat for
Humanity of Greater Memphis and Habitat for Humanity International announced a major
challenge grant to kick off the fundraising effort for Habitat’s 2016 Jimmy
& Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Memphis. THDA will match the first $1
million in donations for the project.
Donate now! Click below to donate to the 2016 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. Donations will be matched by THDA!
THDA Executive Director Ralph Perrey and Memphis
Habitat President and CEO Dwayne Spencer announced the grant at a joint press
conference at the Bearwater Park area of Uptown Memphis. Habitat supporters,
including representatives from the Memphis and Shelby County Community
Redevelopment Agency and Oasis of Hope, the nonprofit donating the land, were in
attendance. Bearwater Park will serve as the location for new home construction
during the project.
“We hope our $1 million pledge will open people’s eyes
to the size and scope of what Habitat for Humanity has planned for the
Bearwater Park neighborhood and the Memphis area next year. THDA is committed
to the cause, and we hope our financial support will inspire others to get
involved and donate,” Perrey said. “The people of
Memphis should be tremendously proud of what their local Habitat for Humanity
has accomplished. We’re deeply grateful to work with such an effective partner,
and we’re excited to watch Bearwater Park spring to life.”
Habitat’s 2016
Carter Work Project, Aug. 21-27, 2016, will serve Memphis-area families through
multiple projects, including the construction of 21 new homes; 33
beautification projects, including minor repairs, painting and landscaping; and
45 Aging in Place program projects to enhance accessibility and mobility for
low-income seniors. The project is expected to involve thousands of volunteers
from the Memphis area, across the state of Tennessee and beyond. Memphis
Habitat is currently seeking partnerships to financially support the project
and provide a foundation for partner families to create a brighter future.
“The Carter Work Project empowers people to
bring hope, stability and housing solutions to their communities, and we are
proud to bring that effort to Memphis in 2016,” Spencer said. “Like Habitat, the
Tennessee Housing Development Agency is committed to making decent, affordable
housing accessible to low-income families, and THDA has long supported our work
here in Memphis. We are honored to count THDA as a partner in such an important
project.”
The THDA Board of Directors,
which includes Memphians John Baker and Dorothy Cleaves, approved the challenge
grant earlier this week. Since THDA is self-funded and does not receive state
tax dollars, the challenge grant funding will come from the agency’s own
revenues, generated from single-family home loans to middle/moderate-income
families.
The 2016 Carter Work Project will
be the 33rd year former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn
Carter build with Habitat for Humanity. They,
along with country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, helped build a
home in Memphis Monday, Nov. 2 to announce the build week.
Brooks and Yearwood will return
to build with Habitat during the 2016 Carter Work Project, which will make it
the country music stars’ eighth project. Brooks and Yearwood have helped
Habitat improve communities since 2007, including building homes after
Hurricane Katrina and in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
Since 1984, President and
Mrs. Carter have worked alongside 92,000 volunteers to build, renovate and
repair 3,943 Habitat for Humanity homes in 14 countries, while raising
awareness of the critical need for affordable housing.