40 years. 4000 families. Many memories and many faces have passed through the doors of our homes, churches, and offices. There is still more work to do, and we don’t intend to stop now. Here is to 40 more years of building homes, community, and hope.
Inspired by the work that Millard and Linda Fuller were doing in Americus, Georgia with Habitat for Humanity, Charlotte area faith, business, and nonprofit leaders put their heads together on how they could bring that same mission and vision to their communities.
In 1983, seven local churches—Christ Episcopal, Myers Park Presbyterian, Myers Park United Methodist, Myers Park Baptist, Covenant Presbyterian, St. Mark’s Lutheran, and the Little Church on the Lane—made that idea a reality and Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte (now Habitat Charlotte Region) was born.
Julia Maulden became the first executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte in 1984, and that same year, our affiliate built its first home. Fast forward to 2023, and Habitat Charlotte Region has served more than 3,500 families through our New Home Construction, Critical Home Repair, and Money Matters Financial Literacy programs.
Just a few years after our founding, in 1987 we hosted Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter along with over 200 volunteers (including then-mayor Harvey Gantt) for the third ever Carter Work Project. During that project, 14 homes were constructed in Charlotte’s Optimist Park neighborhood.
Now in our 40th year, we will welcome the Carter Work Project back to Charlotte. In October, thousands of volunteers led by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood will wield their hammers to build 23 affordable homes in our Meadows at Plato development in west Charlotte.
Many thousands of people have given time, money, and passion to the organization that we now call Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region. As we reflect on the last 40 years, we sit down each month with some of those thousands to get their take on where we have been, where we are today, and what the next 40 years holds for Habitat Charlotte Region.
This year is full of events, volunteer opportunities, and celebrations that will recognize all that we have accomplished in the past four decades while laying a strong foundation for the next 40 years.
Beginning with our Beloved Community initiative this winter, followed by our Blue Jean Bash in the spring, and culminating with the Carter Work Project in the fall, this year presents numerous opportunities to get involved.
