“If you’ve ever wondered what love sounds like, you’re about to hear it,” Garth Brooks said to the homeowners and volunteers gathered during the 2023 Carter Work Project in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here are just a few of the faces that bring the time, talent and gifts needed to make the project possible.
The Urban Institute examined Cost of Home policy successes and published a full report with evidence of the measurable transformation in home affordability led by the campaign in its first four years.
Wells Fargo employees are excitedly converging on the build site for Habitat’s Carter Work Project in Charlotte, North Carolina, to volunteer alongside families building their new Habitat homes.
More than 104,000 volunteers in 14 countries have helped families around the world build or improve the place they call home through Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. This year, more than 175 volunteers from US$1 million sponsor Wells Fargo will add to that number in Charlotte, North Carolina, lending their hands and hearts to work alongside families as they build their new homes with Habitat Charlotte Region.
“This is such a monumental event that’s bringing the community together,” says Jim Early, director of asset management for commercial mortgage servicing at Wells Fargo. “It’s my first time attending the Carter Work Project, and I am super excited. I plan on helping all week.”
Though it will be Jim’s first time at a Carter Work Project, he’s no stranger to a build site. As a Wells Fargo employee, Jim has volunteered alongside Habitat homeowners for nearly 18 years. “When you volunteer at Habitat, you see the fruits of your labor whether you’re framing, putting up a roof or drywall, or hanging siding. You see what you’ve done at the end of the day. It’s a good kind of tired,” says Jim, who currently also serves on Habitat Charlotte Region’s development committee.
The 27 homes built during the Carter Work Project will add needed affordable housing to Charlotte. Rodrick Banks, Wells Fargo community relations leader, says the city has seen “significant growth,” which has led to affordability challenges in the housing market. “The cost of homes has risen, as it has in other markets across the country,” Rodrick says. “A lot of people, particularly those that are lower to moderate income, are finding themselves in a situation where there isn’t a lot of housing stock, and the stock that is there isn’t affordable.”
As a Habitat for Humanity partner for 30 years, Wells Fargo has helped open pathways to affordable homeownership for people and families globally and especially in Charlotte. “Charlotte is the largest employee base for the company worldwide,” Rodrick says. “Because of that we want our time and talent to be invested in the communities where our employees live and work.”
Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation have donated more than US$129 million to Habitat for Humanity International and local affiliates since 2010, including support for new home construction and repairs, helping older adults age in their homes, and neighborhood revitalization and disaster response efforts.
As a local employee and longtime Habitat volunteer, Jim is thrilled to be a part of the event and can’t wait to see the large-scale affordable housing Meadows at Plato Price neighborhood take shape. “This is a really interesting and exciting project,” he says. “Habitat Charlotte Region acquired the land from the city and is installing roads, sewer and water. So it’s a true development. It’s not building one home here or a handful of homes in a particular area. We’re building a neighborhood, so from a scale standpoint – that is exciting for me.”
Rodrick is also looking forward to volunteering during the event. “It is important for Wells Fargo to participate because of the value we place on the relationship we have with Habitat, and we respect former President Carter and Mrs. Carter for their passion and their work over a number of years all throughout the world,” says Rodrick. “And having an impact on housing affordability and ensuring everyone has a safe and decent place to live is a priority for us.”
Making a difference for families in need of affordable housing is a priority for the more than 175 Bank of America employees who are volunteering at Habitat’s Carter Work Project.
Lowe’s employees have a longstanding history of participating in Habitat’s Carter Work Project, and they are continuing their enduring support at the 2023 event by helping to build homes and community in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Thanks to the generous financial and volunteer support of sponsors like Lowe’s, Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project has helped change lives and build community for nearly four decades. Lowe’s has a longstanding history of participating in the annual event and has committed US$1 million to support the Carter Work Project in Charlotte, North Carolina, this year.
More than 175 Lowe’s employees will be on the ground volunteering in Charlotte, including first-time Carter Work Project volunteer Randy Alexander, director of community relations at Lowe’s. “I’ll be out there throughout the week with a hammer and a hard hat,” says Randy, who has also volunteered with Habitat locally. “I can’t wait to lock arms with my fellow red vest associates and others who are giving back within our community.”
Lowe’s is headquartered just down the road from Charlotte in nearby Mooresville, and its volunteers have made a big impact locally on affordable housing. In Charlotte, there’s even a street – Red Vest Way – lined with Habitat Charlotte Region homes whose name was inspired by the distinctive red vests worn by Lowe’s associates. Volunteers from Lowe’s dedicated nearly 600 hours to help families build those houses.
“Over the years that we’ve partnered with Habitat locally, we’ve come close to 10,000 volunteer hours, which is significant,” says Randy. “We hear from our associates that volunteering with Habitat is one of the most meaningful and impactful ways for them to give back to their community.”
“The day that keys are handed over to these families and their lives are forever impacted in a positive way is why we’re all here doing this.”— Randy Alexander, director of community relations at Lowe’s
Julie Yenichek, senior director of community relations at Lowe’s, volunteered during the last Carter Work Project, held in Nashville, Tennessee. She’s excited to volunteer alongside homeowners who will be living in Habitat Charlotte Region’s large-scale affordable housing neighborhood, The Meadows at Plato Price. “For Lowe’s and our colleagues in the greater Charlotte area, it’s going to be a really incredible week for all of us to come together and serve our community,” she says.
Since 2003, Lowe’s had donated more than $92 million to Habitat and over the next two years will commit $6 million to help more than 1,000 families and older adults make critical repairs and modifications to their homes.
“As a home improvement company, Lowe’s is uniquely positioned to partner with Habitat,” Julie says. “And we’re looking forward to continuing our work with Habitat during the Carter Work Project to make an impact in Charlotte where affordable housing is a big issue.”
Randy is also eager to see how the new homes built in The Meadows at Plato Price neighborhood will make a difference in the community. “The day that keys are handed over to these families and their lives are forever impacted in a positive way is why we’re all here doing this,” says Randy. “It’s going to be transformative for the Charlotte community and the families who will live in these homes.”
Urban Institute developed a searchable database of the policy successes and systems changes influenced by local and state Habitat organizations in the first four years of the Cost of Home advocacy campaign.
Carter Work Project volunteers lend a hand to the Charlotte community’s work building a thriving neighborhood at the historic site where an all-Black, segregation-era school called Plato Price stood. The once-empty lot is being transformed into an affordable, vibrant neighborhood with single-family homes, walking paths, nature areas and a community meeting space.