A loving community

When she first walked through the front door of her Habitat home with Amiyah by her side, it felt like a whole new beginning. “I’m overwhelmed with joy,” Jessica says. “To see such happiness on my daughter’s face. She deserves it all.”

Amiyah is excited to finally have space to spread out and to be able to invite friends over. “To have my own room, my own privacy. Somewhere I can relax, just vibe and get stuff off my mind. Have friends come and sleep over. Everything a teenager usually would do,” she says.

Jessica is looking forward to having space to continue studying for her nursing degree, decorating her home, and hosting friends and family. Her new neighbors have already started reaching out and welcoming her into the community. “We’ve never had neighborhood gatherings and get-togethers,” she says. “I can definitely foresee those things happening here in this community.”

A safe place to grow

The stability and security that their new home provides means the world to Jessica. “This house, it’s everything to my family,” she says. “It’s the glue.” 

Jessica hopes her experience with Habitat helps her children understand the importance of building generational wealth through homeownership and inspires them to reach toward their dreams, too. “To be able to show my daughter that it’s possible and to make her proud of me, that’s the biggest thing for me,” Jessica says. “The baby doesn’t have many memories, but this is what he’ll know. He’ll always know that mom was a homeowner. That’s all he’ll know, and that’s a good thing, too.”

Building a more accessible home

Aretha was searching for a larger, ground-level apartment to rent when a friend suggested she explore homeownership opportunities with Habitat. Soon after she was accepted into the program, she began building her house alongside volunteers who traveled from out-of-state to support her dream of homeownership.

Aretha says she was overcome with emotion and pride when she and her kids first opened the door to their very own home in 2011. “It was the best feeling in the world. “I was able to show my children that they can do anything. Just because you’re disabled doesn’t mean you can’t get it done.”

Thriving in a comfortable and spacious home

The family’s Habitat home was designed with accessibility top of mind. The kitchen is spacious and has low, easy-to-reach cabinets. The bathroom is wide and equipped with hand railings near the toilet and shower. Each family member has their own bedroom. A smooth ramp leads up to their front door. The home also has no carpet, allowing Aretha, Devin and Zacaya to freely maneuver their wheelchairs and walkers from room to room.

The home’s adaptability and space offer the family more independence. Aretha says from the day they moved in Devin and Zacaya have loved having their rooms. It’s their own space for Zacaya to paint and Devin to play video games — hobbies they’re passionate about that also improve their motor functions.

Accessibility and affordability with Habitat

If she hadn’t partnered with Habitat, Aretha says they likely would have moved in with family members and potentially sacrificed accessibility for affordability. Instead, Aretha pays an affordable mortgage for a comfortable, accessible home in a neighborhood she adores.

“Here, they can be independent,” Aretha says. “They can be more mobile. They can go outside. They can use the restroom on their own. This home is the key to independence and freedom for my children and me.”

Home as a springboard for higher education

In August 2022, three months after her youngest son, Chance, graduated from college, Donyelle returned to school, earning her associate’s degree in general studies from a local community college.

Donyelle says homeownership was a catalyst for finishing her degree. “I wouldn’t have completed my education if I was not a homeowner,” she says. “I really feel that me being a homeowner, me being stable, me having a foundation was the basis for me being able to go back and complete my education and get my degree.”

“I think that it’s important that my children know that I’ve worked very hard all my life. To have a stable job, to have a stable home, it means a lot,” she continues. “It can take you far. It can give you advantages.”

Building intergenerational wealth through homeownership

Donyelle has remarried, and her husband has three children of his own. The couple love hosting their big, blended family. Donyelle, who calls herself a “fun grandmother,” finds unmatched pleasure in watching her six grandchildren play in her living room. It’s even sweeter knowing that she will be able to pass down the home that has been their key to a more secure future.

Donyelle says her home has provided the family with “a sense of pride and belonging.” Even as her children have grown up and built homes and families of their own, they know that the doors of their mother’s two-story Habitat house — where the words “Practice Kindness” adorn the front porch — will always be open.

“It’s a place where, no matter where they go in the world, they know they could always come home,” Donyelle says.

Eventually, Peggy agreed to apply and was able to replace her roof and windows and have her chimney repaired. “I mean, I can’t describe what it felt like the moment somebody knocked on my door and said, ‘We’re here to help you.’ I sobbed for hours because I was so thankful,” she says.

The repairs to Peggy’s home were possible because of Habitat’s Repair Corps program, which has been funded by The Home Depot Foundation since 2012. The program has helped more than 1,800 U.S. military veterans and their families. “The ability to make a difference in the lives of military veterans like Peggy through improved housing conditions is a priority for our company,” says Sean Vissar, The Home Depot Foundation’s manager of national programs and strategic partnerships. “It’s why we partner with Habitat to help military veterans and their families complete critical home repairs. It is a deeply meaningful way to honor the service of those who have given so much to our country.”

A home filled with love and music

Now that her home is safe and healthy, Peggy looks forward to being able to share it with her children and grandchildren for years to come. “No matter where my kids go, when we talk about home, everybody’s heart is here,” Peggy says.

With her house repairs complete, Peggy can also host the group she leads that helps fellow veterans cope with PTSD through the healing power of music. Peggy teaches the group guitar and finds pride and purpose in sharing her home. “It’s helped me greatly just to have that sense of family and support coming into my home and be able to continue to make memories in the home that I love.”

Mellissa Kamanya, Bend-Redmond Habitat’s director of grants management, remembers first meeting David. “It was clear that as he was stepping up and becoming full-time dad to these two kiddos, he needed some more space and some more privacy,” she says.

Building community

Once he was selected to become a Habitat homeowner, David began working on his sweat equity hours, which included helping to build his own home and volunteering to help build other homes in the townhome community. During the builds, he fostered relationships with his future neighbors and their families that have grown deeper since the family has moved in. Now the children play together while the grownups talk.  

The family’s favorite activity is gathering together in their living room to watch movies, and Cadence enjoys venturing out to the second-story deck in the evenings to take pictures of the sunsets and nearby mountains. David loves that the home features solar panels that help lower monthly utility costs and it’s in a convenient location for him and the children. “We’re really close to the park and their school,” says David, whose job at a medical equipment manufacturing company is nearby as well.

Working together to advance affordable housing

Grant funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation helped make David’s mortgage more affordable by supporting the construction cost of his home. “The financial contribution from Wells Fargo allowed us to structure a mortgage that was based on David’s income, which gave David the security that he was taking on a loan he could manage,” says Mellissa.

Since 2010, Wells Fargo and the Wells Fargo Foundation have donated more than $119 million to Habitat for Humanity International and local affiliates in support of affordable and sustainable housing. Damon Dishman, Wells Fargo’s small business director for the Pacific region, has volunteered with Habitat for more than two decades and has seen firsthand the significant impacts of affordable homeownership for families and communities. “When I think about David’s story of wanting a safe place for his kids to grow up and how he sought parks and walkability, I know that also creates stability for not only David and his family, but it also helps create stability for the local small business community,” says Damon. “David works for a local business, and him having a home helps businesses operate in the local market because its employees are able to live in the communities where they work.”

Pirates, butterflies and peace of mind

David, Cadence and Grayson are settled in and thriving in their new home, and David is working on decorating the children’s bedrooms. “I have a friend who is going to surprise the kids with murals. My son wants a beach and pirate theme. My daughter wants fairies and butterflies,” David says.

Now that he has a home with an affordable mortgage and his children have plenty of room to grow, David has peace of mind. “Home is my safe place,” he says.  

Why has Whirlpool Corporation made it a priority to partner with Habitat?

We believe that the four walls around us have the power to unlock immense opportunity for the homeowner and their family. It starts with decent and affordable housing – the foundation of a stable life and a bright future. That’s why Whirlpool Corporation gives purposefully of our time, funds and products to the communities where we live and work.

Everything we do rolls up to our vision to be the best kitchen and laundry company in constant pursuit of improving life at home. This is especially true in our approach to social responsibility.

What is Habitat’s BuildBetter with Whirlpool initiative?

The three-year BuildBetter with Whirlpool initiative expands upon Habitat’s current efforts to help homeowners mitigate the impact of climate change with more energy-efficient and resilient homes. The purpose of the initiative is to continue to promote energy-resilient, hazard-resilient and climate-resilient housing at Habitat affiliates across the U.S., leaning on lessons learned over the course of more than a decade.

The three-phase initiative began in 2021 and includes research and collaboration; a strategic pilot of proven, successful tactics in target markets; and ultimately resources that can be expanded upon and immediately implemented across the U.S. By working with Habitat’s research and measurement team, we can evaluate how homeowners are living in the homes, which will inform changes that can be made in the future so that homes are designed that are good for the environment and for the homebuyer’s specific needs.

Habitat homes built through this initiative are designed to have a 15% greater overall energy efficiency compared to local code minimums. They’re also built stronger to better withstand increasing severe weather events and changing climate conditions, and the homes produce less in operational carbon emissions.

The homes are built using regionally based, specific methods and materials to meet or exceed regional and national verification program requirements, which can include increased insulation and air sealing, higher efficiency heating and cooling equipment, fire-resilient materials, and fixtures that reduce water consumption. In some markets, homes might feature a safe room that meets or exceeds FEMA requirements, offering reinforced shelter in a high-wind event.

How else does Whirlpool Corporation work with Habitat around the world?

Whirlpool Corporation supports Habitat’s work in Poland, including Habitat Poland’s expansion of its Warsaw social rental program in response to the war in Ukraine. Through the program, Habitat Poland acts as a mediating agent, leasing units and then renting them at affordable rates to tenants who can’t afford free-market rates. The program is being tailored for refugees from Ukraine, who will need a larger subsidy at the outset as they look for jobs and become more familiar with the community. Whirlpool Corporation donated appliances that will be used in the rental units. Also, in July 2022, Whirlpool Corporation employees gathered in Gliwice, Poland, to help renovate homes that will be part of the social rental program.

How and why has Whirlpool Corporation advocated for decent housing?

Through Cost of Home, Habitat’s U.S. advocacy campaign, we’re informing and educating Whirlpool Corporation employees about policy solutions for home affordability, which can be a tool to recover from COVID-19 and to advance racial equity.

We also support Habitat’s global housing forums and really value how they bring together experts and housing advocates from a wide variety of sectors to connect and collaborate around practical solutions for increasing access to affordable housing.

During these forums, Habitat announces Innovation Awards winners, which celebrate global innovators in the housing sector. In 2021, we were proud to sponsor the awards’ inspirational practices category and help shine the spotlight on public and public-private partnerships that are actively increasing access to decent and affordable housing for those who need it most.

At Whirlpool Corporation, we always seek to identify new ways to demonstrate our commitment to our goal of making life in our homes, our communities and our operations better today and in the future. Our partnership with Habitat helps us demonstrate environmental and social responsibility through the life-changing work that we help make possible.