The family gave Car-ie to Habitat for Humanity’s Cars for Homes. As with all vehicles donated through the program, the majority of the proceeds remain close to the community where the car is donated. Claire was delighted to discover Car-ie would benefit Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region’s local wall- and hope-raising efforts. In a way, donating the car was a natural next chapter. “Habitat is a big part of my family’s story,” says Claire.

Giving faithfully

Claire’s family connection to Habitat started with her mother, Anne, and father, the late Rev. Jeff Lowrance. As partners in ministry at Hopewell Presbyterian Church, the pair set a strong example of service for their daughters. When friend Tim O’Neil mentioned a program he was piloting at Habitat Charlotte Region to help existing homeowners extend the life of their homes through safety and structural repairs, they were eager to help in whatever way they could.

For Jeff, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, that meant laying the groundwork for an effort that he would never see come to fruition. He worked with Tim to establish the program’s family selection guidelines. Inspired, a church member ran a marathon in Jeff’s honor — raising thousands for the program. Later, at Jeff’s funeral, in lieu of flowers, the congregation donated, faithfully and fully, to help fulfill his vision.

In addition to Tim’s fundraising efforts, the congregation’s gifts of money, time and talents helped one dozen Charlotte families make critical repairs to their homes in the first year of the program. They worked alongside his widow, Anne, to complete each one. “It’s clear that the congregation grieved and coped with the loss of Dad, of their pastor, by giving,” says Claire. 

Finding healing

The first project, which Jeff had helped to select, involved a roof repair. Anne recalls trembling with fear during her first climb up the ladder. “I was scared, but I did that roof, and then I did the next roof and then the next one,” she says. “I just kept climbing up there. The work gave me new strength and confidence.”

With the support of the congregation beside her, she says the work was therapy. “It was something I could put my whole self into and, in the midst of grief, find deep joy.”

During the first two years of the program, Anne spent almost every weekend volunteering with Habitat, climbing on roofs and into crawlspaces. In its third year, Anne signed on as an AmeriCorps member with Habitat Charlotte Region in order to commit to the work full-time. 

“Building, repairing, leading teams and meeting homeowners was deeply meaningful and empowering,” Anne says. “I count it as one of the best years of my life.” 

Building tradition

Over the years, the family’s bond with Habitat has continued to grow — as has their impact. Claire and her sister, Erin, volunteered on Habitat projects, including a Mother’s Day spent on a roof with their mom. Like her sister, Erin also donated her car to Cars for Homes.

Following her AmeriCorps year, Anne began a new job in ministry while continuing to volunteer and advocate for Habitat. Her faith and her passion often overlapped — resulting in bonding with her new congregation over Habitat builds, and, during summer camp, helping youth assemble sheds to complement future Habitat homes. She’s also taken her skills abroad through Global Village.

When Claire began her career in youth ministry at a local church, she also introduced new young people to Habitat and the importance of home and service. “Multiple kids in our youth group ended up working at Habitat. Many more still volunteer to this day,” says Claire. “For our family, it started with Dad, but this work with Habitat has created a web of support and friendship and community and connection that now spans generations.”

A growing impact

Five years after the critical repair program’s founding, Anne and her family joined other volunteers to complete the 100th critical repair project. It was dedicated to Jeff. Almost 15 years later, Habitat Charlotte Region completed 129 repairs in the 2021 fiscal year alone — hitting the 1,000th repair milestone while doing it — to help residents, most often older adults on fixed incomes, remain safely in their own homes. The program became an example adopted by other Habitat affiliates across the U.S. 
 
“It’s the story of the mustard seed,” says Anne. “Jeff had no idea how his gift would grow and how God would bless that seed in my life, in our children’s lives, and in the lives of so many who never knew him — but he planted it all the same.”

“That’s really the story of Habitat,” she goes on. “Jeff was one, but every day people are giving and planting and helping others grow, often without realizing the impact of it all.” A day spent volunteering to build or repair, a check written to a community program, an old car donated, she lists, “These are the mustard seeds that make the ministry and that make change possible.” 
 

She once sat down with us to share how Habitat’s life-changing work impacted her and why the mission of a decent, affordable home kept her coming back year after year.

Q: What does home mean to you?

A: My home is a haven for me. Jimmy and I do a lot of things, and I am always glad to get back home. My things are there. My memories are there. It is just security and safety for me.

Q: Why is a home important for families?

A: We have been with Habitat for so long and have seen so many people finally have a home. It really does change their lives and the lives of their whole family. It gives them a sense of belonging, a sense of self-esteem. When somebody has a home, they don’t have to struggle as much to find a place to stay. They have more time for family, more time for children. It is just life-changing.

Q: Why do you build with Habitat year after year?

A: If you could see the expression on the faces of the people when we give them a Bible and the keys to their house, you would know why. It is just so inspiring. It is really emotional. We always cry. It’s the families that keep us going.”

Q: What do you hope families have learned from you?

A: I hope they feel that we really care about them and that they have a home to live in.

Q: What have you learned from Habitat families?

A: I have become aware of the great needs of people who don’t have a home. Their values are just the same as ours. They want an opportunity to have good lives. That is what Habitat is about. It just makes you want to keep building more houses.

Q: What has it been like building with Habitat?

A: The first house we ever worked on was in New York City. It was an old burned out building — the rafters were charred where people had been burning stuff to keep warm.

I told Jimmy that I would help with the food, that I was not going to do hammering. The only thing I had ever done was to nail a nail into the wall to hang a picture. Jimmy asked me and some other women to pry up some linoleum from the floor. Just before we finished, somebody brought some boards for us to nail down. The first day, I was hammering.

I am a fairly accomplished carpenter now. I’ve even framed a door, which is not easy. I never dreamed I would be a carpenter. And I really enjoy doing it, too. It is so much fun to see a house go up.

Q: What’s it like building with Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks?

A: They are wonderful workers — they work solid all day long. I have seen her lying on her back on a rafter hammering. I have been impressed from the first year they came, and they have come a good many now.

Q: What’s it like building alongside President Carter?

A: We do most things together, but this is so different. It is a good feeling to be together with him. Some of our children go with us almost every time. It is just a wonderful, wonderful experience.

Q: Why people should volunteer with Habitat?

A: So many people want to do something good and don’t know what to do. For anybody who wants to get involved with an organization, there is nothing that they could do that would give them such a life-changing experience as Habitat.

This is something that brings together people who have everything they need and those who don’t have so many things we take for granted. You come to know the homeowner and love the homeowner and their family. It makes you aware and care about the people and hope they have good lives and good homes.

It has made me a better person.