Empowering through shelter: Habitat donors share why they give

A promise kept

Josephine, a registered nurse, and her husband Gerald “Andy” Anderson, a World War II veteran, had been married for more than 46 years when she passed away. Having been raised in an orphanage, Josephine felt a personal connection to families in need of a safe and stable home. When she learned about Habitat through the advocacy work of former U.S. President and Habitat Humanitarian Jimmy Carter, she immediately wanted to become a part of Habitat’s mission – and she brought Andy along with her. “It proves that my wife was always smarter than me,” Andy says with a laugh. “Because she had the right idea about giving to Habitat.”

Before her passing, Josephine made Andy promise that he’d continue to support Habitat. He kept that promise by establishing a charitable gift annuity. The gift annuity provided Andy an income tax deduction for his initial gift, a fixed income during his life and funds to Habitat after his lifetime. Andy says it feels good to know that his gift is helping more families have access to the strong foundation that a decent home provides – and that he’s honoring Josephine by continuing her legacy of support for Habitat.  

Manifesting hope

Karen Tracy has been a Habitat HopeBuilder for nearly 25 years. “I was inspired to become a supporter because I believed in the program model of involving the new homeowners in the planning and building of their home,” says the 66-year-old, who is a registered nurse specializing in public health. “I like the fact that Habitat is global and focused on such a diverse array of communities.”

HopeBuilders like Karen give small, automatic donations monthly to help families realize their dream of homeownership. Karen loves the convenience of the HopeBuilder program, which allows her to regularly support a cause that is close to her heart. “The HopeBuilder program makes it so easy to give, and it is great to be able to direct funds to areas where one might have a special interest or concern,” she says.

Inspired to give

While volunteering with Habitat New York City, Nitza Wagoner fell in love with Habitat’s mission and was inspired to become a long-time supporter. “The fact that Habitat housing is affordable; to me, that principle is important,” says the 74-year-old retiree, who is an experienced photographer, writer and an avid gardener who has been active in her community garden for nearly 30 years.

As a volunteer, Nitza felt a kinship with the Habitat homeowners she worked alongside to help build their homes. They reminded her of her own family who immigrated to America from Puerto Rico and faced challenges finding affordable housing. “There are very few people who could afford the rents here,” says Nitza, referring to New York City’s expensive housing market. “I am happy that Habitat is still building safe and decent homes in partnership with families where they can pay an affordable mortgage.”

Building toward a bright future

Both Don and Jena Montgomery build things for a living. Don designs dams around the world, and Jena works primarily in public transportation. The couple innately understands the importance of having a solid foundation, for both homes and families, and that’s why they give to Habitat. “What we do professionally is also about helping other people and trying to make the world a little bit better place,” says Don. “In our minds, giving to Habitat is a continuation of that. It feels good to know we are helping families more directly too.”

It was Jena who brought Don into the Habitat fold. Her uncle volunteered with Habitat locally when she was a teen, and eventually she became a volunteer as well. One of her favorite memories of volunteering involves working on one of Habitat’s Women Build projects. “One day that stands out was putting up the trusses for the roof, just because it’s not something that you commonly associate with a group of women getting together one day to do that,” Jena says. “Being able to accomplish that in one day with other women was special.”

A legacy of giving

Giving to Habitat is a family affair for the Barretts. Joe and Linda, their children Brian and Shannon, and their children’s spouses, Jillian and Jon, are all active members of The Barrett Family Foundation. The Barretts started their private family foundation to contribute to the causes that are important to them, while fostering a legacy of giving for generations to come. They were drawn to support Habitat because they believe decent housing is the foundation for a family’s brighter future. “Having decent housing is just absolutely essential to everything else,” says Joe. “It improves people’s health, better education, there are a cascade of positive things you get from having a safe and stable home.”

Joe and Linda first learned about Habitat years ago when Joe’s parents began volunteering on Habitat builds through their church group. At the time, the young parents weren’t able to volunteer, but Habitat always held a special place in their hearts. Now retired, Joe has followed in his parents’ footsteps and brought his family along with him. The entire family has volunteered beside homeowners to help build their homes, and Joe, Brian, Shannon, Jillian and Jon have all volunteered as photographers at local events for Loudoun Habitat and Habitat Metro Maryland. Joe says it’s especially powerful seeing a Habitat family claiming their keys during their home dedication. “That’s just a wonderful feeling when you know that a family has a secure place to live and they are positioned for success,” he says.

The power of giving

Andy, Karen, Nitza, Don, Jena, Joe and Linda were inspired to support Habitat because they believe in a world where everyone has a decent place to live. With their support, and the support of so many others, Habitat has been able to help families build strength and stability through affordable homeownership — and will be able to continue to do so for years to come.