Twelve years ago former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn joined Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm and an army of Habitat for Humanity volunteers to roll up their sleeves and build 24 homes in just five days in the City of Benton Harbor. Next year, the former President’s signature Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project will set up camp just a short drive south of here when the project comes to South Bend.
This afternoon Jeff Rea, who serves as President of the Regional Chamber of Commerce, was joined by officials from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood and other regional leaders for a major check presentation from Mike Lugli of KeyBank to Habitat for Humanity of St. Joseph County. That check was for a cool half-a-million dollars.
Lugli is Northern Indiana District President for KeyBank. He told the crowd this afternoon, “This opportunity to help families earn the stability and foundation of home ownership couldn’t be passed up.” He added, “Our show of support for the 2018 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project here in St. Joseph County embodies KeyBank’s culture of community through philanthropy and volunteerism.”
On the receiving end of that super-sized check was Jim Williams, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in St. Joseph County. He responded by saying, “This is an amazing gift.” He quickly added, “We’re very grateful to Mike and KeyBank for their support, which includes volunteers who will help during the Carter Work Project. Not only are we building an entire neighborhood in Mishawaka through this project, we’re also working on 17 homes in the city of South Bend. Support like KeyBank’s is vital to making it all work.”
South Bend Mayor Buttigieg called it “An honor for St. Joseph County to be selected for this event.” He added, “Habitat makes a real difference for families here, across the country and around the world with good affordable housing.”
His counterpart, the Mayor of Mishawaka said, “We are excited and honored that our region was chosen and a neighborhood will be built in our city by the Carter Work Project.” He noted, too, “I have admired President and Mrs. Carter for many years and have had the pleasure of working with them on other Work Projects around the world.”
Tim Sexton, who serves as Executive VP for Community Affairs at Notre Dame told the crowd, “The University of Notre Dame is very happy to be part of and support the 2018 Carter Work Project.” He called it, “A natural fit because our students have helped build 20 Habitat homes in St. Joseph County. In fact, Notre Dame has one of the oldest running collegiate chapters of Habitat for Humanity in the country.”
Mike Leep Sr. said “When we saw and understood what Habitat does for families in our region, we were immediately hooked.” He noted, regarding his wife, “Karen and I are blessed to be associated with such a great organization and happy to join LeRoy and Phyllis Troyer as Honorary Chairs for the 2018 Carter Work Project.”
David and Pam Jarrett, Tim and Tonya Sexton, and Kirstin and Paul Phair serve as Chairs for the 2018 Carter Work Project.
Opening ceremonies for the 2018 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project will be at the University of Notre Dame Purcell Pavilion on Sunday, August 26, 2018. Closing ceremonies will be at the Century Center in downtown South Bend on Friday, August 31, 2018.
The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project is an annual home building blitz organized by Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliates. It generally takes place in the United States one year, and an international location the next.
The 2018 Project will take place in St. Joseph County located along the Indiana/Michigan border in northern Indiana from August 26-August 31. Hundreds of volunteers, many from across the country, will join the Carters in building 21 homes in the city of Mishawaka which resides in St. Joseph County. 17 additional housing projects in South Bend will be completed over the course of 2018 as part of this annual event.
The Carter Work Projects started modestly and built slowly. Early projects were held in the United States, and were relatively small compared to later years.
In 1984, President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn helped Habitat volunteers in New York renovate a 19- unit building and bring media coverage to Habitat, which had been founded in 1976 in Americus, Georgia, a short distance from Carter’s hometown of Plains, Georgia. Even though President Carter has said repeatedly he never intended to start an annual project, it has grown to be a national and international event of significant scale over the past three decades.
As of 2017, the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project has helped thousands of families move into safe, affordable shelter in 14 different countries. More than 100,000 volunteers from all over the world have signed up to build alongside the Carters, including some of your own friends, neighbors, family members and perhaps even you when the event brought great recognition to Benton Harbor in 2005.
In the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com is Jim Williams, head of Habitat for SJ County addressing this afternoon’s check event.
