A new Habitat for Humanity project in west Charlotte is seeking solutions to Charlotte’s housing crisis by bringing affordable homes to a part of the Queen City where they’re needed most.
The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project to benefit Habitat for Humanity is returning to Charlotte with WCNC Charlotte as a proud partner.
Volunteers will come together to build 39 new homes at an affordable housing development near the airport in west Charlotte. Preparations will culminate with construction taking place the first week of October.
“This is something that has been envisioned for years,” Laura Belcher, Habitat for Humanity of Charlotte’s CEO, told WCNC’s Sarah French.
The Carter Work Project actually started almost 40 years ago. In September of 1984, former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter led a group of Habitat for Humanity volunteers to build safe, affordable housing in New York.
“I never dreamed at that point that it might become an annual affair that has enriched our lives in many ways,” Carter said in a Habitat interview.
The Carter Work Project grew into a weeklong event, taking place in different locations all over the world every year.
And in 1987, it came to Charlotte to build 14 affordable homes in the Optimist Park area.
“President Carter has worked with Habitat for the past 37 years to draw attention to the needs of affordable housing, both nationally and globally,” Belcher said. “And so in his honor, legacy, that effort continues.”
Belcher says the Carters set an example for everyone with their volunteer efforts.
“It’s really a way to put someone’s passions and beliefs into action, right?” Belcher said. “More than words, it’s coming out and physically building and that’s really what the Carters did. It’s really an example of servant leadership.”
