Most Famous Volunteer

Happy President’s Day to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter

In celebration of President’s Day, we’d like to acknowledge the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. James (Jimmy) Earl Carter, Jr., has always had a voice for affordable, decent housing for all.

In March of 1984, President Carter resonated with Habitat’s mission of helping families achieve their dream of homeownership when he jogged by the New York City Habitat build and thought to himself, “Rosalynn and I should come up and give them a hand.”

His Deep Commitment and Value Alignment

President Carter and Mrs. Carter realized Habitat’s mission aligned with their values – they understood the need for families to have a stable, affordable foundation to grow. With this, President and Mrs. Carter formed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity and have been building to improve homes through the Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter Work Project.

Although Carter is most known in the world for his notable accomplishments as the President of the United States, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Governor of Georgia, and more, in Habitat’s world, President Carter is known as our most famous volunteer.

Over the course of 30 years, President Carter has inspired millions of people in 14 countries while working alongside more than 104,000 Habitat volunteers to build, renovate and repair 4,390 homes.

“We have the ambition to share some of our good fortune with others,” Carter says.

“That’s one of the most difficult things in life: to cross that chasm between well-off people and families that don’t have a decent home. That’s one of the things Habitat has given to us: an ability to share, side by side, building a home with families that have never had a decent place to live.”