(LEX 18) — Former President Jimmy Carter will be remembered as "a giant for Habitat for Humanity, both internationally and here in Kentucky," according to Lexington Habitat for Humanity.
The group says that President Carter took to heart the mission and values of Habitat for Humanity.
"He worked alongside countless homebuyers and volunteers to construct homes that, ultimately, provide more than just shelter; they provide stability, self-reliance and an opportunity for generational change," the group said in a press release.
"The Carter Work Project came to Kentucky in 1997 for a project called Hammering In The Hills, and that was a really ambitious project to build over 50 homes in Eastern Kentucky and part of Tennessee in a single week," said Laura Daley, the communications and marketing manager for Lexington Habitat for Humanity. "So, this is a huge feat. They deployed over 2,000 volunteers in order to achieve this. And that impact, you know, its touched so many lives. We can't really even begin to envision how people's lives change through affordable homeownership."
Daley says Carter's belief in "the dignity of affordable homeownership" is something Lexington Habitat for Humanity will continue to bring to the community.
"It's the beginning of a generational change," said Daley. "It's allowing people to build something that they can pass on and give their children a better life and a better future."
"We see that legacy here in Lexington. We see the ideas and the beliefs that he really embodied in our own work," she added. "Our homebuyers work on their own homes and participate in the construction process."
"We are in the finishing stages of the build for our 500th homebuyer household," Daley said. "So, that's a huge milestone in our history. We also just included our 100th critical home repair project, where we go in and help folks with repairs - roof repairs, windows, anything that needs attention in their home."
