THDA Serves as Lead Sponsor at Habitat International’s 2016 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Next Week

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (RealEstateRama) — Tennessee Housing Development Agency will serve as the lead sponsor of Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Memphis, Tennessee, taking place Aug. 21-26, 2016. In partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, local families will build or improve their homes alongside President and Mrs. Carter and hundreds of volunteers. Projects during the week will include new home construction, neighborhood beautification and home modifications for seniors.

President and Mrs. Carter donate their time and voices annually to help Habitat families build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

Like Habitat for Humanity, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) is working to ensure new homeowners have the tools they need to successfully transform their lives and their communities. When the Carter Work Project was announced, THDA quickly offered to match the first $1 million Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis raised for the effort.

“It is certainly a great honor when a former president of the United States chooses your city to do what has become his signature event of the year,” said THDA Executive Director Ralph M. Perrey. “This kind of revitalization helps families put down deeper roots, provides children with greater stability, encourages parents to be more concerned and active in their community, and makes the area more attractive to new business development as well.”

Many of THDA’s staff are regular volunteers at Habitat builds, and many families who move into Tennessee Habitat homes receive special, zero-interest New Start Home Loans from THDA to make their dreams of homeownership possible. The proceeds from these home loans and other mortgage products offered by THDA are used to fund the agency at no expense to the taxpayers, as well as to replenish the Tennessee Housing Trust Fund every year. Tennessee’s Habitat chapters are among the many nonprofits who rely on grants from the state’s Housing Trust Fund every year, allowing this money to go full circle.

THDA will send volunteers to help build homes alongside future Habitat homeowners during the Carter Work Project, as well as participate in project-related events throughout the week.

“We felt it was a great compliment to the city of Memphis and the state of Tennessee for Habitat to choose select the Bearwater Park area as the location for the project,” Perrey said. “We think it has the potential to be transformative in that area and lead to other good things, so we are just as excited as our partners in Memphis and that’s one of the reasons we wanted to be involved in a big way.”

For more than three decades, Habitat’s Carter Work Project has engaged volunteers to improve communities across the United States and around the world. In Memphis, hundreds of volunteers will work with 19 homeowner families to build new homes. During the week, volunteers will also conduct 10 beautification projects and six aging in place projects to enhance accessibility and mobility for seniors.

To donate or learn more about Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, please visit habitat.org/cwp/2016 or memphishabitat.com/carterworkproject.