Church World Service and Habitat for Humanity expand efforts to help additional low-income families with house repairs
Gulf Cost partnership given the âAward of Excellenceâ by the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
April 19, 2007
NEW YORK and AMERICUS, Ga. - Nearly one year after announcing a landmark partnership to repair the homes of low-income Gulf Coast families, Church World Service and Habitat for Humanity International are extending their work to repair 600 additional homes. The announcement of an additional $1 million funding from Habitat granted to Church World Service comes as both agencies were recognized today for their partnership in rebuilding following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) today awarded both agencies its Award for Excellence in Long-Term Recovery Partnership during NVOADâs annual conference being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico (April 17-20).
âIn the last year, our partnership with Habitat has helped hundreds of people resume normal lives by returning them to their homes,â said Church World Service Executive Director and CEO the Rev. John L. McCullough. âWe are honored by this award and proud that Habitat for Humanity valued our partnership by extending its grant program with us.â The initial $3 million partnership allowed long-term recovery groups along the Gulf Coast to apply for grants of up to $7,500 to help people of limited means repair their homes. âGiven the immense devastation the Gulf Coast hurricanes left in their wake, a lasting recovery requires effective collaboration by individuals and organizations working throughout the region. Habitat for Humanity is committed to that cooperative spirit, and weâre proud to partner with Church World Service to enable local groups to meet the housing needs of their low-income neighbors,â said Habitat for Humanity CEO Jonathan Reckford.
âWeâre grateful for this award, as it reaffirms the notion of partnership so critical to our relationship with Church World Service, to our mission and to our recovery work all along the Gulf Coast.â
In this latest round of rebuilding grants 200 projects will be selected with 50 homeowners eligible for a new, higher $10,000 maximum each. âWe found from the first two rounds that there were plenty of cases where needs outmatched the $7,500 limit,â McCullough said. âThe higher threshold will allow Habitat and Church World Service to help those with greater needs.â
Church World Serviceâs third round of rebuilding grants will be distributed by the end of April. A key feature of the agencyâs disaster response is its focus on helping existing community groups establish independent, nonprofit organizations dedicated solely to filling unmet disaster-related, long-term recovery needs of vulnerable populations in their communities. These local member organizations, with close ties and deep commitment to their communities, identify homes to be repaired or rebuilt under the HFHI-CWS partnership, and apply the grant monies directly to home repair costs.
In May, Habitat for Humanityâs Operation Home Delivery program will begin construction on its 1,000th new house to help affected hurricane-affected families in the Gulf Coast region. With programs such as the partnership with Church World Service, Habitat serves as a catalyst that brings together organizations to address low-income housing and recovery on a scale that Habitat alone would not be able to accomplish.
About Church World Service
New York City-headquartered Church World Service is an international and domestic relief, development, and refugee assistance agency supported in part by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican denominations in the United States. With 60 years of experience in humanitarian relief, Church World Service works with partners in 80 countries to fight hunger and poverty. For more information, visit www.churchworldservice.org
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in Americus, Georgia, in 1976, Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses in nearly 100 countries, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than one million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org
Habitat Media Contact: Duane Bates, 1-229-924-6935, ext. 2541, dbates@habitat.org www.habitat.org/newsroom
CWS Media Contacts: Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin (24/7), 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net