Habitat for Humanity welcomes new AmeriCorps members, celebrates 20 years of partnership

Habitat for Humanity joined the Corporation for National and Community Service today in welcoming the newest class of AmeriCorps members during a special swearing-in ceremony honoring AmeriCorps’ 20th anniversary. This year, 75,000 new members will be inducted into the national service program, including more than 500 members who will join Habitat affiliates across the U.S. to serve families in need of affordable housing.

“For 20 years, AmeriCorps members have made major contributions to our work,” said Peter Rumsey, Habitat for Humanity International’s director of national service. “We thank our AmeriCorps members, both past and present, for their service to our communities and partner families, as well as their continued commitment to Habitat’s mission.”

Since its founding, AmeriCorps has placed service-minded individuals in communities throughout the U.S. to further Habitat’s mission. During the program’s first year, 122 AmeriCorps members served with Habitat in five communities. Today, more than 500 AmeriCorps members serve annually with Habitat in 38 states, impacting families in nearly 150 communities.

AmeriCorps members have also assisted with Habitat’s post-disaster rebuilding efforts, such as the work that has taken place along the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina, where more than 5,400 houses have since been built, repaired or rehabbed. Habitat continues to rebuild communities and provide assistance to families in the region as part of its Gulf Coast hurricane recovery program.

Habitat AmeriCorps members also help Habitat draw attention to the need for affordable housing during its annual Build-a-Thon, an event that brings hundreds of AmeriCorps members and alumni to select cities to partner with community volunteers on week-long blitz builds and community service projects. Next spring, New Orleans Habitat for Humanity will host the 2015 Build-a-Thon to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and recognize AmeriCorps’ contributions to the community. During the week, AmeriCorps members and alumni will build 10 new houses on the city’s eastside and participate in 20 community service events.

To date, more than 8,000 AmeriCorps members have helped Habitat serve more than 20,000 families, engaged more than 3.1 million volunteers and raised tens of millions of dollars to meet the housing needs of families in the U.S.

For more information about AmeriCorps and how to get involved visit www.habitat.org/americorps or www.nationalservice.gov.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International’s vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 4 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and supports a variety of funding models that enable families with limited resources to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer visit habitat.org.

About the Habitat for Humanity, AmeriCorps partnership
In 1994, Habitat for Humanity was one of the first organizations to partner with AmeriCorps, inducting 122 members in the inaugural class. This year we celebrate 20 years of impact, having engaged more than 8,000 individuals as AmeriCorps members with Habitat for Humanity, helping to meet the housing needs of nearly 20,000 U.S. families, contributing more than 13 million hours of service and engaging more than 3.1 million volunteers. In FY 2013 alone, 570 Habitat AmeriCorps members served more than 3,400 families – more than a third of U.S. families Habitat partnered with – raised 4.4 million dollars in cash and in-kind resources and engaged more than 260,000 volunteers. To learn more, or to join AmeriCorps, visit www.habitat.org/americorps or www.nationalservice.gov.

About the Corporation for National and Community Service
The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than 5 million Americans in service through its AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, Social Innovation Fund and Volunteer Generation Fund programs, and leads the President’s national call to service initiative, United We Serve. For more information, visit www.nationalservice.gov.