About Habitat for Humanity
Since its inception in 1988, Adams County Habitat for Humanity has helped provide 32 homes to low-income families deserving of home ownership. Partner families invest up to 500 hours of “sweat equity” in their homes, working alongside community volunteers and skilled laborers who often donate their services in order to construct or rehabilitate the homes.
The Adams County chapter is one of 1,500 affiliate chapters throughout the U.S. and one of 2,050 Habitat for Humanity chapters world-wide. This nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry has provided more than 600,000 affordable houses to more than 3 million people since being founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976.
More than 300 volunteers spent nearly 1,500 hours working on Habitat homes in Adams County in 2012. Hundreds of additional hours are donated to the organization annually through the work of board members. The organization is run entirely by volunteers.
Mission and Vision
Adams County Habitat for Humanity follows the vision of Habitat for Humanity International:
A world where everyone has a decent place to live.
The Mission of Habitat for Humanity International:
Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.
Mission Principles include:
1. Demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. We undertake our work to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all, and that we must be “hands and feet” of that love and grace in our world. We believe that, through faith, the miniscule can be multiplied to accomplish the magnificent, and that, in faith, respectful relationships can grow among all people.
2. Focus on shelter. We have chosen, as our means of manifesting God’s love, to create opportunities for all people to live in decent, durable shelter. We put faith into action by helping to build, renovate or preserve homes, and by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty.
3. Advocate for affordable housing. In response to the prophet Micah’s call to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God, we promote decent, affordable housing for all, and we support the global community’s commitment to housing as a basic human right. We will advocate for just and fair housing policy to eliminate the constraints that contribute to poverty housing. And, in all of our work, we will seek to put shelter on hearts and minds in such powerful ways that poverty housing becomes socially, politically and religiously unacceptable.
4. Promote dignity and hope. We believe that no one lives in dignity until everyone can live in dignity. We believe that every person has something to contribute and something to gain from creating communities in which all people have decent, affordable places to live. We believe that dignity and hope are best achieved through equitable, accountable partnerships.
5. Support sustainable and transformational development. We view our work as successful when it transforms lives and promotes positive and lasting social, economic and spiritual change within a community; when it is based on mutual trust and fully shared accomplishment; and when it demonstrates responsible stewardship of all resources entrusted to us.