Habitat and Dow Build Great Things

Last month at the Jimmy Carter Work Project 2000 (JCWP) in Sumter County, Ga., Kathleen Bader, business president of The Dow Chemical Company, handed Millard Fuller, founder and president of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), a voucher for $5 million worth of STYROFOAM insulation product over the next five years.

According to Bader, that’s enough blue insulation board to build the next 25,000 Habitat homes in North America. If that figure isn’t easy enough to visualize, one volunteer at the Dow-sponsored home in Plains, Ga., used the familiar football field analogy to communicate the impact of Dow’s gift. Rosey Grier, former pro football star and actor, minister and activist, said that if the 8-foot boards were laid end-to-end and side-by-side, there would be enough donated Dow STYROFOAM insulation board to cover the floor of the Georgia Dome 314 times.

Dow’s donation coincided with the annual Jimmy Carter Work Project, a week-long building “blitz” which took place September 9-17 in Sumter County, Ga., Harlem and Brooklyn, N.Y. and Jacksonville, Fla.

The donation marked a major milestone in the ongoing partnership between Habitat and Dow, making Dow Habitat’s official supplier of rigid foam insulation.

“Since the beginning of our partnership, Dow and Habitat have shared a special relationship,” said Fuller. “Dow’s new donation demonstrates an exemplary leadership position and a true commitment to eliminating substandard housing. The knowledge that more than 1 billion people in the world continues to live in substandard shelter has prompted Habitat to launch this ambitious campaign.”

John Sommerville, Dow’s commercial director of business materials, North America has been involved with Habitat builds all over the world and has seen firsthand the impact of Habitat’s work. “Dow strongly believes in [Habitat’s] mission of helping those in need realize the dream of homeownership.”

The relationship between Dow and Habitat is not new. Since the mid-1980s The Dow Chemical Company has donated product, money and volunteer labor to the independent, ecumenical Christian, non-profit organization that, as of the JCWP in September, has built more than 100,000 houses worldwide.

At the Dow-sponsored house in Plains, Ga., about 50 Dow employees and customers provided their labor alongside the “sweat equity” of the future homeowner. And for most employees, this build was not their first. Dow has participated in builds in Midland, Mich. (Dow’s global headquarters), Houston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Canada, Hungary, the Philippines and elsewhere throughout the world.

Bob Murphy, account manager for STYROFOAM brand products at Dow, has been active in Habitat in his hometown in Pennsylvania for years, but the JCWP was his first blitz build. “I feel that working down there changed me. I think we all need to work on projects that allow us to give something back to people who are less fortunate. It was amazing for me to work with the president of our group, the commercial director of our business, the vice president of our business—they were doing jobs just like I was.”

“And, the house looked beautiful—Cindy [the homeowner] got a gorgeous house.”

Thirty-five houses were built in Americus and Plains, Ga. during this year’s Jimmy Carter Work Project, including Habitat’s 100,001st house. Also built was the Victory House, the completion of which fulfills the goal set by HFHI, the local government and private citizens to end the need for anyone to live in substandard housing in Sumter County. The houses were dedicated on September 15 in Americus and formally begin the campaign to build the next 100,000 homes in just five years.

Jimmy Carter and Fuller—both Sumter County residents—worked alongside seasoned house leaders, volunteers, HFHI staff and future homeowners. Also present was Bernice A. King, who, besides being a (now) expert porch railing technician, is also a reverend, author, inspirational speaker and the youngest daughter of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.

Habitat for Humanity International was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller as a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. Through volunteer labor and monetary and product donations, Habitat builds and renovates simple, decent houses with the help of homeowner families, who then buy their home with an affordable no-interest loan. HFHI ranked # 92 on PB’s 2000 Giants listing, and Millard Fuller was the1995 Builder of the Year.