Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa Co. remembers Jimmy Carter

Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County joined the world in mourning the passing of former President Jimmy Carter on Dec. 29.
“It’s a common myth that people think Jimmy Carter founded Habitat for Humanity,” said Debi Heiks, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Ottawa County. “That speaks to the immense impact he made on Habitat and how deeply Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter gave to many causes.”
After Carter left office in 1981, he played a pivotal role in the expansion of Habitat for Humanity across the world. In 2024, Habitat for Humanity built or improved more than three million homes across 70 countries.
The Carters are best known within Habitat for Humanity for their leadership in the annual Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. These events mobilize thousands of volunteers and local residents over several days to build homes. This year, the work project built 30 homes in Minnesota in three days. The Carters were famous for working as hands-on volunteers and continued to do so through 2019, when Jimmy Carter had reached the age of 95.
“I think one of the things the Carters saw is that people don’t just need charity; we need partnership that helps us improve our own lives.” said Heiks.
Carter often spoke about how volunteering with Habitat for Humanity allowed him to live out his Christian faith and values. “We have the ambition to share some of our good fortune with others,” Carter once reflected. “That’s one of the most difficult things in life; to cross that chasm between well-off people and families that don’t have a decent home. That’s one of the things Habitat has given to us – an ability to share, side by side, building a home with families that have never had a decent place to live.”