For most families living in poverty, home ownership seems about as realistic and attainable as having a picnic on the moon with a talking donkey. But since opening for business in 1976, Habitat for Humanity has been working to change that by building affordable new homes as well as renovating or repairing older ones to make them safer and more energy efficient. A stellar organization near and dear to many hearts, Habitat for Humanity relies entirely on volunteer labor to build, renovate, and repair, and the bulk of their funding comes from private and corporate donations. Habitat for Humanity’s Cars for single mothers donation program makes it easy to donate your old car to this noble cause. While many charities accept car donations, not all of them choose the best intermediary organizations to work with, and as a result, they often see a shamefully low percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles donated to them. However, in keeping with their reputation for fiscal responsibility, Habitat for Humanity’s Cars for Homes is monitored and managed by full-time Habitat staff. Car donations are processed through Advanced Remarketing Services, a national commercial fundraising company that accepts car donations through their free tool, Car Donation Wizard to accept donations for Habitat for Humanity and hundreds of other local and national charities. Building Simple, Affordable, and Sustainable Homes In 2008, 23.6 percent of people with incomes below the poverty line changed residences, compared to 17.5 percent of those with incomes of 100 to 149 percent of the poverty line. Frequent moves by families living in poverty are often unplanned, precipitated by the inability to pay rent and bills or the need to escape the poor quality or unsafe conditions of poverty housing. And while we all know that moving is a major pain in the neck, research shows that our aching muscles are nothing compared to the effects of frequent residence changes on school-age children, who are put at a social, developmental, and educational disadvantages as a result. And the other realities of poverty – parental stress, dangerous neighborhoods, and poor nutrition, to name a few – don’t help much, either. Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to help families break the cycle of poverty by providing affordable, decent, and safe homes built with sustainable materials whenever possible and always with an eye toward energy efficiency to ensure the lowest possible utility bills and carbon footprint. Families apply to the program and are chosen based on factors like their level of need, their willingness to put hundreds of hours of labor into the construction or renovation of their home and other Habitat for Humanity homes in the community, and their ability to pay off the loan, which is usually a no-profit mortgage loan or other innovative financing method that helps keep the monthly payments affordable. Habitat for Humanity built its 800,000 th home in 2013, and in that year alone, they helped 100,000 families build, repair, or renovate their home. That’s a lot of children who are now able to set down roots and develop relationships in their neighborhood and perform better school without having to worry that they might be in a new classroom the very next week.
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