Jimmy Carter Work Project 2005
"We have never seen a state or country come together as complete as this state has this past week, so there's something special about Michigan." --Former President Jimmy Carter, Detroit, June 22, 2005--
75 cities. 238 homes. Over 20,000 volunteers. One mission--to eliminate substandard housing. These are special numbers, but none more special than 1000 people receiving a new home and new hope. Michigan showed during the Jimmy Carter Work Project showed it truly is a special place.
The culmination of the project came on June 24, 2005 when 232 homes in Michigan and 6 in Windsor Ontario were dedicated. Families will move into these 238 homes by July 24. Check out the press coverage for the event. Here is the JCWP "by the numbers:"
- 1: Former President and his wife participated
- 1: Catholicose (the top faith leader of the Armenian Church) participated
- 1: Miss America (in Benton Harbor) participated
- 1: Governor and her husband participated
- 2: US Senators participated
- 3: Cities visited by the Carters (Benton Harbor, Detroit & Windsor)
- 4: Caucuses of State Legislature that participated (House Dems & Repubs; Senate Dems & Repubs)
- 5: Event wide corporate sponsors: Whirlpool, Masco, Dow, Lowes and Great Lakes Capital Fund
- 6: JCWP homes built in Windsor Canada
- 10: Number of homes built in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
- 12: Number of affiliates that built 5 or more JCWP homes
- 15: Members of congress from Michigan that participated in JCWP (there are 15 members from Michigan)
- 16: Affiliates that Blitz built as part of JCWP
- 18: Departments from the State of Michigan that had employees participate
- 30: Countries represented by volunteers
- 50: States represented by volunteers
- 54: Houses sponsored by faith partnerships
- 63: Affiliates that built homes
- 75: Cities where JCWP homes were built
- 100: Rocking horses made by DOC inmates (given to families with children under 6 years old)
- 178: Houses using the Prison Build Program panelized walls
- 232: Homes built across Michigan
- 238: Total homes built during JCWP 2005
- 650: Number of state employees that volunteered on JCWP
- 1000: Number of people that will move into the JCWP homes within the next month
- 6500: Sheets of OSB used by Prison Build Program
- 10,000: Dollars given to each home for downpayment assistance by MSHDA
- 20,000-25,000: Number of volunteers that worked on a Carter house somewhere in Michigan or Ontario
- 75,000: Number of studs used to build walls by the Prison Build Program
- 714,000: Approximate number of volunteer hours to build the homes
- 9,600,000: Nails driven-one nail for each of the 9.6 million residents of Michigan!
- 19,500,000: Total dollars raised for JCWP by HFHI, HFHM and the local affiliates
Visit the Michigan County Map on the Habitat International website. to see information about each local affiliate's involvement in the project. You can also find out how to get involved in ongoing Habitat work across the state.