North Texans are celebrating the life of Jimmy Carter. The 39th president died Sunday at his home in Georgia at the age of 100.
In October 2014, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, attended Habitat for Humanity builds in Dallas and Fort Worth.
"Habitat is a wonderful way to carry out God's will and to put into practice your religious beliefs, whatever they might be," Carter said during an interview while he took a break at the build in Fort Worth. "Share what you have in both time and money. That's what we do. It's a good thing."
North Texas saw record heat during the former president's visit, but he said 5,000 people signed up to volunteer, so they had people working in construction but also providing meals and sports drinks.
"The community has to want us to come in," Carter said. "We like to let other people know Habitat is an exciting and worthwhile project. Rose and I try to set an example to encourage people to donate money, donate time when we're not here."
Among those who received a house during those builds was Jacqueline Wills. She has lived in the neighborhood in East Fort Worth the past ten years.
"It's been such a privilege to have the president himself work on our house," Wills said during an interview when Jimmy Carter first entered hospice. "Just meeting him and the first lady, that's a once in a lifetime experience. He and his wife were so humble, very, very nice, approachable people."
Wills says the neighborhood has remained close since everyone started moving in. She says Habitat requires "sweat equity," requiring families to put in 500 hours of work, so each family takes pride in its home.
"They send us to different training sessions to teach us how to be good neighbors, teach us how to be good community members, teach us how to keep our house up," she says.
"The pundits will talk about the politics, left, right, good, bad, et cetera," says Trinity Habitat Chief Executive Gage Yager. "I focus on the character and honor of the person. Certainly what he did after his presidency, he did not just ride off into the sunset."
Yager says Habitat could use the publicity generated by Carter's visit to help more people learn about the organization's mission.
"He did not swing by for a photo op. He stayed there and worked," Yager says. "He did not slow down. He was 89 at the time, got up that morning, gave the devotional that morning to 600 people. That atmosphere was totally electric."
People who receive homes take classes on topics like financial literacy and how to make repairs. They pay mortgages and property tax on lots that may have been vacant before.
"It's not a handout, it's a hand-up," Yager says. "It's giving people a break for the American dream of home ownership. We sell the home, we don't give it away. Our families are capable. They have jobs and income."
Wills, the recipient of a home, says those classes and time spent building the homes together have helped neighbors form long-term friendships and take pride in their street.
"I love it," she says. "Because of the training Habitat put us through, all of my neighbors are good neighbors. We all get along well, we all keep up our property. We're all friends."
"I didn't have any idea of living this long, working on Habitat houses. This is my 31st year as a matter of fact," Carter said during the build in 2014. "It's been a lot of fun. We've had volunteers who still work with us. We'll be working with a guy in Dallas who's been a house leader for 28 years. They keep coming back."
More information about Trinity Habitat can be found here. Information about Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity is available here.
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