PC: Habitat for Humanity International
In September 1984, former US President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter led Habitat for Humanity volunteers to New York, building alongside 19 families in need of safe, affordable housing. The project has since built 4,496 houses in 14 countries with the help of 112,031 volunteers, according to Habitat for Humanity International. The 2026 project returned to Atlanta, Georgia, for the first time since 1988, where 24 new homes were built in five days. Some 150 volunteers from the United States and Canada worked alongside future homeowners in Chicago in 1986 to build a four-unit townhouse, according to Habitat. In 1987, President and Mrs Carter led 235 volunteers in constructing 14 houses in Charlotte, North Carolina’s Optimist Park area. The 1988 project, the timeline says, built 20 homes in Atlanta, Georgia, and renovated another 10 housing units in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Habitat states that more than 1,100 volunteers joined the Carters in 1993 for the first Carter Work Project held entirely outside the United States, with 18 houses built in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and 10 in Waterloo, Ontario. The timeline says the 1996 project marked its first foray into Europe, with the Carters leading construction of 10 homes in Vac, Hungary, alongside homeowners and 500 volunteers from 23 countries. In 1999, Habitat reported that 14,000 volunteers from 32 countries helped build 293 homes in six communities in the Philippines. In 2001, more than 9,000 volunteers from South Korea and other countries worked with homeowners to build 136 housing units in Asan, South Korea. Habitat states that the Carters left a legacy of dedication to community service and human rights, and that it is honoured that they devoted over 35 years to supporting its mission through their advocacy. The 2026 Carter Work Project took place in Atlanta, Georgia, from 3 to 8 May, according to Habitat for Humanity International. It was the first time since 1988 that the project had returned to Atlanta. Habitat says the volunteers built 24 new homes in five days, including townhomes and single-family residences in Langston Park, in Atlanta’s Sylvan Hills neighbourhood.
The organisation adds that some people assume Jimmy Carter founded Habitat, but that the Carters were its “most famous and tirelessly devoted volunteers”. That was the inaugural Carter Work Project, now a weeklong event held somewhere in the world each year. Builds have taken place in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America.
