Building community with Habitat for Humanity

At a moment in time when much of the world is instructed to stay indoors, the importance of safe and secure shelter can’t be overlooked.

Bloomberg has supported Habitat for Humanity for nearly 25 years, helping bring to life Habitat’s vision to build decent, affordable housing with families, and to help them get on a path of opportunity and increased self-reliance in the process. Habitat works in many ways: new construction, repairs to existing homes, small loans for incremental building and home improvements, disaster long-term recovery as well as advocacy work in the U.S. and across the globe. In 2019 alone, more than 1,000 Bloomberg’s employees supported Habitat builds across the world.

Physical builds may temporarily be on hold, but Bloomberg continues to support Habitat for Humanity in response to COVID-19 in HK, Australia, South Korea and India, with future builds planned for Tokyo, Sydney, and Seoul.

We celebrate the spirit of community gained by working alongside colleagues across our many Habitat projects, and the important work Habitat for Humanity does to help make sure families have a safe roof over their heads — particularly at this critical time.

Here, employees recollect their experiences from their involvement on different builds around the world.

The need for homes in South Africa is enormous, with families waiting for government housing often living in makeshift shelter long-term.

Last year, colleagues in Johannesburg volunteered to mark Nelson Mandela Day on 18 July for a special Nelson Mandela Day Build project with Habitat for Humanity South Africa. The construction project will see more than 1,000 new homes built with families in need of decent homes. The intention with the build was to help end housing inequality and give people better prospects — in line with Nelson Mandela’s vision to eradicate poverty in South Africa.

“I was surprised by how quickly a house can be built if you get a large number of people together and give them just a small bit of coaching. I had expected a small group, but the response was excellent and the atmosphere was great. Volunteers worked hard.”

— Gordon Bell, Johannesburg

While the basis for Habitat for Humanity’s selection process is a family’s need for better housing and their ability to pay an affordable mortgage, certain projects are geared towards beneficiaries like veterans. The Bloomberg team in Cape Town supported a Mandela Day Habitat for Humanity build in 2018 to support housing for veterans.

In the U.K., volunteers supported a Veterans’ House project to restore a hostel for homeless veterans in 2016, turning it into a world class facility. Over the course of the 10-month project, 757 employees donated 3,879 hours.

In the U.S., Bloomberg employees joined builds from coast to coast with Habitat for Humanity across New Jersey, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, and more. Volunteers were also active in Latin America in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

In keeping with Bloomberg’s philanthropic emphasis on both human services and the environment, Habitat for Humanity’s build designs prioritize building houses that are efficient, durable, and less resource-intensive without sacrificing affordability. House designs focus on water and energy efficiency, as well as materials conservation to build homes that leave the lightest footprint possible.

In New Jersey, employees have built a number of homes in Trenton and Newark over the past years. From 2017 to 2019, employees from New York and New Jersey helped build homes from foundation to finish with the help of more than 900 individual employees who dedicated more than 10,000 hours to construction. Bloomberg volunteers were even awarded the “Golden Hammer” Award in 2015 by Habitat of Greater Newark for their contributions.

“I was at the location in Princeton over two years to document the progress, from clearing trash-filled vacant lot to key hand-over ceremony. All Bloomberg volunteers were really pushing hard and so eager to help any way they can. And they don’t mind getting their hands dirty. Watching the joyful faces of the new owner and her family makes everything worthwhile!”

–Taka Ogawa, Princeton

“This takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you alter your own routine for the sake of someone else. If everyone did this programme the world would be a better place.”

–Michael Wilson, Sydney

In Seoul, many of the projects involved renovating and repairing houses for senior citizens and low income families. Starting with paper walls, teams replaced floors and windows and installed new furniture.

“My biggest takeaway from the project was a sense of accomplishment. Knowing that small actions can change the quality of life for the beneficiary motivates me to join these events, and gives me a sense of fulfillment.”

–Sanghun Kim, Seoul

“It feels really good to know that the work and effort I put in for a few hours will make a massive difference to someone’s quality of life.”

–Rosalie e’Silva, Hong Kong

“Everyone has been affected by the global public health crisis and the accompanying economic shocks of COVID-19,” said Julie Laird Davis, vice president of corporate and cause marketing partnerships at Habitat for Humanity International. “The pandemic is bringing the existing housing crisis into focus, which is only worsening day-by-day. It is clear that as this pandemic passes, Habitat will be needed more than ever before. We are so thankful for generous partners like Bloomberg who continue to support Habitat to build a world where everyone has decent and affordable place to call home.”

Learn more about how you can get involved with Habitat for Humanity.