It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood – a brand new, Charlotte, NC neighborhood built by our friends at Keystone Custom Homes! Their dedicated team, trusted trade partners, and resourceful suppliers gathered on a sunny, breezy day to celebrate the completion of their first Homes for HOPE Project in the region!
Early this year, while on a prospecting trip in VA, Homes for HOPE’s Eastern US Representative, Stephen Giordano, dropped in at Ironwood Homes with some Goo Goo Clusters – a treat from where he lives in Nashville. This was the beginning of a budding partnership, and two weeks ago, Ironwood Homes launched their first Homes for HOPE Project.
In 2004, John and Tracy Houston started John Houston Homes (JHH) with a mission to reach people for Christ and give to the kingdom. Today, almost 20 years later, JHH is employee-owned by over 100 team members, is ranked among the top home builders in the United States, and builds hundreds of homes a year in four major market areas across 40+ communities.
Recently, I had the privilege of celebrating the completion of Pahlisch Homes' inaugural Homes for HOPE project in beautiful Bend, Oregon. I was joined by staff, neighbors from the Highline South community, and over 75 trade partners. Dan Pahlisch, President of Pahlisch Homes, opened the event with a prayer and invited guests to enjoy artisanal pizza and ice cream from local food trucks. It was a time to celebrate the thousands of lives that will be impacted by Pahlisch's donation, as well as a time of fellowship among colleagues who had just constructed an award-winning home.
We often say partnering with Homes for HOPE is all about the long game. Partnerships take a while to cultivate, homes take a bit to be built, and loans take time to be repaid. But in the end, partnerships are solidified, homes are built, and loans are repaid by HOPE clients helping them break the cycle of poverty. No partnership embodies that sentiment like our most recent launch with Capstone Homes in Ramsey, MN. 15 years ago, Homes for HOPE Founder, Jeff Rutt, and Capstone Homes Founder, Ben Minks found themselves on a trip together in the Dominican Republic meeting HOPE clients. It’s safe to say a metaphorical tree was planted on that trip and began to blossom last week in a small town northwest of Minneapolis.
It was a beautiful day in sunny Lexington, SC on Tuesday of last week. With the summer heatwave in full force, it was a good day to be inside for the McGuinn trade appreciation lunch at Hudson’s BBQ and the inaugural launch of their first Homes for Hope project.
Just over ten days ago, Homes for HOPE Founder Jeff Rutt and Western U.S. Representative Drake Holtry had the opportunity to be with the Sager Family Homes team in beautiful Tacoma, Washington for the launch of their second Homes for HOPE Project. Under the gentle grey skies of the Pacific Northwest, the Sager Family team, alongside their trades, gathered in their courtyard with plenty of food and drink. It is worth noting that the youngest Homes for HOPE guest attendee to date was two-week-old baby Sager.
Last week, the Homes for HOPE team gathered in Shawnee, Kansas at the Legacy Crossing community to launch Arise Homes' very first Homes for HOPE Project. A year in the making, the day was filled with eager anticipation. Drake Holtry, the Homes for HOPE Western U.S. Representative, painted a vivid picture of HOPE's work to a crowd of guests while they savored delicious Kansas City barbeque. Joining in the celebration were Matt Mabe and Austin Chamberlin, the owners of Arise Homes, who expressed their excitement for the project. Alongside their committed trade partners, they are determined to make a positive impact on the lives of underserved individuals worldwide by providing a hand up, not a handout.
Keystone Custom Homes' newly acquired division in North Carolina (formerly Evans Coghill Homes) launched their first Homes for HOPE project on a beautiful spring day in Charlotte, North Carolina. Trade partners, suppliers, and service providers gathered in a gorgeous model home with the subtle sound of saws and hammers in the background as homes are going up quickly in the popular, developing community. After a time of connecting around a meal, division president Alan Banks along with HOPE International’s founder, Jeff Rutt and others shared the vision of leveraging the impact of the building industry to invest in the dreams of underserved families around the world.
Earlier this month Keystone Custom Homes held a trade appreciation event to celebrate the resilience, perseverance, excellence, and generosity of their trade partners and suppliers over the past five years. Homes for HOPE had the privilege of attending as well and thanking those in attendance for their sacrificial support of our mission. Utilizing Keystone’s unique Virtual Homes for HOPE Project model, they have generated donations that keep increasing year over year enabling us to serve an ever-growing number of talented entrepreneurs who are living in poverty around the world!
