Fauquier Habitat for Humanity Mourns the Death of Former President Jimmy Carter and Honors His Contributions with Memorial Inviting Public Signatures
Global Habitat memorial event invites the public to view and sign doors.
WARRENTON, VA — Fauquier Habitat for Humanity joins the world in mourning the death of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and joins observances around the world to remember his life of service. He and Rosalynn Carter have served as Habitat for Humanity’s most famous volunteers over the 35 years they helped to build affordable housing with the organization.
“Fauquier Habitat joins other Habitat organizations around the world in erecting a memorial door to pay tribute to the late President Jimmy Carter and acknowledge how his efforts opened doors to brighter futures for thousands of Habitat homeowners over nearly four decades,” said Melanie Burch, CEO of Fauquier Habitat for Humanity. “We are grateful for his commitment and immense contributions to this organization.”
Fauquier Habitat for Humanity’s memorial door will be at the Fauquier Habitat for Humanity ReStore at 617 Frost Ave., Warrenton, VA on Thursday, January 2, 2025. The media and the general public are invited to pay tribute by signing the memorial with their names and personal messages throughout the coming weeks. In honor of his passing in December, the memorial door is cut to resemble a Christmas tree. It will be used as a memorial in the coming years throughout the Advent season and to give a nod to the Rockefeller Christmas Tree, which is taken to a local mill after the holiday season. The tree is then milled into planks to be utilized in a future Habitat home.
“We are deeply saddened by President Carter’s passing, and our prayers are with Mrs. Carter and the rest of the Carter family,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “President and Mrs. Carter began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity near their home in southwest Georgia, soon bringing worldwide attention to the need for decent and affordable housing. We are grateful for the incredible impact the Carters have had on Habitat and on the families who have benefited from their shining example. The Carters put Habitat for Humanity on the map, and their legacy will live on in every family we serve around the world.”
After leaving the White House, the Carters sought out meaningful ways to continue their commitment to social justice and basic human rights. They first volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Georgia, near their home of Plains, in March 1984. Later that same year, the Carters joined Habitat volunteers in New York City’s Lower East Side to renovate an abandoned building in partnership with families in need of affordable housing. That trip marked Habitat for Humanity’s first Jimmy Carter Work Project (later renamed the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project). Each year since then, the Carters have volunteered with Habitat to build or improve houses alongside homeowners in communities across the United States and around the world. President Carter also served as a member of the organization’s board of directors from 1984 to 1987.
“I think every human being has within himself or herself a desire to reach out to others and to share some of our blessings with those who are in need,” President Carter has said. “What’s opened up that avenue for me and my wife and hundreds and thousands of others is Habitat for Humanity. It makes it easy for us to reach out and work side by side with the homeowner who’s never had a decent house, perhaps. I haven’t been on a Habitat project [where] I wasn’t thrilled and inspired, and wept.”
Inspiring millions over the last three decades, President and Mrs. Carter have worked alongside more than 104,000 volunteers across the U.S. and in 14 countries to build, renovate, and repair 4,390 homes. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has served more than 46 million people around the world.
In 2016, Habitat named President and Mrs. Carter as the inaugural Habitat Humanitarians for their extraordinary dedication to service in alignment with Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live.
Habitat for Humanity will be celebrating President Carter’s life of service with local observances. To learn more or to share a tribute, visit habitat.org.
Photos courtesy of Fauquier Habitat for Humanity.
Posted on: January 2, 2025