 For more than 25 years, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity has helped to change the lives of local families through simple, decent and affordable housing. We are an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity based in Chittenden County, Vermont.
 Habitat for Humanity, a worldwide organization, has built more then 250,000 homes over 26 years. Habitat recipients give 200 hours of sweat equity per adult (up to 400 hours) to build homes, then purchase them at cost with no interest loans, that in turn build more Habitat houses. We call it a hand up.
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The mission of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity is to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus Christ in Chittenden County through:
- Constructing simple, decent, affordable houses in partnership with families who currently live in substandard and unsafe conditions and have no possibility of obtaining a home through any conventional means.
- Selling these homes to the partner families for no profit or interest. Reinvesting the mortgage payments from these partner families to build more simple, decent, affordable homes.
- Providing a means for people to donate time, money, or materials to channel them to the poor. Involving an ever-increasing number of people in the work of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity.
- Tithing from donations to support the work of Habitat for Humanity International in countries with greater need than exists in the United States.
- Working with people of good conscience and other organizations with similar interests to raise awareness of housing issues so that everyone in the world can have the opportunity to have a simple, decent, affordable place to live.
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Your gift is used immediately towards the construction costs of a Habitat house. But, like an endowment gift, it is never used up: the mortgage payments for each house are used to help build the next house. The "multiplied effect" is powerful, as over time your gift will continue to provide housing for needy families. As an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International, Green Mountain Habitat is completely autonomous. This means we are not funded by Habitat for Humanity International. In fact we donate 10% of the donations we receive to the national organization to help fund projects around the world. Please indicate on your donations that you want it to go to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity so that it will be put to use here in Vermont. We believe, however, that our "neighborhood" stretches far beyond our local community. Therefore, we contribute ten percent of our cash donations to help fund Habitat projects around the world. We currently support projects in South America. |
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The idea of building houses with the needy at no profit and no interest was first developed by Millard Fuller and the late Clarence Jordan in 1968 at the Koinonia community in Georgia. From 1973 to 1976 Millard Fuller and his family put the principles of Habitat to work in Zaire in Central Africa, building hundreds of houses there. In 1976, the Fullers returned to the Untied States, and Habitat for Humanity was formed. Since 1976, Habitat has expanded to more than 1300 towns and cities in the United States, Canada, and 57 other countries around the world. Today over 100,000 Habitat houses have been built. |
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Colleges in the greater Burlington area have given time and funds to Green Mountain Habitat. Together the University of Vermont and Middlebury College donated one third of the total cost of one recently completed home. St. Micheal's college has also contributed to Habitat's efforts. On any given weekend volunteers from all three schools may be found hard at work at the current building site. |
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You are needed! You time, talents, and resources are needed! Join us as we work together to put our love into action. Please Help Us! |
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We are people of all ages, occupations, and faiths, who come together in the belief that ALL of God's people deserve a decent home. We believe that the poor need capital, not charity, and co-workers, not caseworkers. We welcome anyone who will join us as a partner in our work. |
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Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity is an affiliate project of Habitat for Humanity International, a ministry to the housing needs of the world's poor. Green Mountain Habitat is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization that welcomes volunteers of all faiths to join in to help eliminate poverty housing in Vermont. We believe that God calls us to work for the elimination of poverty housing in our community, and that in this work, we are building God's kingdom on earth. Working in partnership with low-income families, and using volunteer labor and donated materials whenever possible, we are building sturdy but inexpensive houses which are then sold to the families at cost, with no profit and no interest. All mortgage payments are made to Habitat and go into a revolving fund to help build more houses for needy families. Habitat also works to maintain a continuing partnership with its homeowners. Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity was formed in 1984 and has built homes in Burlington, Huntington, Milton, Monkton, and Williston. "If a rich person sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against his brother; how can he claim that he loves God? My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action" - I John 3:17-18 |
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