Happy 40th Anniversary, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity!

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2024! From our beginnings in 1984, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity has been committed to addressing the housing needs of low-income families in Northwest Vermont. We are so thankful for all the support over the years, and we cannot wait to see what the next 40 years look like for Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity!

The kids and I anxiously awaited the decision and when I was told that we would become a Habitat homeowner, I burst into tears. We are so grateful for this opportunity to leave very unsafe conditions and move into our own affordable and energy-efficient home.- Milton Habitat Homeowner

I am enjoying working on our new home with the volunteers and every day our son asks ‘when are we going to move into our new home?’ For us, the long wait, from the refugee camp almost 30 years ago, to helping to build our new home, is worth it.- Burlington Habitat Homeowner

Working in the financial industry, I've seen what a struggle it is for some people to qualify for adequate housing for their families, something that many of us take for granted. I was aware of Habitat for Humanity International and when I learned that Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity builds homes right here in Vermont, I was excited to be a part of the mission. As a life-long Vermonter, giving back to the community that has helped me prosper is a priority, and Green Mountain Habitat has given me the opportunity to do just that. There's nothing like being on the Board and seeing the appreciation from local families when they get settled into their Habitat homes.- Lori Crowley, Board Member

I’m so very proud of my parents, who had good jobs in Bosnia, then lost everything to escape the war. They paid off their mortgage on their Habitat built home and still live in the home in Burlington. Because of the “hand up” my family received, I feel a deep need to give back. When people meet me they don’t think of me as a refugee, but being a refugee has made me who I am today.- Child of Habitat Homeowners

We have hope, now, about the wellbeing of our family. Owning our own home will mean the opportunity to climb out of poverty, to have equity, to have a base to spring forward from and a haven to return to, for years and generations to come.- Milton Habitat Homeowner

Owning our own home will make a big difference to the safety of our family. And we are so excited about having the responsibility to maintain and meet certain standards with our new home during our lifetime. We will also save money for our children. I will be happy to pay our mortgage for 30 years!- Burlington Habitat Homeowner

A History of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity

1982

Carol McQuillen was a special education teacher in Essex at the time when she learned that one of her students was living in extremely substandard housing. She brought community members together to help her students, who were living in a rebuilt chicken coop with no running water. She had recently read Love in the Mortar Joints by Millard Fuller and Diane Scott, which told the Story of Habitat for Humanity. She knew she had to start a chapter in Vermont.

1984

Carol, along wih Bill and Roddy Cleary, began to speak at local churches to build their founding board and to gather support from the community. In 1984, they sent in their Articles of Incorporation to Habitat for Humanity, and with tremendous coaching from leadership in Americus, Georgia, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity became the 43rd official Affiliate.

2002

Board Members hired the organization’s first employee, David Mullin, as the CEO of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity. He worked in the basement of a law firm in Essex.

2006

Green Mountain Habitat creates a chapter in Franklin and Grand Isle counties to build homes in the most Northwestern parts of Vermont.

2009

Volunteers from the Franklin and Grand Isle chapter opens an unofficial Habitat ReStore in Swanton. The store was entirely run by volunteers.

The store later becomes officially incorporated under Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity.

2012

The Williston ReStore opens.

2013

Green Mountain Habitat completes the 50th home!

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Milton, Vermont

2016

The Milton ReStore opens!

2019

The Lamoille County Chapter of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity is incorporated.

2023

Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity completes its 100th house!

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One of our longest volunteers has been around since the first house was built in the late 1980s, and he still is volunteering in 2024, the year of Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity’s 40th anniversary.