Habitat for Humanity: A Synergistic Model for mmunity Organization

As members of human communities, individuals seek to contribute their time and energy in ways that synergistically benefit both the individuals and other community members. Organizations that facilitate this type of exchange in a sustainable, growth-oriented manner can be held up as examples for other organizations to use as guides. One such successful group is Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofit, non-denominational Christian home-building project made famous by the involvement of former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (ôHabitatàHistoryö).

Contrary to a popular myth, Habitat for Humanity was founded not by the Carters but by another couple, Millard and who wanted to give back to their community through their Christian faith (ôHabitatàHistoryö). Leaving their former business life, they moved to an interracial Christian farming community, the Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia, in 1965. There the Fullers initiated a concept called ôpartnership housing,ö in which individuals in need of homes work side-by-side with volunteers to build those homes. Once the homes are completed, people purchase the homes with low down payments and make home payments on no-interest loans. The supplies and land are furnished by money from a revolving fund made up of donations, no-interest loans, money from fundraising activities, and house payments from new homebuyers. The Fullers were successful in us

. . .
o gain skills, interact with non-incarcerated community members, and pursue active contributions to society. It helps reintegrate prisoners into normal community life, so that when they leave prison, they are more likely to feel there is a place outside of the prison community where their contributions will be valued. Because the prison population enters the program on a volunteer basis, those who serve in the program work hard and contribute concretely to the home-building efforts. The non-prison volunteers who work alongside the prisoners benefit as well, as they have the opportunity to interact with and help integrate a different segment of the community into a positive lifestyle. Thus, The Prison Partnership works as a synergistic system, reciprocally benefiting the inmates, the non-inmate volunteers, and the recipients of the Habitat for Humanity homes. The Collegiate Challenge. Students are a societal group with a great deal of energy to contribute and an open-minded approach that makes them perfect volunteers for an organization that properly utilizes their talents. The Collegiate Challenge was set up within Habitat Humanity for just this purpose (Engle). It challenges students to spend their Spring Break holiday building
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Habitat Humanity, Humanity Websiteö, Americus Georgia, Global Village, Collegiate Challenge, habitat humanity, Community Organizations, Prison Partnership, Humanity Website, Spring Break, KKWP Zambia, collegiate challenge, ôhabitat humanity websiteö, build houses, ôhabitat humanity, global village, 2005 habitat humanity, humanity websiteö, 2005 habitat, volunteers build, habitat humanity projects, humanity website, humanity projects, habitat humanity website, volunteers build houses,
Approximate Word count = 1627
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)