is a locally based affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. It was incorporated and chartered in April 1995 with a mission to eliminate substandard housing by building simple, decent, affordable houses for the working poor of Laredo, Texas. Volunteers have completed
27 homes and will start working on the next two soon.
For more about us, see Staff and
Committees.
Started by a small group of volunteers,
almost 25,000 hours of volunteer service were logged in 2004 that is the foundation for all the success that Habitat enjoys. Over the course of
ten years, the organization has evolved from working out of homes and volunteers’ gara
ges to an office, which was built with a Meadows foundation grant inside the South Texas Food Bank. Texas Mexican Railway has donated warehouse space for five years. Funds from United Way venture grants have provided tools and equipment needed for building. Habitat has not requested agency status from the United Way, due to the UW restrictions during their campaigns concerning the solicitation of funds in the fall when our building is at its peak. The tools that were purchased from the grants have provided a more professional and efficient manner in which the homes are constructed.
Volunteers continue to learn marketable skills through on site training. The emphasis for keeping the administrative costs at a bare minimum continues to be a priority so that funds are available for building homes. Recognizing the importance of maintaining a good business
structure, board members have taken daily duties to insure that all business functions are addressed and that the needs of our homeowner partner families are monitored. In January 2003, the affiliate received a one of a kind Habitat International grant to assist in a colonia alternative project. The organization’s goal is to build
50 homes on a ten-acre tract of land by the end of 2007. This grant has provided the funds to hire a special projects director and to pay for professional fees and other development of infrastructure within those designated communities.
Our most ambitious project, "Building Dreams in Rio Bravo" has been recently
completed, bringing ten new families on partnership with Habitat for Humanity of
Laredo. Hundreds of volunteers arrived in the spring of 2004 to
erect these homes during spring break, accumulating around 16,000 volunteer
hours, and this year was no different. Our next project will take place in the
River Hills subdivision on Highway 83, to volunteer or
for additional information, please
contact us.
Habitat for Humanity continues to assist families in achieving goals of education, skill development, and counseling. Family support services provide food, clothing, and encouragement through our volunteer base to homeowner partner families to assist them as they transition into their new homes and on an as needed basis. Five homeowner partners have achieved their
G.E.D. certificates and two homeowner partners are enrolled at Laredo Community College. At Texas A&M International University, one of our first homeowners completed his bachelor’s degree in December 2001. His dream during his pre-selection interview of going back to school was realized and he became the first homeowner to graduate from the university. After graduating with honors, he enrolled in the Masters program at
TAMIU. Habitat is providing hope and home ownership to Laredo families in need, but the organization also sets the stage for them to achieve other goals and personal aspirations.
Our belief is that all of God’s children deserve a simple, decent home in which to live. Our mission is to assist in the elimination of substandard and inadequate housing in our community. Our future is dependent upon the many volunteers and donors who make dreams come true through Habitat homeownership.
