It’s where the heart is.
Home: there are many expressions describing just how much it means. Since its 1976 founding, Habitat for Humanity has helped nearly 60 million people realize those feelings by building or improving the place they call home.
Habitat for Humanity relies extensively on volunteers – nearly 900,000 during its 2023 fiscal year alone – to make its construction and repair magic happen. Habitat homeowners themselves are even part of the process, investing sweat equity by helping build their own home, working at a Habitat ReStore and other projects.
Regions associates have volunteered for Habitat builds in markets such as Nashville, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; Marion, Indiana; and more over the years. In May, team members in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, came together to participate in a Women Build with Habitat for Humanity of Wake County.
To celebrate National Homeownership Month in June, we visited with two women affiliated with this project – Habitat for Humanity of Wake County CEO Patricia Burch and Regions Commercial Banking relationship manager Kelly Perkins, a Women Build volunteer.
Patricia Burch’s Perspective:
How long have you been with Habitat and what initially drew you to the organization?
I’ve been with Habitat for 17 years, 15 of those were with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Birmingham in Alabama. The mission brought me here – seeing the way this program empowers people to transform their future and seeing how much homeownership means to those who thought they would never have the chance to own a home made me want to be a part of it.
Tell us more about Habitat for Humanity of Wake County and its impact.
We have about 130 full-time employees who are part of our team. This year, we’ll complete more than 35 new construction homes and 70-plus repair projects in our Home Preservation Program. We serve over 100 families each year; we’ve built over 900 homes and completed repairs to 500-plus since the affiliate was founded in 1985.
What’s something different Habitat of Wake County has been doing the past few years?
I think the most interesting thing happening in the Habitat world is our model of shifting from being a homebuilder to a community developer. One of our current neighborhoods, Old Poole Place, is the largest neighborhood we’ve developed from raw land.
What’s one thing people might not know Habitat you think they should?
We do far more than build houses. We have a team that advocates for affordable housing issues across the building continuum, including people and families who aren’t directly part of our program.
Why is corporate support important for projects like the Women Build?
Habitat could not do what we do without broad community support. Companies like Regions are vital to our success not only because of the funds they donate and volunteers they provide, but also because they help us get the word out about what we do in the community. We are so grateful to Kelly Perkins, Nancy Barnes-Ault, Cindy Forrester and their colleagues for supporting our 2024 Wake Women Build. We can’t wait to have you onsite again!
Catching Up With Kelly Perkins:
You advocated for Regions to participate in this year’s Wake Women Build. Why?
A place to live is a basic necessity that impacts everyone. It’s vital to everyday life. Habitat does so much for the community and they’re such a large organization. Regions in Raleigh hadn’t been part of it, and I saw an opportunity to bridge that gap.
Each time I’ve asked to do something in the community like doing basket deliveries for CASA or working with other nonprofits, no one’s told me ‘No’ yet. I want to make sure we donate our money and time to well thought of organizations. I knew Habitat hit that bucket.
What did you enjoy most about project day?
Working with power tools! When I grew up, I helped my dad do stuff around the house like building a tree stand and other projects. My great-uncle owned his own chainsaw company, so tools were always around our house, meaning I wasn’t intimidated. I was eager to work with them.
Also, everyone involved with the build came from a different background, and it was cool hearing about them. There was a retired dentist, there were AmeriCorps volunteers. We all came from different backgrounds, but we shared a common mission of wanting to help.
What surprised you most about your build experience?
I was surprised how intense the physical labor was. I don’t know if I could do that every day. It takes a lot of energy to work in construction. It was hot and we were tired.
What did you learn about your teammates from this project?
We’re hard workers. Also, everyone has different skills. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t have them. It was neat to see Terry (Hoey, Mortgage production manager and Raleigh market executive) and Thad (Walton, Commercial Banking leader and Charlotte market executive) really getting into it. (Note: Men are welcome to also participate in Women Builds.)
What did you learn about yourself?
To try new things. It’s exciting to do things outside your comfort zone that make you get butterflies in your stomach.
If someone is considering participating in a Habitat build but is worried they may not be qualified, what advice would you give them?
Don’t be discouraged if you feel you don’t have construction skills. There are different levels of labor with the build; there are so many things you can do like measuring wood. It’s not like you have to sling a hammer. You don’t have to be the strongest, tallest or biggest person to make an impact. I’d definitely do it again and I hope after reading this article, more people will want to, too.
