Habitat Receives $2 Million for Jimmy Carter Work Project in India

By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter Friday, June 23, 2006

Habitat for Humanity International on Thursday received a $2 million grant to support Habitat’s 2006 Jimmy Carter Work Project (JCWP) in India and to help build homes across the United States.
The Citigroup Foundation presented the Christian homebuilding organization with the multi-million grant that will be partly used to support JCWP in a village near Lonavala, near Mumbai, India, Oct. 30 - Nov. 3.
Citigroup’s Chief Operations & Technology officer, Kevin Kessinger, presented the grant to Habitat’s CEO, Jonathan Reckford at Habitat’s annual symposium in New York City on Thursday.

"Citigroup has been a long-standing partner with Habitat for Humanity, having generously contributed to a number of Jimmy Carter Work Projects and many other efforts around the world," said Reckford according to a report by the organization on Thursday. "We deeply appreciate the support and corporate leadership they continue to provide, and we're always eager to work with them in the neighborhoods where they live and operate."

Former President Jimmy Carter, his wife, Rosalynn, Citigroup’s Kessinger and senior Citigroup management as well as employee volunteers will be among those helping to build the homes in India.

The JCWP this year will involve more than 2,000 local and international volunteers to build 100 homes in one week in the Indian village for local families. An additional 84 Habitat homes is slated to be built following the one-week blitz build.

JCWP is the kick-off event for Habitat’s five year “India Builds” campaign which aims to increase awareness of India’s severe need for affordable housing.