Habitat CFC awarded $30,000 Wells Fargo Builds grant

 NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Caitlin Dalton
Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County
(203) 331-7736
cdalton@habitatcfc.org 

Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County and Wells Fargo partner in Bridgeport, CT and across the country to help build affordable housing

BRIDGEPORT, CT (July 28, 2020) – Wells Fargo Foundation has awarded Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County a $30,000 grant to build two affordable homes in Bridgeport, CT. The funding is part of an $8.1 million donation to Habitat for Humanity International for capacity building and direct mission support to build, renovate and repair more than 350 affordable homes across the United States. The program, Wells Fargo Builds℠, is part of the Wells Fargo Foundation’s $1 billion philanthropic commitment to create more housing affordability solutions by 2025.

“We’ve had a rich history of working with Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County to strengthen our neighborhoods through philanthropy and volunteerism,” said Kimberly Chamberlain, Wells Fargo’s Fairfield North Regional District Manager. “Safe and stable housing enables people to build upon the rest of their life and, together, we can shift the narrative to help others understand that housing affordability is both an economic and humanitarian crisis that’s taking a toll on millions of people.”

Wells Fargo Builds provides philanthropic financial support from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support the construction, renovation, painting or repairing of homes with low-to-moderate income households. In 2019, Wells Fargo team members volunteered more than 1.9 million hours on 674 homes across the United States through the program.

“We are grateful for the continued support of Wells Fargo. This gift will help local families build the strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership,” said Habitat CFC Director of Development, Kristen Alvanson. “Now more than ever, families need a safe and secure place to call home.”

The grant will support the construction of two Habitat homes at 28 Hastings Street and 171 Wessels Avenue. Janella Diaz and her husband are the future homeowners of 28 Hastings, and while their dreams of homeownership have been delayed by the pandemic, their faith remains unshaken. She says, “I believe that when you want something, you have to work for it. Habitat showed me that we’re stronger together, and that we can lift each other up. I can’t wait until we can buy our home! I drive by it every day and daydream about moving in. It’s not a mansion, but it has everything we need – a room for each of the kids and space for us to be comfortable and spend time together. It makes me so happy.”

About Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County
Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County builds communities and improves lives by eliminating substandard housing and creating affordable homeownership possibilities for families in Fairfield County. Habitat CFC has a proud thirty-four year history and well-earned reputation for success throughout the region. We are a developer with a commitment to “green” construction, a family service agency, non-profit financial institution, community advocate and provider of over 5,000 volunteer opportunities each year. Habitat CFC transforms abandoned properties into homes for tax paying, contributing community members. Since 1985 Habitat CFC has dedicated over 260 homes and has helped more than 1,000 family members in Fairfield County. Our success rate is well over 95%. Our ReStore, located in Stratford, accepts donations of furniture, appliances and building materials, and then resells them. The proceeds from the ReStore help the organization build more affordable housing in Coastal Fairfield County. For more information, visit habitatcfc.org.

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