Minnesota’s 2,000th Habitat for Humanity Home

When: Dedication Event at 6pm Thursday, December 20, 2012
Where: 3317 Texas Avenue in St. Louis Park
What: This special home dedication ceremony will include three families celebrating their new Habitat homes this holiday season. All three homes were sponsored and built by Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity. The 3317 Texas Avenue home where this event is taking place is the 2,000th Habitat home built by volunteers in Minnesota over the past three decades. Habitat home dedications are always open to the public. Minnesota Housing Commissioner Mary Tingerthal will be part of this special event.

Thrivent Financial commits $6.8M to Habitat for 2013
Twin Cities Habitat has been awarded $425,166 from Minneapolis-based Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to build and rehab five homes in 2013. The grant provides 50% of the cost of construction, and was given to Twin Cities Habitat by Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, a unique partnership between Thrivent Financial and Habitat for Humanity International.

Nationwide Thrivent Financial is committing $6.8 million to Habitat for Humanity affiliates in 2013 – enough to build and rehab 113 homes in 31 states. This will push the total giving from Thrivent Financial past $180 million, during the eight-year partnership between the two organizations.

Habitat for Humanity’s relationship with Thrivent Financial brings the financial, volunteer and advocacy resources of Thrivent Financial together with the affordable housing construction leadership of hundreds of local Habitat affiliates. To date, volunteers have donated more than 3.5 million hours to construct 1,922 homes in the U.S.

In 2013 the local regional offices of Thrivent Financial that cover the Twin Cities will supply more than 3,000 member and employee volunteers to build Habitat homes in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Crystal, Chaska and Coon Rapids.

“We are deeply grateful for Thrivent Financial’s partnership and steadfast commitment to decent, affordable housing around the world,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. “Working together since 2005 through the Thrivent Builds programs, Habitat and Thrivent have engaged volunteers to help thousands of families improve their homes and the communities in which they live.”

Media Contact:
Matt Haugen
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity Communications Manager
612-305-7126 – matt.haugen@tchabitat.org

About Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity
Our mission is to eliminate poverty housing from the Twin Cities and to make decent, affordable shelter for all people a matter of conscience. An award-winning nonprofit housing developer, Twin Cities Habitat is committed to building the quality of life, health and economic prosperity of the region by producing, preserving and advocating for affordable homeownership – because homes and families are the foundation of successful communities.

Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is a multi-year, multi-million dollar partnership between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. Thrivent Builds is designed to involve Thrivent members and Lutherans in helping provide a “hand up” to people in need of affordable housing, offering them a path to greater economic independence. Excluding government funding, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is Habitat's largest single source of funding, constructing more than 2,900 homes in the U.S. and around the world since 2005. For more information, visit ThriventBuilds.com.

About Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping approximately 2.5 million members achieve financial security and give back to their communities. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services. Thrivent Investment Management Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial creates and supports national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. Also, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit Habitat.org.