About Us FAQ – Meet Our Staff – RCHFH History

Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity (RCHFH) is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization operated on Christian principles that seeks to put God’s love into action by building homes, communities and hope. Founded in 1989, Rutherford County Habitat for Humanity is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally, in Rutherford County, and worldwide, through constructing, rehabilitating and preserving homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat for Humanity was founded on the conviction that every man, woman and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

Using volunteer labor, in-kind donations, discounted materials and tax-deductible donations, Habitat works in partnership with people in need to build simple decent homes sold at no profit and low interest.

Our Mission

Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities, and hope.

Our Vision

A world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Our Principles

• Demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ. We undertake our work to demonstrate the love and teachings of Jesus, acting in all ways in accord with the belief that God’s love and grace abound for all, and that we must be “hands and feet” of the love and grace in our world. We believe that, through faith, the minuscule can be multiplied to accomplish the magnificent, and that, in faith, respectful relationships can grow among all people.
• Focus on shelter. We have chosen, as our means of manifesting God’s love, to create opportunities for all people to live in decent, durable shelter. We put faith into action by helping to build, renovate, or preserve homes, and by partnering with others to accelerate and broaden access to affordable housing as a foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty.
• Advocate for affordable housing. In response to the prophet Micah’s call to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God, we promote decent, affordable housing for all, and we support the global community’s commitment to housing as a basic human right. We will advocate for just and fair housing policy to eliminate the constraints that contribute to poverty housing. And, in all of our work, we will seek to put shelter on hearts and minds in such powerful ways that poverty housing becomes socially, politically and religiously unacceptable.
• Promote dignity and hope. We believe that no one lives in dignity until everyone can live in dignity. We believe that every person has something to contribute and something to gain from creating communities in which all people have decent, affordable places to live. We believe that dignity and hope are best achieved through equitable, accountable partnerships.
• Support sustainable and transformational development. We view our work as successful when it transforms lives and promotes positive and lasting social, economic and spiritual change within a community; when it is based on mutual trust and fully shared accomplishment; and when it demonstrates responsible stewardship of all resources entrusted to us.
• In addition, in recognition of and commitment to the global nature of the Habitat for Humanity mission, each U.S. affiliate is expected to contribute (tithe) at least 10 percent of its undesignated cash contributions to Habitat for Humanity’s international work.

Our Promise – Non Proselytizing

Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations will not proselytize. Nor will Habitat work with entities or individual who insist on proselytizing as part of their work with Habitat. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must (i) adhere to or convert to a particular faith or (ii) listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith.

RCHFH Speakers Bureau

Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity has several staff members who can speak with authority on housing subjects! We welcome media inquiries for interviews and comments specifically about the Habitat for Humanity program as well as to address current events and  issues. Download: RCHFH Speakers Bureau

All are Welcome

Rutherford County Area Habitat for Humanity has an open-door policy: All who believe that everyone needs a decent, affordable place to live are welcome to help with the work, regardless of race, religion, age, gender, political views or any of the other distinctions that too often divide people. In short, Habitat welcomes volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds and also serves people in need of decent housing regardless of race or religion. As a matter of policy, Habitat for Humanity International and its affiliated organizations do not proselytize. This means that Habitat will not offer assistance on the expressed or implied condition that people must either adhere to or convert to a particular faith, or listen and respond to messaging designed to induce conversion to a particular faith.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Founded in Americus, Georgia, USA, in 1976, Habitat for Humanity today operates around the globe and has helped build, renovate and repair more than 600,000 decent, affordable houses sheltering more than 3 million people worldwide. As of 2020, Habitat for Humanity operates in all 50 U.S. states and more than 70 countries.

Habitat Future Homeowners

Habitat Future Homeowners are selected by a committee of volunteers based on their level of need; willingness to become partners in the Habitat program; and their ability to make a small down-payment, pay a mortgage, and sustain long-term home ownership responsibilities. Qualifications for the Habitat program change every year so potential applicants should check with the Family Services department of their local Habitat affiliate. The Rutherford County program posts information at: http://www.rchfh.org/homeownership/ .

The Habitat Program

Habitat does NOT give houses away. In addition to supporting the program through mortgage payments, Habitat Partner Families are required to invest 300-400 “sweat equity” hours by helping with construction to serve as a portion of their down payment. A hand-up, not a handout, Habitat instills a sense of self esteem in its families through the joy of homeownership that promotes success in other aspects of their lives.

The pride of Habitat homeowners is contagious. The “home improvement” bug often bites neighbors when a new Habitat homeowner moves in. Habitat homes improve neighborhood property values and overall neighborhood appearance.

Habitat worksites are places to build relationships as well as houses. This self-help solution to the problem of substandard housing brings together families in need and Habitat volunteers and supporters who are committed to making a difference in their community.

The Fair Housing Act

We Do Business in Accordance With the Federal Fair Housing Law (The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988).

Anyone who feels he or she has been discriminated against may file a complaint of housing discrimination:

1-800-669-9777 (Toll Free) 1-800-927-9275 (TTY)       www.hud.gov/fairhousing

Download Fair Housing Poster