President Jimmy Carter’s legacy of giving continued in the many nonprofit organizations he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, supported nearly 50 years after they left the White House.
In Los Angeles on Monday, members of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles signed off on a 2×4 frame for use in their new home in memory of the former president, who died Dec. 29 at age 100. . In Houston, they plan to have community members sign the doors and walls of their new homes to remember the thousands of homes the Carters helped build. They will be doing the same in Tallahassee, Fla., and many other communities in preparation for Carter’s state funeral on Jan. 9.
The tribute to his dedication to providing affordable housing shows how the Carters’ work will continue.
The couple founded the Carter Center in 1982 with a mission to help resolve conflict, which expanded into advocacy for democracy and the fight against treatable diseases such as Guinea worm.
Center observers have monitored approximately 125 elections in 40 countries and three tribal nations, and Carter himself has traveled to places such as Nepal, Bolivia and Zimbabwe to broker political agreements and advocate for free and fair elections. In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his and the Center’s work in conflict resolution and the fight for human rights.
“In many ways, he set the standard for how a president should conduct his office — how he should conduct himself as someone who would continue to do good work and have a positive impact on society,” said presidential historian Cassandra Newby-Alexander. , Professor of Virginia Black History and Culture, Norfolk State University;
Carter’s donations came in the form of seemingly ceaseless personal efforts to leverage his stature and presence to raise resources and attention for his cause.
In 1986, Carter responded to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to eradicate Guinea worm, and the Carter Center has been working to do so ever since.
“Until the bugs die out” was the catchphrase, according to Dr. Jordan Tappero, the bill’s deputy director for neglected tropical diseases. & The Melinda Gates Foundation is the Carter Center’s largest funder, having donated $292.5 million since 2000.
According to the Carter Center, the number of Guinea worm cases has decreased from 3.5 million when the center began, to just 14 human cases across four African countries in 2023. Carter hoped to outlive the worm, which, while not fatal, causes great pain and suffering to those infected.
The Carters also have had a 40-year relationship with the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, which builds and renovates homes.
“We were a small organization in 1984 when President and Mrs. Carter took a busload of volunteers from southwest Georgia to help rebuild tenement homes on Manhattan’s Lower East Side,” said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. said. In an interview in 2023
Carter repeatedly said that working with the organization was a way to put his Christian faith into action, Reckford recalled. He said Carter was a skilled carpenter and was also known for his work ethic in the field.
They used to joke that Reckford said of the former president, “It’s not a competition as long as his house is finished first.” “And if the submarine commander thought you weren’t working hard enough, you didn’t want to get that glare.”
Habitat for Humanity currently operates in 70 countries and reports that by 2023, approximately 910,000 people will volunteer. According to Habitat, approximately 4,447 homes have been built in 14 countries through the Carter Work Project.
Clora Taylor met the Carters in August 2018 while helping build 41 new homes in South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana. Taylor recalled how the former president greeted her by name and knew her children, including her 11-year-old daughter with autism.
Taylor spoke from the living room of the house the Carters helped her build on a street called Carter Court in 2023. “It means so much to me that he knows me.”
“I was born in ’82, so I think this is going to be a big deal,” she said when she found out the house she now owns would be built with the former president. “This is a great opportunity for me and my kids to be a part of this.”
Rosalyn Carter, who died in 2023, was a long-time advocate for mental health support while her husband was in public office, and also campaigned to recognize the work of carers.
The former first lady is often quoted as saying, “There are only four types of people in this world.” “People who were caregivers; People who are currently caregivers; Those who will be caregivers and those who need caregivers.”
In 1987, she founded a non-profit organization called the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, which advocates for caregivers and provides support to those caring for others in their lives. Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has pledged to donate up to $500,000 to the institute for its GivingTuesday event in December. Her organization, Pivotal, said the campaign raised $253,000 for RCI.
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The Associated Press receives funding for its African news reporting from the bill. & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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