History
Founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people from all faiths and walks of life to work together in partnership to build houses for families in need.
Habitat for Humanity 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.
Wolf River Habitat started in 1998, originally based in Gresham, supported by Church of the Wilderness. The idea is to choose a family who would not qualify for a commercial loan who lives in substandard housing (unsafe, unsanitary, dilapidated, etc.) Then to use a community of volunteers and family working together to build a simple, decent, affordable home. The house is then sold to the family without profit and the family pays it back to Habitat with their monthly no/low interest mortgage which makes it very affordable.
The families put in 250 hours of work for each adult or what we call “sweat equity”. So a couple needs to put in 500 hours of work (some of the hours can come from family and friends helping.)
WRHFH has built 22 homes, When we build homes, we do hire out electricians, plumbers, work with the high school building classes, and of course our fantastic volunteers.
We raise all the money for the building of a home. The mortgage payments that we receive each month go back into building homes. Money is also raised through cash donations, fundraisers like our golf outing in August at Pine Hills and the ReStore.
Our store has been going since 2011, we sell donated furniture, building supplies, used windows, doors, plumbing supplies, appliances and odds and ends. People donate their unwanted items, we then fix them or sell them outright at discounted prices.
