History

 Origins

Founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit Christian housing ministry. Their work began here in Americus and has spread throughout this country and the rest of the world. HFHI seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action.

Habitat thrives on the diversity of its partners and invites Christian people from all faiths, cultures and geographies to work together to build houses with and for families in need. Using volunteer labor and tax-deductible donations of money and materials, Habitat builds and renovates simple, decent houses with the help of homeowner families who contribute their own labor - "sweat equity" - to build the homes. Habitat then sells the houses to partner families at cost through affordable, no-interest loans. The homeowners' monthly mortgage payments enter a revolving Fund for Humanity to build more Habitat houses.

The Affiliate

New Horizons Habitat for Humanity is one of more than 2100 independent affiliates around the world, building houses at the grass-roots level. Originally part of Habitat International, this affiliate has built houses in Sumter County since 1979. In 1992, Habitat created the Sumter County Initiative (SCI), a program designed to eliminate poverty housing throughout Sumter County. Since that time the New Horizons affiliate has built over 480 houses.

Now the affiliate has shifted its focus to communities surrounding Sumter County -- defining its mission to provide decent, affordable housing for residents of Schley, Terrell and Webster Counties in addition to continuing to support Habitat families in Sumter County. With the help of the four County chapters, New Horizons is now building simple decent homes for families who live in those counties. Since forming the chapters in the surrounding counties, New Horizons has partnered with the local chapters to build seven Habitat houses.