Jacksonville will host the opening ceremony of the Jimmy Carter Work Project Sunday, with speeches from Habitat for Humanity’s visionary leaders and music performed by the Blind Boys of Alabama and other groups.
It will be a neat, reflective kickoff to a week of organized chaos. By next Friday, volunteers from across the globe will have built 36 houses here for 36 new homeowners.
The 90-minute event begins at 6 p.m. at Jacksonville State University’s Paul Snow Stadium. Parading across the field will be Habitat’s first 80 homeowners in Calhoun County, followed by the families who will receive their keys to the American dream at the end of the week.
President Carter, who started the annual blitz-build in 1984 and who has used his arms to help raise roofs from Mexico to the Philippines, will speak briefly. So will south Georgia’s Millard Fuller, the founder of the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity International organization, which has given more than 125,000 families decent housing since the mid-1970s.
Most of the 2,500 volunteers will be at the ceremony, about 1,200 of them having traveled from places like Idaho, New York and South Africa. Habitat encourages the public to attend. Tickets are $3, and can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce or at the Habitat offices in First Christian Church on 14th Street.
The Blind Boys of Alabama, whose rich gospel harmonies have carried them from Depression era Talladega to the Grammy stage, will perform, as will Third Day, the First Baptist Church choir of Asheville, N.C., and the local Harvest Church of God choir.
Anniston was named in November 2001 as the lead site of this year’s Carter Project. Two Georgia towns, La Grange and Valdosta, will host satellite builds. Between the three sites, more than 100 homes will be built in five days.
Habitat’s record in Calhoun County is stalwart. Since its beginning here in 1994, Habitat has built 80 homes for low-income families. The homes are affordable, (usually around $40,000), and carry zero-interest loans. There have been no foreclosures.
Habitat’s teamwork with city and county leaders, and their collective commitment to rid the county of all substandard housing by 2020, are the primary reasons the Carter Project is here, the former president has said. La Grange and Valdosta officials have made the same commitment.
After the event, which Habitat’s executive director for Calhoun County, Dana van Ekris, characterized as “kind of like a pep rally,” volunteers will attend an orientation meeting to discuss building plans for the week.
Third Day will also offer a Work Project benefit concert Friday, June 13, at 7:30 p.m at JSU’s Paul Snow Stadium. Tickets for the show can be purchased for $10 before June 10 by calling (800) 791-3309. Tickets also will be available for $15 at local Christian booksellers until the day of the show. At the gate, they will cost $17.
