Heart and soul take the stage in Birmingham -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
Heart and soul take the stage in Birmingham
|
|
Former President Jimmy Carter addresses the crowd gathered to celebrate the work accomplished during this week’s Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project in Birmingham, Alabama. Habitat for Humanity International/Ezra Millstein
|
|
|
|
|
|
Garth Brooks talks about his musical roots during a special solo concert in Birmingham. Habitat for Humanity International/Ezra Millstein
|
|
|
|
By Phillip Jordan
During an interview Thursday afternoon, music star Garth Brooks connected his profession with what drives Habitat for Humanity’s mission: “Music is about heart and soul, and that’s really what Habitat’s about.”
Later that evening, Brooks had a chance to tie the two together again, playing a solo concert after a celebration dinner for Habitat supporters and partner families at Birmingham’s Sheraton Hotel. The celebration took place before the final day of work here for Habitat’s 27th Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
And the evening included the build week’s most famous volunteers, with the Carters having just arrived from St. Paul, Minnesota. As they walked into the ballroom without an introduction, a spontaneous standing ovation occurred. “It’s good to be almost home, here with you in Birmingham,” Carter, a Georgia native, told the crowd.
Carter quickly noted the partner families in attendance, and told them that in a small way, he could relate to how much they appreciate the new homes they will be able to move into this weekend. “When I got out of the Navy (in 1953), we didn’t have any money,” Carter said. “We moved back to Plains, Georgia, and we lived in a government housing project, and Rosalynn and I had to scramble to pay $31 a month in rent.”
Over the next several years, Carter said, he and Rosalynn struggled as farmers through droughts and lived in two more rental homes. “Finally, in 1961, we built our first home, and it was the 15th place Rosalynn and I had lived in since we got married,” he said. “So we know what it means not to have a house of our own.”
At the end of his remarks, Carter looked forward to the emotion anticipated in Birmingham tomorrow, when 28 families will receive keys to new homes that have been built, rehabilitated or repaired thanks to the work of more than 500 volunteers this week.
“We will probably share with each other tears of joy, tears of celebration and, if you’ll excuse the expression, tears of love,” Carter said. “And that’s what Habitat means to me.”
Charles Moore, president and CEO of Habitat Greater Birmingham, echoed Carter’s appreciation of the families who pour their own sweat into the creation of their homes. “You are truly our partners,” Moore told the families directly. “We appreciate your partnership. We’re not just building a house for you. We’re building a house with you.
“And we recognize your commitment. It’s not always an easy road. You have a lot to juggle, and it’s a challenge sometimes. So I want to thank you for taking the opportunity to partner with us. We are inspired by you, and we appreciate you.”
Habitat for Humanity International CEO Jonathan Reckford talked about how Habitat hopes to change not only the lives of individual families, but also entire communities.
In Birmingham, that meant revitalizing a pair of communities in Fairfield and Wylam by concentrating a variety of housing solutions there. “All week long, this type of neighborhood revitalization is drawing attention to the enormous unmet need for taking communities that once were thriving, and trying to bring them back to what they were and even move them forward to what they can be,” Reckford said.
Once dinner had been eaten and speakers had finished their remarks, Brooks took the stage to perform a nostalgic—and very comedic—acoustic concert. Still, Brooks closed his show Thursday night on an emotional note with his hit “The Dance,” saying he felt the song summed up the things in life that are worth pursuing, even when they might be a little difficult, even painful.
“(Habitat) is one of those things,” Brooks said. “You know, you volunteer, but yet it’s still you that says ‘thank you’ because we all know it’s very rare to find things that you leave feeling better than when you came. That’s what this is. It’s a healing process.”
Phillip Jordan is a writer/editor for Habitat for Humanity International.