On Dec. 31, Habitat for Humanity International will conclude its five-year, $500 million More Than Houses campaign.

When it is over, the fund-raising initiative will have helped build 100,000 Habitat houses, doubling the number built between the organization's founding in 1976 and the campaign's launch in 2000.

Your donations and the efforts of countless volunteers have helped provide decent, affordable shelter for 1 million people in 100 countries.

While the numbers themselves are impressive, what's really important is the improvement to lives that they signify. Each house brings hope and promise; each house brings new potential for parents and their children.

We continue to need your help as the More Than Houses campaign enters its final push. Some 1.5 billion people around the world face a daily search for a better place to sleep at night. They scramble to stay dry under leaky roofs and pray for their children's health in the face of unsanitary, dangerous conditions.

There is still time to make a difference. Please lend a hand today.

Please help by sending your gift by calling (800) HABITAT or by visiting our secure Web site, www.habitat.org. We're grateful for your support. So, too, are those it helps lift out of poverty.