Habitat mourns the death of former first lady Rosalynn Carter

Habitat for Humanity of Dane County is deeply saddened by the passing of former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter, who was a champion and strong voice for affordable, decent housing for all. For more than three decades, she and President Jimmy Carter donated their time and leadership to Habitat each year to build and improve homes around the world. She died peacefully on Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96, with family by her side. After leaving the White House, the Carters planned for meaningful ways to continue their commitment to social justice and basic human rights. Their first volunteer experience with Habitat for Humanity was in March 1984 near their home in Americus, Georgia, where Habitat for Humanity was founded. Later that same year, the Carters joined Habitat volunteers in New York City’s Lower East Side to renovate an abandoned building in partnership with families in need of affordable housing. That marked Habitat for Humanity’s first Jimmy Carter Work Project, which was later renamed to the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. Since then, President and Mrs. Carter have worked more than 104,000 volunteers across the U.S. and in 14 countries to build, renovate and repair 4,390 Habitat homes. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has served more than 46 million people around the world. In 2016, Habitat named President and Mrs. Carter as the inaugural Habitat Humanitarians for their extraordinary dedication to service in alignment with Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live. For photos and videos of President and Mrs. Carter volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, visit habitat.ngo/CarterPhotoVideo.