Thrivent, Habitat join forces
It’s an example of two powerful organizations working together to build homes and help individuals achieve greater economic independence.
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and its members and Habitat for Humanity International have joined together to create Thrivent Builds, a $105 million program designed to help provide a “hand up” to people who lack decent shelter.
Although Mike Feiler, the regional manager of Lutheran Community Services for Thrivent Financial Services, is quick to acknowledge that he does not know the origins of the name, Feiler jokingly says, “There are two things Lutherans love to do, which is to thrive and vent.”
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a not-for-profit Fortune 500 financial services organization helping nearly 3 million members achieve their financial goals and to give back to their communities.
Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing.
“Habitat provides the property and building expertise, and Thrivent provides the funding. It is an alliance that works,” according to Feiler.
Another goal of the program was to engage Thrivent members – Lutherans and their communities – to eliminate substandard housing.
Recently Thrivent Financial awarded the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate a $70,000 grant to build a home in a Habitat Post Falls subdivision.
Thrivent has committed to build 10 houses in the region this year with a combined value of over $1,002,400. This includes the Post Falls home, three homes in Spokane, two in the Tri-Cities, and one each in Missoula, Billings, Helena and Twin Falls. Approximately $200,479 of that amount will be raised by Thrivent’s affiliates.
Thrivent Builds is a nonprofit organization whose volunteers work in local communities to build simple, affordable homes.
Homes built through the program are funded through Thrivent Financial, which provides 70 percent of the funding for each home it sponsors, with remaining funding generated locally by Thrivent chapters, the Habitat affiliate, and other volunteers from the community.
The homeowners themselves put in hundreds of hours of their own labor, building their own home as well as homes of others.
The homes are then sold to the homeowners at no profit and financed with no-profit mortgages. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build more homes.
“I continue to be impressed by how much Thrivent Financial for Lutherans helps volunteer groups accomplish good projects that make our communities better places to live,” says Fred Manthey, president of the Coeur d’Alene Basin Chapter of Thrivent Financial.
“Our Coeur d’Alene chapter officers are all volunteers,” says Manthey. “We take our responsibilities seriously and encourage nonprofit groups to partner together to accomplish more good works within their communities.”
According to Manthey, the Coeur d’Alene Basin Chapter helped build a ballfield, funded scholarships and community entrance signs, worked with Habitat for Humanity, purchased wheelchair bicycles for a nursing home, helped send Christmas packages overseas, provided campships for Lutherhaven, worked on the Hope Cemetery, and funded equipment for the Inland Northwest Blood Center.
These are just a few of more than 20 local projects that Thrivent funds helped make possible last year.
Thrivent also sponsors an international program Feiler got to witness firsthand last year when he was selected to travel to Romania as part of a pilot mission trip.
In his volunteer application Feiler wrote, “I have a passion for Habitat and am a strong advocate for the new Thrivent initiative. This pilot would not only provide a rewarding opportunity to donate my time, dollars and talent but would help me to more effectively promote Thrivent Builds.”
For 10 days he built homes in north central Romania and was “shocked” that the Romanians did not understand why anyone would travel, at their own expense, to their country and work as a volunteer.
“The idea of volunteerism is a concept they just do not understand,” Feiler says.
“During years of Nazi, Communist and corrupt dictatorial rule, religion was dismantled and the people were forced into public service, so young people today don’t know why they should volunteer and have no sense of responsibility towards their community.”
Feiler says dollars alone will not do it but certainly help.
“Dollars help, but you also have to have a commitment to community.”
Feiler and wife, Janet, hope to become full-time Thrivent volunteers when they both retire in few years.
“We love to teach and train and love the volunteer contact,” Feiler says.
Building these homes is more than just “boards and blocks,” he says. “It’s sweat and smiles, born of hard work and expressions of faith. From the first nail to the last, it changes lives.”