frequently asked questions

Habitat for Humanity was founded by Millard and Linda Fuller. Millard Fuller, an attorney from Georgia, thought it was unfortunate that working people in the richest country in the world couldn’t afford to buy their own homes. In the late 1970s, the couple gave away most of their material possessions and changed their career paths in order to give back to the community. They founded Habitat for Humanity in 1976 as an ecumenical, Christian housing ministry. Lakeland Habitat for Humanity was approved as an affiliate by Habitat for Humanity International in February 1991.

We invite people of all backgrounds, all faiths, or no faith, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.

Habitat for Humanity International has built more than 300,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1,000,000 people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, quality, affordable shelter.

We select families on the basis of need, willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity and ability to repay the mortgage loan. Partner families have a zero-percent-interest mortgage. Mortgage monies are directly recycled to build more Habitat for Humanity homes in Lakeland.

We’re a nonprofit organization. Families pay for homes both monetarily and with hours of sweat equity. We offer families a hand up instead of a hand out.

We rely on individual and corporate gifts of money, materials and land, as well as volunteer labor.