Word: habitat
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...stump, the messenger is as entertaining as his message is fervid. Fuller, 53, is an Ichabod Crane look-alike who is incessantly joking, cajoling, commoving, pressing, pleading for Habitat. He leans and swaggers, hunches his shoulders, pokes his head and forms grandfather spiders with his lean hands, which are constantly aswirl. He still crows about the sales pitch he made to former President Jimmy Carter: "I said to him, 'Sir, are you interested in Habitat for Humanity, or are you very interested?' " Since 1984 Carter has been one of Habitat's celebrity supporters, along with Bob Hope, Paul Newman...
...income housing is disappearing by the thousands of units every year. And increasingly, people are very interested in Habitat. In the U.S. a typical Habitat home is a no-frills, 1,000-sq.-ft., three-bedroom residence that sells for about $28,000. Habitat homeowners usually make $150 or so monthly mortgage payments -- which is sometimes less than the rent they paid for indecent housing. Fuller often reminds Habitat affiliates, "The houses we build should be a joy to the people, not a burden on their backs...
...Habitat, which will raise more than $30 million this year, is not a charity organization. Homeowners must qualify for their loans and make mortgage payments over a fixed period, typically 20 years. Also, they abide by a "sweat equity" agreement to participate in the construction of their own homes and donate so many hours of labor to building other homes. Insists Fuller: "We're not caseworkers, we're co-workers...
...number of communities interested in trying Habitat's formula has grown most strikingly in recent years. There were just eleven Habitat affiliates in the U.S. in 1980; there were 171 by 1986. This year there are 324 affiliates, ranging in size from the one in New York City to one in Coahoma, Miss. (pop. 351), which plans to replace the town's entire housing stock. There are 38 college chapters and 68 Habitat affiliates overseas. All told, 4,000 homes have been built since 1976. Boasts Fuller: "It's clear to me that we are seeing the birth...
...Habitat's executive director, Millard is "a lot more fun to live with," Linda says. But he is only slightly less intense than when he was obsessed by wealth. Habitat staffers say a strange but not uncommon sight is the gangling Fuller bounding up to the headquarters, clutching a fistful of trash he swooped up on his walk to work. He functions as the spiritual leader of the ecumenical, nonprofit outfit. Much of his time is spent visiting local Habitat affiliates and proselytizing. Once or twice a year he takes hammer in hand and helps finish off a Habitat home...