Employee Volunteers Demonstrate Personal Commitment to Mission

"It's definitely a blessing." That's how Juanita Brown described the DC Habitat for Humanity program that has made her a happy first-time homeowner. Freddie Mac supports Habitat programs through financial contributions and the helping hands of volunteer teams.

The Brown residence is one of 53 affordable homes – the largest project in the local Habitat's 16-year history – completed or under construction in northeast DC. Eleven teams, with up to 15 Freddie Mac employees per team, participated this fall in work days that reflected a very personal dimension of our mission.

DC Habitat for Humanity offers no-profit, no-interest, 20- to 30-year mortgages for buyers who are ineligible for conventional financing. Mortgage payments on completed homes (typically $400 to $425 a month) are reinvested in a revolving Fund for Humanity to finance further construction.

As of October, DC Habitat had completed 75 homes and renovated 75 cooperative units for low-income residents. More than 10,000 volunteers from area companies and organizations have participated.

Freddie Mac has been making dreams come true with Habitat for Humanity International for more than 10 years and has contributed almost $4 million in philanthropic support to the housing organization.