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Chris Clarke

Editors’ Note

Christopher Clarke worked at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi for more than 20 years before being appointed to his current position.

organization Brief

Based in Americus and Atlanta, Georgia, Habitat for Humanity International (www.habitat.org) is an ecumenical Christian ministry dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since 1976, Habitat has built more than 225,000, houses and works in nearly 90 countries, providing shelter for more than one million people.

What is Habitat for Humanity’s core mission?

At a fundamental level, our mission is to eliminate poverty housing around the world and help families in need to live more successful lives in affordable, simple, decent homes of their own

What is the nature of your partnership with NBA Cares?

Our partnership with NBA Cares has been focused largely, but not solely, on our work in the aftermath of the tragic hurricanes that struck our Gulf Coast in 2005. We have been very fortunate to work with such a generous organization, which brings ongoing attention to the long-term recovery efforts that are taking place from Mobile, Alabama, all the way over to Beaumont, Texas. Partnerships like the one we have with NBA Cares brings highly visible players and supporters of the NBA to confront problems, and enables us to show the world that work is ongoing. And what we have seen, all across the United States for the past 24 months, is that the attention that we’ve received from our efforts in the gulf have had a ripple effect throughout the country, with nearly every Habitat affiliate from Spokane, Washington, to Miami, Florida, all reporting more phone calls and more donations.

We are living in such a frenetic time, yet Habitat seems to garner such tremendous support. Has that always been true?

One of our big challenges in the gulf, and everywhere, in addition to funding, is that we’re a volunteer-driven organization. So we have an ongoing need for people to take time from their jobs, vacations, retirements, and educations, to spend a few days – or weeks in some cases – with us, helping provide the volunteer labor that we need. What has been so helpful about working with NBA Cares is that, on top of the generous financial support and healthy sponsorship, we’ve gained this huge, intangible benefit from the volunteers it generates. This occurs because of our work with the NBA at the All-Star Game, as well as at the various playoff games. They attract such an intense media spotlight that enables us to tell new audiences, new volunteers, and new potential donors, that we need their help.

Do you partner with other organizations as well?

Our partners include churches, sports franchises, corporations, and good-hearted citizens. And without people partnering with us we couldn’t drive the first nail. We also work in partnership with our homeowner families who have to put in a down payment and between 300 and 500 hours of labor on their house during the construction process. But none of that can start until we can find appropriate partners to provide the land, the resources, the financial or in-kind products, and then the volunteers to make the dream of home ownership a reality.