WORCESTER, Mass. — Americans are remembering the impact former President Jimmy Carter made both during his time in the Oval Office and well after. He’s well-known for his work with Habitat for Humanity as he and his wife started an annual “home building blitz."

What You Need To Know

  • President Jimmy Carter died Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. He was 100 years old
  • During Carter's time as an ambassador for Habitat for Humanity, he worked with more than 100,000 volunteers

  • A statement from Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, said in part, "The Carters put Habitat for Humanity on the map, and their legacy lives on in every family we serve around the world.”

  • In 2016, Habitat named President and Mrs. Carter as the inaugural Habitat Humanitarians for their extraordinary dedication to service in alignment with Habitat’s vision of a world where everyone has a decent place to live

The leader of the local Habitat for Humanity chapter described President Carter’s life as an incredible example of living your values and putting the work in every day to do what you can to help improve the lives of others.

“He dedicated his entire life to service, whether it was public service or holding our highest elected office," Debbie Maruca Hoak said, "but then long after.”

Maruca Hoak met the 39th president of the United States and former first lady nearly 25 years ago.

“In 2000, I was on one of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter work projects, down in Americus, Georgia and worked on a home there," Maruca Hoak said. "It was a fantastic experience. Being on one of those projects, you know, there's thousands of volunteers that come out for a build like that.”

Maruca Hoak is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity MetroWest-Greater Worcester. While on the project in Georgia, she remembers President Carter being far more interested in doing the work rather than any of the publicity involved.

“He knew that his name and his engagement really raised awareness about Habitat, and it's one of the most amazing things about him," Maruca Hoak said. "But also, he was dedicated to doing the actual work to swing the hammer, to doing the build. So, he took the time to stop and greet folks. But then he wanted to get back to work and, build the homes.”

And Maruca Hoak recalls Rosalynn Carter being cut from the same cloth.

“Just human; just really human," Maruca Hoak said. "Willing to take a moment to just say 'hello' and connect on a personal level. Former President Carter taught Sunday school, and I got to attend one of those services and say 'hello' to the both of them at the end of the service as well.”

The region’s Habitat for Humanity CEO said President Carter touched the lives of everyone involved with the organization and he’ll be forever missed.

“Just community-wide, I think we're really grieving this loss today and will be forever grateful for everything he did," Maruca Hoak said. "He's obviously the most famous Habitat volunteer. And, you know, he just did so much to raise awareness about this effort. It's a pretty great loss.”

In the spirit of honoring the hard-working former president, Maruca Hoak said there’s a lot going on heading into 2025 for the local Habitat chapter. They’ve currently got six active builds going on, and they’re excited to get families moved into the homes.