MILWAUKEE — Brian Sonderman said he remembers what the Walnut Street neighborhood in Milwaukee was like roughly 40 years ago. 

What You Need To Know

  • In June 1989, Habitat for Humanity in Milwaukee embarked on what it called their most ambitious project 

  • They worked to build six new homes and rehabilitate eight others in the span of a week

  • As part of the Carter Work Project, Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, worked alongside more than 1,000 volunteers

  • Habitat finished the homes in five days

“There was a huge need for affordable housing back in late 1980s," said Sonderman, the executive director of Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity. "This was a neighborhood — like many in Milwaukee at the time — that had been disinvested.”

As part of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, Habitat for Humanity set out to build six brand new homes and rehabilitate eight others in Milwaukee. The Carter Work Project is a weeklong Habitat for Humanity event that takes place in a different place once a year. The Carters traveled with Habitat for Humanity for decades to work on homes. 

At the time, it was the most ambitious project Habitat for Humanity attempted in Milwaukee. 

“We had two staff members back in 1989. We’d never built a new construction home," Sonderman said. "We had a dedicated group of volunteers, but we needed help.”

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, came to Milwaukee to work on the new homes for a week in June 1989. 

The project almost didn’t happen. 

“We had a weather event," Sonderman recalled. "We had lots and lots of rain. Despite all of the plans that had been put in place, all of the volunteers, the project was well behind schedule because of the poor weather.”

Jimmy Carter made a plea during a live TV interview. He asked for roofers to help, and the next day, roofers from across the area came out and finished the roofing on all six of those new homes. 

Sonderman said the impact the Carters had on this project is still being felt today — nearly 34 years later — especially on the children and grandchildren who grew up in the homes they helped build. 

“It’s a stable environment to grow up in. It changes their outcomes and so often what we see is the next generation, a huge percentage become homeowners. A huge percentage not only graduate high school but go on to college and get degrees and become incredible leaders in our community," Sonderman said. "So, the investment that was made here back in 1989 is paying dividends for this city decades later.”

In nearly 40 years, Sonderman said these Habitat for Humanity home builds have impacted so many people, and a lot of that is thanks to the Carters. 

“I don’t think there’s any way that Habitat would be known and have the brand that it has today and make the impact in every state in the United States and 70 countries around the world without the ministry that President and Mrs. Carter had," Sonderman said. 

The Carter Work Project still continues today. This year it is going to be in Charlotte, North Carolina from Oct. 1 to 6. 

"As President Jimmy Carter enters hospice care, we hope you will join us in praying for him, Mrs. Carter and the entire Carter family. A man deeply committed to social justice and basic human rights, President Carter has dedicated himself to alleviating human suffering," Habitat for Humanity said in a statement. "In addition to promoting peace and human rights through the Carter Center, President and Mrs. Carter led the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project for Habitat for Humanity for more than 30 years, raising awareness of the critical need for affordable housing." 

It’s the first project to get underway since the onset of the pandemic. It's also the first time the Carters will not attend a Carter Work Project, but Sonderman said the legacy they built will always stand. 

To learn more about the Carter Work Project, click here.

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