Bend, OR (August 10, 2020) – Wells Fargo Foundation has awarded Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity with a $45,000 grant to build three affordable homes. Two of these homes will be in Redmond, and one home in Bend. The funding is part of an $8.1 million donation to Habitat for Humanity International for capacity building and direct mission support to build, renovate and repair more than 350 affordable homes across the United States. The grant is provided through Wells Fargo Builds℠ and is part of the Wells Fargo Foundation’s $1 billion philanthropic commitment to create more housing affordability solutions by 2025.
“We’ve had a rich history of working with Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity to strengthen our neighborhoods through philanthropy and volunteerism,” said Cindy Johnson Wells Fargo’s Greater Oregon Region Bank President. “Safe and stable housing enables people to build upon the rest of their life and, together, we can shift the narrative to help others understand that housing affordability is both an economic and humanitarian crisis that’s taking a toll on millions of people.”
Wells Fargo Builds provides philanthropic financial assistance from the Wells Fargo Foundation to support the construction, renovation, painting or repairing of homes with low-to-moderate income households. In 2019 alone, Wells Fargo employees volunteered more than 1.9 million hours of service to strengthen their communities, including building, repairing, and improving 674 homes across the U.S. with several organizations through Wells Fargo Builds.
Robin Cooper Engle, Director of Development, said, “We are truly thankful for the long history with Wells Fargo and their commitment to our organization. Their financial support and employee labor has helped us build affordable homes for 30 families in need in Bend and Redmond over the past 12 years. That is a significant contribution that we highly value.”
The grant will support the construction of three affordable homes in Bend and Redmond. The home in Bend will benefit a single mother and her daughter at the organization’s first Net Zero cottage community for 10 families. The home will be affordable to build and affordable for the new homeowner to maintain.
About Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity
Bend-Redmond Habitat builds strength, stability and self-reliance through affordable homeownership for families and individuals in Bend and Redmond. We are dedicated to changing lives by bringing people together to help make a difference in our communities through affordable housing. Since 1989, Bend-Redmond Habitat has built 155 homes and repaired 146 more, providing more than 1037 children and adults a safe, secure and healthy home. bendredmondhabitat.org 541.385.5387.
The Bend ReStore is a home improvement resale center that accepts and sells a wide variety of building materials, appliances and home furnishings. All proceeds from the ReStore benefit Bend-Redmond Habitat’s mission. For more information, restorebend.org, 541.312.6709.
The attached photo is of a local Wells Fargo team building with us at a Habitat construction site in Bend in 2019.
Robin Cooper Engle
Director of Development
224 NE Thurston Ave., Bend, OR 97701
C: 541.508.8681 O: 541.402.0207 bendredmondhabitat.org
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