About Us

Habitat for Humanity Atlantic County, Inc. is a non-profit organization whose goal is to eliminate poverty or sub-standard housing in our community, one house at a time. We are a volunteer organization that works in partnership with carefully selected families to achieve their goal of obtaining decent, affordable housing for their family. The Habitat homeownership program is not a “give-away” program. Each adult is required to contribute 250 hours of “sweat equity” before moving into his or her home. The hours are accumulated through volunteering for other community organizations, churches, hospitals, working in the Habitat office and helping to build another family’s home.

The need for simple, decent, affordable housing in our county is great. The Family Selection committee works diligently in selecting families who need housing. There are three criteria to qualify for a Habitat home. The first is need, the second is the ability to pay the mortgage, and the third is the willingness to partner. There are income guidelines for eligibility and the family needs to have a consistent source of income to qualify. Each newly selected family is assigned a Family Partner who walks them through the process of becoming a homeowner. The Partner stays with the family for at least a year after they move into their home. In some cases it is a bond that remains intact for years.

The house is sold to the family for the cost of construction and the mortgage is interest free. These two factors enable families to own an affordable home. Habitat holds the mortgage and the principal paid back to us goes toward building more homes. The average monthly mortgage payment is $625, including taxes and insurance. To date, 22 families are proud homeowners and tax-paying citizens in Atlantic County. We had an aggressive building plan for 2006 and plan to continue the increase of house production into 2007-2008. Two families moved into their new Habitat homes; one in Atlantic City and one in Pleasantville. A new partnership was formed with the Atlantic City Fire Fighters, and they started a new house in Atlantic City. Students at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology spent the school year constructing the finished shell of a Habitat house that was moved to a lot donated by Galloway Township. All permits and fee's for this house were waived by Hamilton Township. Plans for a second house are in the works. Site preparation and approvals for two additional homes are underway. We are also working with Egg Harbor Township in regard to land acquisition.

We are thankful and indebted to those individuals, organizations, businesses and municipalities that have joined with Habitat in seeking ways to help us help others. The Atlantic City and County Board of Realtors holds an annual fund-raising event to benefit our affiliate. They have contributed more than $125,000 for Habitat homes. We are funded through CRDA and the Atlantic City Community Development Block Grant for building and administration in Atlantic City. Funding in mainland communities comes through private donations and fund-raising efforts. We’ve completed two homes using funds through the Atlantic County Improvement Authority – HOME Program. Our Annual George Logan Memorial Golf Tournament continues to grow and provides funding for our affiliate. In order to meet the needs of prospective families, it is always important that we continue seeking new avenues of funding.

The dedication of the building committee is amazing. They work each Saturday in an effort to get families into their homes as quickly as possible. They are volunteers who give of their time and talents to help improve the life of a family. It seems that there is always the need for volunteers and we appreciate every effort made to support this organization. We urgently need skilled builders to volunteer with us.

Habitat for Humanity Atlantic County
2010 Board of Directors

Robert L. Reid, President

Carol Schwartz, Vice President

Barbara Hulsizer, Secretary

Bob Sobkow, Treasurer

Robert W. Bucknam, Jr.

Kay Fitzgerald

Nelson Geralds

Beverly Graham-Foy

Glenn Hayden

Louella James

C. Simone

Zelda Solof

 Habitat for Humanity Atlantic County
PO Box 443, Pleasantville, NJ 08232
PH: (609) 487-9472    FAX: (609) 487-7516

 1993 - 1998
A Five Year History of
Habitat for Humanity of Atlantic County