Our Program

Our Mission

Flower City Habitat for Humanity is the Rochester affiliate of the nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry working globally to eliminate poverty housing through the creation of decent, affordable homes in partnership with families, volunteers and donors.

How Habitat Works

Flower City Habitat for Humanity (FCHH) builds homes and revitalizes neighborhoods in urban Rochester, New York. We neither solicit nor accept government funding, relying completely on the support of thousands of volunteers, faith-based communities, and businesses located throughout Monroe County. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. Working with the city of Rochester, we target the city's most desperate neighborhoods and select vacant lots upon which to build one-story homes. The city makes lots available through foreclosure and demolition and installs new curbs and paving as needed.

Homes are built by several thousand volunteers joining us annually, who are trained and supervised by our professional construction supervisors. Financial support, materials donations, and construction services are provided by individuals, corporations, and faith groups.

Habitat creates strong neighborhoods in which new homeowners are all stakeholders. A cluster of strong families working together, build neighborhoods in which the sight of children at play replaces drug dealing and crime. Home ownership creates hope. Through their investment of sweat equity, these families demonstrate self-reliance. FCHH remains part of their lives, offering new homeowners family counseling if required.

Engaging Homeowner Partners

Habitat provides "a hand up, not a handout." Homes are purchased through a zero-interest, 20- or 25-year mortgage held by FCHH, and homeowners often find that their monthly mortgage payment is far less costly than when they rented.

Selection of homeowners is based on a family's need for decent affordable shelter, household income that is 60 percent below the median for the Rochester area and a willingness to partner with FCHH by investing sweat equity and making mortgage payments reliably.

Each family contributes 500 hours of sweat equity -- half goes into building their own home and half into building other Habitat houses. New Habitat homeowners complete a series of seven classes and typically become role models for other homeowners in the neighborhood.

Click here to learn more about our homeowners and the homeownership process at Flower City Habitat for Humantiy.

Join Us!

As an individual:

• Volunteer -- on construction, at the ReStore, in the office, on a committee, on the board, or on a special event.
• Make a donation -- online or by mail, donate a car, or choose your favorite way to support our work.

With Your Faith-Based Organization:

• Use Habitat as an outreach project -- send a work crew, funds, meals, or prayers
• Join a faith-based coalition in sponsoring a house

Through Your Business:

• Executives build as part of Leaders' Build
• Make an in-kind gift of materials, tools, or services
• Become a corporate member ($1,000 or more)
• Sponsor a house, in full or in part ($10,000 to $65,000)