Teaming up to tackle housing insecurity with Habitat for Humanity

We’re committed to creating better communities. That’s why we partner with Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit housing organization dedicated to providing safe and affordable homes to families in need. Each year, we actively engage with Habitat chapters across our footprint, participating in fundraising events, volunteer opportunities and building projects. Here are some recent examples:

Employees swap desks for hard hats

• Recently, our Portland-area mortgage team volunteered to build homes for local families in Hillsboro, Ore. In fact, our Mortgage Consumer Director, Dawn, serves as a board member for Habitat’s Portland chapter.
• Another group of dedicated employees from Spokane teamed up to build homes in Deer Park, Wash., during the annual Spokane Blitz Build. The event kicks off a series of home construction projects in a neighborhood full of Habitat homes. 
  
  

Showing our support through sponsorship and donations

• From Northern Idaho to Southern California, we sponsor many Habitat activities like Habitat's Hope Builders Luncheon in Spokane County. This year, we were a presenting sponsor and the event supported housing for 56 local families enrolled in Habitat's Homeownership Program.
• We also partnered with Habitat to build energy-efficient homes in Whatcom County, Wash. We invested in the development of Habitat's Resilient Passive Design solar-powered net-zero homes that keep energy bills low—under $20 a month.  
• Supporting training opportunities is also important to us. That’s why we sponsored Habitat’s Western Region Conference. It offers training to more than 100 Habitat affiliates across California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington who are building and repairing homes.
• We also make donations because sometimes our communities simply rely on a financial investment. In Lewiston, Idaho, we contributed operating costs for the L-C Valley chapter to help increase the visibility of Habit programs in that region. Our donation was matched by the Federal Home Loan Bank's Member Impact Fund, so the L-C Valley chapter received almost $20,000!
• When one of our communities—Weed, Calif.—suffered from a devastating fire, we donated to Habitat’s community rebuild project, building the sixth home in Weed for families who lost their homes in the Boles Fire. 
  
  

These are just a handful of ways we support Habitat. Our involvement goes beyond banking; it embodies our belief in creating more affordable and sustainable communities for everyone.