When Anadarko made Montgomery County, Texas its permanent home in 2002, the company wanted to make a significant contribution to its new community. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity to provide one of its neighbors with another new home seemed like a perfect fit.
The Habitat program is more than building a new home - it helps build a new life. The new homeowners are chosen according to their need, their ability to repay the no-interest mortgage and their willingness to work in partnership with Habitat. Habitat partner families earn their way to home ownership through "sweat equity" - helping to build someone else' home before theirs is started, as well as helping build their own home.
Habitat's mission spoke to Anadarko’s volunteers. More than 150 employees came forward - some from our field offices more than 100 miles from the home site. Employees brought their spouses and friends to help work side by side with the new homeowner and see a dream grow taller each workday.
For four months, employees from almost every department in the company joined together on Saturdays and Wednesdays to construct a new home. During that time, lessons on framing, roofing and installing windows and siding were shared, and leaders were developed as the house took shape. While the final result was a new home for a single mother and her two children, new friendships within the company were also created.