Austin, Texas, Sept. 26, 2024 – An executive assistant with Austin Independent School District will soon be the owner of the House that Credit Unions Built, a collaborative building project with Habitat for Humanity.
Four Austin-based credit unions and the Austin Chapter of Credit Unions have once again joined forces to underwrite the building of a new home for a qualified low-income buyer. These credit unions are collectively contributing $100,000 toward the construction cost, along with 1,440 of volunteer hours from 180 different employees to assist with the construction work.
From the initial
wall raising, which took place Sept. 12, through the end of November employees from these credit unions will be onsite weekly working alongside the Habitat for Humanity construction crew to build the home.
This is the fifth house that these Austin credit unions have built to help provide affordable homes in the city. The dwelling will be one of 12 townhomes on Circulo de Amistad, in the Montopolis Neighborhood east of I-35 and west of U.S. 183.
The House that Credit Unions Built initiative is the first of its kind in the nation for Habitat of Humanity. In the first four years more than $300,000 was donated by the participating credit unions to support Austin Habitat for Humanity and more than 1,000 volunteers participated in the building of the homes.
Following the current build, five families with a total of 13 household members will have been helped.
“The House that Credit Unions Built is a collaborative project to help first-time homebuyers with a limited income obtain the American dream of owning a home,” said Lisa Back, CFO of Greater Texas Credit Union. “It’s important to us to be part of the solution to Austin’s housing crisis so that there is affordable housing for a variety of income levels to support the city’s bustling economy.”
The homebuyer for this year’s House that Credit Unions Built, and her daughter, will move into her new home in December.
Photo caption: The future homeowner, Kimberly (in orange shirt), of the House that Credit Unions Built, helped raise the wall of her new home along with volunteers from four Austin credit unions. The house is an Austin Habitat for Humanity home.
About Greater Texas Credit Union
Greater Texas Credit Union, founded in 1952, is a financial cooperative that emphasizes community stewardship, charitable giving, and employee volunteerism through its Greater Good initiative. Together with its subsidiary, Aggieland Credit Union – which serves the Brazos Valley – the credit union offers a wide variety of consumer-oriented banking services to its 85,000 members across the state of Texas. Greater Texas has locations in San Marcos-Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Bryan-College Station, Edinburg, and the Dallas-Ft. Worth market with assets of nearly $1 billion.