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The Fuller Center for Housing (TEST PAGE - EDITING IN PROGRESS)

The Fuller Center for Housing (FCH) is an ecumenical Christian, non-profit, non-governmental organization building and repairing homes for low-income families and individuals.

The Fuller Center was started in 2005 by Millard Fuller, the founder and former president of Habitat for Humanity International, and is based in Americus, Georgia. It is active in 37 U.S. cities and 13 countries outside the U.S.

How it works
The Fuller Center accomplishes its work by setting up “covenant partners,” which are autonomous groups of people coming together to work in their own communities. They are governed by local board members who are in charge of family selection and counseling, fundraising, training, managing mortgages, organizing volunteers, finding skilled labor and spreading the word. The FCH international office provides publications, general support, promotional materials, training for board members and – whenever possible – fundraising assistance.

Criteria for family selection inside and outside the United States are determined at the local level. Houses are built using volunteer labor – without the use of government funds – and are sold to the homeowners with no interest and at no profit.

Programs
Greater Blessing

The Fuller Center’s home repair ministry is called the Greater Blessing program. Greater Blessing projects are usually done for elderly homeowners, allowing them to age in place, or for families, allowing them to stay in their communities.

Repayment plans are structured individually for each homeowner and do not require a mortgage, do not charge interest, and do not ask for the title to the house as collateral. Payments made by homeowners are put toward future Greater Blessing projects.

Global Builders

Global Builders are volunteers who travel to a country outside the United States to work on a Fuller Center project being hosted by a local covenant partner. The Fuller Center has sent work teams to Armenia, El Salvador, Nigeria and Peru (as of December 2008).

Bicycle Adventure

In the summer of 2008, eight cyclists biked from San Diego, California, to Savannah, Georgia, on the inaugural Fuller Center Bicycle Adventure. The trip raised over $134,000 for FCH programs in the U.S. and around the world. The bike trip is scheduled to become an annual event.

Other programs

 * Faith Builders - FCH’s outreach to houses of worship


 * Student Builders – FCH’s outreach to high schools, colleges and universities


 * RV Builders – FCH RV Builders program organizes volunteers who are willing and able to travel to various U.S. program sites in their motor homes


 * Corporate Builders – FCH’s outreach to companies and their employee volunteering programs

Green building
In April 2008, FCH sponsored an Earth Day Blitz Build. The week-long event built one home and renovated another in the Potomac Highlands of West Virginia. The homes were constructed using energy efficient methods and products such as high quality insulation, house wrap, sealants, solar positioning, energy-efficient water heaters and heating and cooling units based on local year-round climate conditions.

Blitz builds
The blitz build is an idea carried over from Habitat for Humanity. A blitz build involves constructing and/or repairing more than one home in a short period time, usually one week, and with a very large group of volunteers from all over the United States and often other countries. The international headquarters organizes the annual Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Build. Local groups can organize their own.

The first two Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Builds (in 2006 and 2007) were in Shreveport, Louisiana, and benefited a total of 14 homeowners, several of whom had relocated there from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The third took place in El Salvador in November 2008, where about 200 volunteers completed 16 houses in one week.