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Habitat is getting ready to house more families in the coming year.

How it's building a community.

One house at a time in the city's.

The passing of former President Jimmy Carter last month brought his humanitarian works to the forefront once again.

And that includes his passion for habitat for humanity.

He brought the works of this organization into the spotlight for countless Americans.

And right now, habitat for humanity in the Quad Cities is getting ready for the New year with a chance for even more families to earn a new home.

We talked with the executive director of habitat in the Quad Cities, Tom Fisher King.

So let's talk about the impact of Jimmy Carter.

Habitat for humanity existed before Jimmy Carter, right.

But he certainly put a real strong spotlight on your efforts.

Yeah, I think let's level set and understand the president.

Carter and Mrs. Carter did not create habitat for humanity.

So it was in habitat was already going for about ten years.

So his, foray into habitat was post-presidency.

So he joined Habitat in March of 1984.

And, they really realized the Carter's they realized that there was a, an alignment with their other humanitarian efforts that the Carters were involved with.

And the Carters live very simply their entire life.

And so they understood what habitat was doing, which was building safe, decent, and affordable homes that aligned for them.

And so they became a huge part of habitat over their 35 years that they were involved.

And so then in September of 84 was the first Carter work project.

And so that started in in New York was their first, Carter work project.

And so that has gone every year since.

And so the Carters were involved right up until 2019.

They were actually on site in all of those projects.

Of course, Covid hit and they were not involved, but President Carter was always on a work site.

I mean, he was on a roof.

He's installing doors and windows and siding.

No different than all of our other volunteers do.

So over those 35 years, they were able to mobilize 108,000 volunteers for the Carter Work projects.

They were able to build and renovate 4447 homes in 14 countries.

All of this in their late 70s, 80s, 90s, and being able to mobilize that.

So what the Carters did for habitat was brought brand awareness and a sense of volunteerism.

You know, I keep hearing stories, especially leading up to the funeral last week.

And, and currently but these homeowners that the Carters had worked with on their site have nothing but good to say about them and say that Jimmy was a regular individual.

He was pounding nails and sweating with all of them just the same.

But there is a quote out there that Jimmy said that a day of exhaustion at habitat and learning, those families, being with those families was worth everything.

You mentioned the impact of the volunteerism.

From from the Carters, being a part of it.

Is that extended?

I mean, do you think that's the legacy that that he's going to leave for habitat?

Yeah, I think I think that'll always be there, of course.

In the office, we've had a lot of calls that people now want to help.

And so we're, we're we're receiving calls.

I think it's going to be renewed for a bit.

I'm hearing some talk about, potentially some Carter builds than we may have in the habitat world, which will be very different.

So I think that sense of volunteerism and giving back, is going to come back over the next year as well.

Tell me about the role of habitat in the Quad Cities.

It's had a significant role because you sometimes think, oh, they're building a house, but in many instances you're revitalizing a neighborhood.

It's more than just that one house, right?

Right.

Well, habitat Quad Cities has been around since 1993.

And so in those, 32 years, almost 33, we we've been able to build and dedicate 138 homes in Iowa, Illinois, Quad Cities.

We contribute our habitat homes, contribute over $100,000 on each side of the river and property taxes.

Our families pay a monthly mortgage.

Their property taxes, homeowner's insurance.

But we take low to moderate income individuals that are generally renters, and we give them financial education, and we ensure that our homeowners are successful at owning a home.

Because when you've been a renter your entire life, who do you call when the faucets drip in and your refrigerator doesn't work and all those other things, now all of a sudden it's falling on yourself.

Well, and that is the key.

It's not that you're just handing over keys to a newly renovated house that you require sweat equity and a knowledge of home ownership that a lot of people don't have.

Right, right.

And that's the thing.

And you just mentioned it, habitat is a program.

It is a hand up, not a handout.

And so again we take renters, we turn them into homeowners.

And we ensure that they have all the information that they need.

We also help them through the entire term of their mortgage.

And yes they have a mortgage.

They have up to 30 years.

It is a zero interest mortgage.

So we all know what a savings that is.

But these families are making payments and they're helping by every monthly payment that they make.

They're helping another family to be able to build a habitat home.

And so we make sure that they have the information.

And someone might five years into their mortgage call.

And, the ratio is a prime example that came through.

And our families were calling and they needed help to understand, how do I do this?

I've never made an insurance claim.

We've talked about it, but now one.

Right.

And so we help them the entire way through their mortgage.

Tell me about the successes too.

Because you think that maybe low income person, they may stay there for 5 or 6 years and then move on?

You don't see that at all, do you?

We rarely see that.

Honestly, Jim, our families are there because it's a zero interest mortgage.

Think about that.

They're building equity in their home fairly quickly, and they're able to be there.

And and you talked earlier about the habitat program.

They have to be on site.

And they're part of building their home literally from the ground up there every Saturday, sometimes during the week.

And they're there when we dig the foundation, putting on the roof and everything in between that makes it their home.

So they've literally helped to build their home.

And that's one of the cornerstones of the program is sweat equity, which is their volunteer time, and building their own home and helping others to do the very same.

Is that kind of what drew you to the program?

Yeah, I was on a sabbatical from work in 2006, and my, in my former job and, I spent a week, down in New Orleans building in the Lower Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina.

I joined the habitat board in 2008, executive board.

And then, I chaired our family selection committee up until the point I accepted my role a couple of years ago.

And so, habitat has it means a lot to me.

I was raised on the the west side of Davenport, and my mother worked very hard for a home.

And she provided, our little home that we had and and my brother and I and my mom, and she worked hard for that.

And so I understand what home means and having the stability of that home.

And so I have a great job.

I'm very fortunate.

And I get to see our families and, and, help them and walk them through the entire entire process and, and to be able to hand somebody over the keys to their home that they are buying.

We're not giving give those keys.

That's a magical day for all of us, but especially for us.

That's the program you have, coming up, accelerate the homeownership program.

It really is.

I think you were pointing out a one shot deal.

But tell me about this, because somebody could actually get into a home very quickly.

Yeah, somebody actually could.

Our home at 329 Oak Street, is in need of a family.

And so we are going to hold a special, selection, for that.

And again, it is one family, and it's for that property at 329 Oak Street.

And so, we're going to do that in February, February 1st and February 4th.

I have to call the office.

You can sign up for that, via zoom.

And so we hold it electronically so that we can kind of meet people where they are, if you will.

And, people can sign in.

We talk about, the habitat program, the requirements, and of course, about the house at Oak Street.

So this is not a traditional, I'll say, selection for us.

This is for one home.

I it seems like just yesterday you built your 100th home for you to say 130 is like, wow, you guys have gone to town in the last few years, right?

What is the plan for this coming year?

Yeah, we've dedicated 138 homes in, in the Quad Cities.

And so, this coming year, we'll build five.

We'll see in, in a that really seems to be comfortable for us and our volunteers.

We had a previous year that we built nine and, so we're, we're taking our foot off the gas just a little bit on this one.

But five is very comfortable for our staff and volunteers.

And you really do depend on these volunteers.

I mean, the the expertise alone is amazing.

We have wonderful construction staff, full time staff, for individuals on our construction rehab staff.

But we rely on the volunteers.

And again, that's a, that's a cornerstone of the habitat program in which the volunteer labor helps us to build and keep costs down.

Now we hire firms for flat work and foundations, roofs, electrical, plumbing.

But a lot of the other things that our volunteers do and siding and drywall, painting, trimming cabinets and all those things that make a home, a home on the homeowner as well.

Yes.

Is active in that area?

Absolutely.

What have you noticed as far as the neighborhoods are concerned?

I mean, you're a long time, you know, born and bred, Quad City and and now in 138 some locations you can drive by and go, oh, that was part of our mission.

Yes.

It does generate some excitement in the neighborhood when habitat is in there, we see that the other neighbors, then all of a sudden they're kind of out in their yard and they're working.

And and so we do see the community kind of a little pick up, you know, when, when we're building and in those and, we like that our families are part of their neighborhoods.

And so they get to know the neighbors when your building and neighbors come over and they, they bring food and they bring water and the, you know, when it's hot outside and so there is involvement from the community in which sometimes we see, these newer communities within the communities because there's renewed even from the neighbors themselves.

And in talking and improvement of their properties.

But then when habitat home comes in, where we're generally building infill, right, the house has been demolished, we're coming back in and building a home, and then getting in on the tax rolls.

And so it does generate excitement and some beautification, a bit of a domino effect for a neighborhood.

Absolutely.

What do you think is going to be the mission for habitat in the future.

Is it is it just continuing to do what you're doing, which you know, you're just finding success?

Or are there other areas that you're looking to get involved in.

Well, we're going to continue building.

That's that's the core of that is what we do, and that is our mission.

And we should also point out the Reese restore.

Yes, is amazing for keeping things out of the landfill and finding some real treasures, but also for people that need to get rid of things that they don't want to throw.

And it adds value.

Right?

Right.

Habitat restore and habitat health and home, are certainly those are submissions of ours, but those are actually fundraisers for us that helps us to continue building and the cost of the building, things like that.

And so restore is going to continue.

And we appreciate all those donations.

And it does help it help keeping things out of the, landfill.

We also have a repair program, and we're focused in what we refer to as a central city.

And that's, Gaines in Davenport to Division fourth Street all the way up to Locust.

And that is a swath of Davenport with the most aging housing stock.

And so I get often asked, why are we not in Illinois and why aren't we doing this?

But part of that is efficiency, right?

We can we can focus some of our efforts in an area, of Davenport, where we know that when we're where trucks are there for the day, we're able to impact multiple locations and not having to run lots of miles back and forth over the bridge.

The other thing that I want to mention is that we have access building ramps, and habitat has installed a 101, rams in the Quad Cities.

And so we're very proud of that.

Applications again will open for that in March 1st of this year.

And so we install those ramps only.

And the, the good weather really about Easter to Thanksgiving.

Somewhere in there we have a set of volunteers that do that as well.

And there's an application process for that application process for repairs and an application process for housing.

The restore then helps to fund us and keep going.

Everything that we're doing and we're helping the community, I mean, people are able to, we have a lot of people that downsize.

And so we'll bring in lots of furniture.

And that, of course, is our our top seller, followed by all the building goods.

Somebody wants to volunteer.

Is there an area of expertise that you're still looking for, or is it just general contractors?

It's it is everything.

Remember, we need volunteers on the restore side.

We have committees.

We have many committees that people serve on.

And so we need mentors and we need lunch providers and, we need other committees that people can volunteer on.

It's not just building and it's not just on the restore side.

So we encourage, any volunteers I can certainly call the habitat office can go to our website, habitat qc.org.

And in the top banner there's a volunteer section restore website.

There's also a volunteer section that call into the into the office.

And we'll get you immediately where we need to go.

But we need volunteers of all types, not just the building, locations, but we certainly need that.

Our thanks to the executive director of habitat for humanity in the Quad Cities, Tom Fisher King.

We've come to the end of January and the start of February, but there's still plenty of cold weather ahead of us.

We all know that.

Here's some great ideas that'll get you to enjoy the outdoors, as well as indoor events in our area, thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with Disco Bingo at Candy's Back Bar on January 28th.

Then you can attend the Winter Carnival at multiple Bettendorf locations like the Landing Ice Rink and the Bettendorf Public Library on February 1st.

Then you can attend a Valentine cookie decorating party at Sugar Alamodome also on February 1st, as well as the Frost and Fire Festival at Riverside, Riverside.

Finally, test your Caitlin Clark knowledge at Trivia Night at public House on February 2nd.

For more events like these, check out our events calendar at visit Quad cities.com.

The Fafsa program appears to be running much better this year than last year, when the new application process resulted in a mess with students unsure of college plans and colleges making decisions very late in the process.

In December, we talked with Western Illinois University, Quad Cities associate Director of Admissions Kasey Daley about Fafsa.

The president signed the new Fafsa Deadline Act to make sure that the ball got rolling this year.

How important is it that the Department of Education gets Fafsa right this year?

Super important.

Last year was such a mess.

It left all of us, all of us institutions kind of behind the eight ball, trying to play catch up.

Students were starting school.

They didn't have their award letters or their packages ready because everything was so delayed.

Having it done early is a huge game changer because students can no sooner what they qualify for, what their costs are going to be, and then they can make those decisions sooner to be able to compare apples to apples.

So it's huge.

It's going to I think it's going to be a lot better for students this year to have that information early.

And then also, for institutions to be able to better leverage, you know, what they have to offer.

Do you worry?

I want to talk about the future and the present, but let's talk about the past a little bit longer.

There are so many obstacles, to going to secondary schools, colleges or trade schools.

Do you worry that this was just one more thing that kept people, maybe some kids going, okay, I can't deal with this.

I'm not going to go, further.

My education.

Yeah.

I mean, it's frustrating.

It's it's another hurdle.

It was another barrier of, you know, not only having to navigate, where do I want to go to school and do I want to go on to school?

But then, oh, let's do this other barrier in the way of not being able to get the Fafsa done, or if they did the Fafsa, but then needed to make changes, and it took so long for those changes to be made.

That it just adds another layer of frustration that, students need to have, especially first generation students that maybe didn't have a parent or a support person at home to help them navigate the whole, the whole system.

So and how did it impact universities and colleges?

I mean, take it from the other point of view is that you guys were flying blind as well.

For sure.

It was tough because, you know, student students would get maybe award letters, packages that said, oh, you know, we think you're going to qualify for this amount, but nobody wants to go on, maybe or make a decision on it.

And I think, so that it was a struggle.

Students just needed to have that information sooner.

What are you suggesting to parents and students now this year?

When it comes, let's start with Fafsa as well as other financial aid.

But but starting with the Fafsa form, doing it early, the the good change that was made in Fafsa several years ago was they go off what's called prior, prior year.

So it used to be, yeah, the Fafsa would open up, but then you'd have to wait for you to get your tax returns right.

That such a thing.

So it's good because now they go on two years prior.

So you're looking at 2023 tax information which you haven't, which you had.

Yeah exactly.

And the Fafsa form has been shortened in terms of the number of questions are asking.

So it takes a lot less time to get through.

I mean, I remember the first time I did it for my own son, I was like, wait, did I do something wrong?

This only took like 15 minutes to get through.

And they can you can also connect your, your tax information if you filed electronically to the Fafsa form.

And so doing it early is even easier because it's not going to take as much time.

But the earlier that it's done, the earlier that information gets out to schools, the earlier the schools can package those things and send out information about what a student qualifies for.

You can understand that some parents might have some trepidation because of last year.

I mean, are you trying to tell people, okay, that was last year.

This is this year.

I mean, not that all the problems are gone, but the great majority are.

Yes.

So letting them know that it's open early, get in, get your stuff done.

So if there is any glitches because they may happen.

I mean, it's the federal government.

We, you know, colleges don't have control over, you know, what happens there.

But the earlier that things are done, if there's changes that need to be made, then there's so much more time versus, you know, last year we got cut out of about 3 or 4 months, right.

The critical months.

Critical months.

Yes.

Let's talk about the Western way.

Yeah.

Tell me universities have to be creative in a way of getting students in the door, but also keeping them in the door.

So help me out here.

So the Western Way was created as an initiative for, for Western to let students know that if they qualify for, you know, state federal aid and they also qualify for our merit based either Western commitment or transfer commitment.

But then there's still a gap of, cost tuition, tuition and direct cost gap.

That was not met then.

It's Western's way of saying, hey, we're going to we're going to come in and we're going to fill that particular amount.

If you qualify for state and federal aid, if you qualify for the merit based Western commitment or transfer commitment, and then your combined, household income with zero assets is $81,000 or less.

So it's a way for Western to say, here's how we can help a little bit for families that are in that particular, financial situation.

And how effective has it been?

It's been very effective.

I think, for a lot of our students, it's very beneficial for like our transfer students because the gap is a little bit larger.

Because the transfer commitment scholarship is it's a great scholarship, but it's a little bit less than our freshman commitment scholarship.

So there is a little bit more of a gap there for those that are transfer students.

But, it's it's been a great option for our students that, that fall into that category.

And to have that extra little, little push to get them over the hump so they're not having to borrow as much money.

Or, you know, for some students it is a complete game changer.

So tell me also about the Map grants.

The state of Illinois has got far more of a commitment to such a critical, grant money system that as you remember, during those those years where, funding was, suspended in so many different ways, that really impacted, is it nice now that the Map grant has got major investment by the state of Illinois?

It is nice.

And that's another reason when you're asking, like, what parents shouldn't need to know is that's another reason why it's important for students that are in the state of Illinois to apply for Fafsa early because Map is great.

But when Map runs out, math runs out.

So if you, you know, qualified for a map that you applied after map funds ran out, then you you're not even though you're eligible, you don't receive those because your Fafsa wasn't in that time.

Yeah.

So I mean, it is critical to make the deadlines and be way ahead.

Yes.

Every state, has different Fafsa deadlines now, federal Pell Grant, those federal grants, there's not a deadline for those, but a lot of states have state deadlines.

And so it's important for, you know, whether you're in Illinois or you're in Iowa or you're in Ohio, you need to know kind of what those state deadlines are.

So you don't miss out on funds.

Western Illinois, Quad Cities, known for nontraditional students and for veterans.

Actually, the whole western Illinois university system.

How important is it, for them to, look at Western as a possibility to further an education?

Yeah.

I think a lot of it is cost.

We have, you know, a great education system.

We have great classes, we have great majors.

But we're also at a price point that nontraditional students are able to, you know, make it affordable.

There are scholarships that we offer for students coming in, in nontraditional students.

They may have started at another college or university.

May have stopped out for a while, are ready to come back and finish that degree.

They could be, you know, they could still be eligible for scholarships.

Our admissions policies are very veteran friendly.

They're very nontraditional, student friendly.

And so we've kind of made some, some steps towards that.

Our veterans can apply for free.

They can fill our admissions application for free.

Our nontraditional students, we have a new admissions policy, for students that if they, you know, have never been to post-secondary education, maybe they graduated from high school, went into the workforce.

And now they're ready to come back.

And it's ten years later, 20 years later, they can apply to Western, and we're not going to go back and look at high school performance in terms of GPA.

We're going to, look at, okay, you have been out of school for a number of years.

You have been successful in the workforce.

And just please, we'd like to admit you and let you get started on your degree.

Well, and falling admissions at schools such as Western is not new.

But it seems to be stabilizing a bit right now, which is.

Is that the best we could hope for at this moment?

Yes.

We're on we're still on that enrollment cliff of, you know, 20, 25.

So in terms of the birth years, for students in that area, the graduation years of high school students.

Yeah.

So now we are at that that moment, we were graduating larger classes because we had those larger classes coming in.

But then what's coming up behind it that we're starting is those the smaller, the smaller classes.

So we've got bigger classes going out, smaller classes coming in.

But that ship is starting to right itself and it'll still be a couple more years, though, before it kind of fully stabilizes in terms of graduating and graduating alums, to be able to walk in with a bachelor's degree, maybe have some specialized classes or, you know, some, you know, additional minors that went on with your bachelor's degree.

So you can kind of have a, you know, diversify yourself and field.

You can go into.

All right.

Thanks to Western Illinois University, Quad Cities associate director of admissions Cassie Daley.

And you can always get more information about Western Illinois University financial aid and admissions by going to the website.

Wiu.edu on the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on the city's.

IHMVCU, we've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health and we are here IHMVCU is a proud supporter of Wqpt.

Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.