Meet Mary Jo Hunt Hatchett, our Executive Director

“From a young age, I was raised in a home where generosity was a core value. My parents consistently shared their resources with others, and that spirit of giving became deeply ingrained in me. When I married, my husband was a local politician who was heavily involved in community work. As a politician’s wife, I had the opportunity to interact with people from every walk of life and every socio-economic background. Those experiences shaped the way I wanted to raise my own children.

When they were young, I made it a priority to expose them to the diversity of our community and to help them understand how blessed we were. One summer, we participated in a feeding program at a local park. Three days a week, my children and I served lunches to children who were less fortunate. Over the course of that summer, our eyes were opened to the very real needs within our small town, and the desire to serve others grew even stronger in all of us…

Being an Executive Director for a nonprofit is truly a blessing. I love waking up each day knowing that the work I do is meaningful and directly impacts families in our community. At Habitat for Humanity, we believe in a world where everyone has a safe, decent, and affordable place to live. We partner with low income, hard-working families to make homeownership possible—something many of them would not be able to achieve without support.

By utilizing volunteers on our build sites, we’re able to keep construction costs low. Once the home is complete, we sell it to the partner family with a 0% interest mortgage, ensuring their monthly payments remain genuinely affordable. Habitat has always believed in giving a hand up, not a handout. Our partner families commit to completing homeowner education classes as well as 250 hours of “sweat equity,” which includes working alongside volunteers to help build their own home.

We give a lot, but we also require a lot—because we know that homeownership built on partnership, dignity, and accountability creates long-term stability. Watching families open the door to their forever home is one of the greatest rewards of this work, and I am grateful every day to be a part of their journey.”

Read the full article here: https://boldjourney.com/meet-mary-jo-hunt-hatchett/