Imagine trying to bathe and get dressed for work or school without a decent bathroom. Would you be able to get a good night’s sleep without a safe place to lie down? How would you prepare a meal for your children without a decent kitchen? Or think about having to make a choice between putting nutritious food on the table or paying the rent for a roof over your head. Nearly 18 million families in America alone spend more than half their income on housing and find themselves in these situations, facing these kinds of tough decisions for their families every day.
Today, Global Impact and our nonprofit partner, Habitat for Humanity International, invite you to join us in recognizing World Habitat Day and raising awareness for the current global housing crisis.
Habitat for Humanity International is a global housing nonprofit working in communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in 70 countries around the globe. Their focus is to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable housing, removing barriers to opportunity, success and health that might have been part of a family’s life for years, if not generations.
Through their #WorldHabitatDay call-to-action efforts, Habitat for Humanity International offers each of us the opportunity to reflect on our own living conditions and then engage our networks to promote the idea that all people deserve a proper home. Reflecting on humanitarian causes, like housing and shelter, gives us all a better understanding of the needs of those living in poverty. Through this kind of experiential journey, we are building empathy, which often leads to action, ultimately making the world a better place.
Those interested in supporting this important issue can start today and continue to do so throughout the month of October. It’s easy to spread the word! Habitat for Humanity International has even prepared a toolkit full of social media messaging, shareable graphics and printable pieces to help amplify our voices around the critical need for affordable housing. Another way to support this cause is by supporting Habitat for Humanity International through your workplace giving campaign.
Experiential opportunities in the workplace educate employees through a simulation of what it is like to live without a permanent home, walk miles to the nearest clean water source, survive in the wake of a disaster, choose between food on the table or electricity, and many other facets of life in poverty. This type of activity connects employees to important issues and helps them relate to others on a more personal level, leaving a lasting impression that may increase their engagement in volunteerism and giving programs.
If you’re interested in setting up an experiential opportunity for your workplace, contact us at [email protected].
