Some big names are working in town this week for the Habitat For Humanity.
Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, are leading the Big Build, which is part of the Carter Work Project in Mishawaka.
Also helping the local volunteers are country music superstar Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood.
Comedian David Letterman helped launch the building blitz.
The retired late-night TV host praised Carter and his wife for their dedication to the nonprofit during a Sunday event at the University of Notre Dame that kicked off the five-day effort.
Letterman noted the Carters’ long involvement with the group, telling the roughly 4,000 attendees that if it weren’t for the Democratic former president and his wife, he wouldn’t have become a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.
The South Bend Tribune reports that the 93-year-old former president said he and his wife get “more out of it than we put into it” when they build Habitat homes.
When the project is finished, 41 families in the area will have a new home.
The build is scheduled for August 26 – 31, and raised $6.7 million to get the work done. That amount is two million dollars more than the original goal.
The project has been a favorite of the former President and his wife for more than three decades, during which they’ve built more than 4000 homes in 14 countries.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
