There are not many opportunities these days where people can come together for an hour to make big, positive changes within their community. The Habitat for Humanity HopeBuilder Breakfast is the perfect event for such monumental change. Thanks to the generosity of hundreds of donors and business sponsors, last week’s 18th annual HopeBuilder Breakfast raised a whopping $415,640 for affordable homeownership – the most donations of any Habitat breakfast to date.
During the event, Habitat for Humanity’s president and CEO, Steve Messinetti, touched on the fifty year anniversary of the Fair Housing Act and the tragic assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Messinetti reminded attendees of Dr. King’s message of building a beloved community–the idea that poverty and homelessness will not be tolerated because it violates the basic tenets of human decency. Watch Steve’s speech below and learn about Habitat’s plans to triple the number of people we serve in the Portland Metro region.

The HopeBuilder Breakfast wouldn’t be complete without an amazing keynote speaker and this year, Habitat was honored to welcome Natosha Reid Rice. Rice is an Associate Pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the pastoral home to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She also serves as a Associate General Counsel for Real Estate and Finance at Habitat for Humanity International. Rice asked the attendees to think about how can we maximize this moment is history. Watch her moving speech below.
 

Lizet Gonzales took the stage next. After purchasing and moving into her Habitat home 6 months ago, she shared with the audience the impact it has had on her and her daughters. “It’s been an exceptional six months living in what now my daughters and I can call home,” said Lizet. “This is an amazing blessing that I honestly never expected. I was pretty much scared of how rent is going up more and more, but thanks to Habitat for Humanity, many people like me, we have an affordable place to live.”
 

 
Every dollar raised at the HopeBuilder Breakfast will be used to build and repair homes for local families in the Portland Metro area. Attending the HopeBuilder Breakfast is a great reminder that every one of us has the power and potential to give a hand up to a family in need of safe, affordable housing.
“With Habitat, you can see change and you know where your money goes,” said Jane Paulson of Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys, who have generously supported the HopeBuilder Breakfast as a Platinum Sponsor for the last ten years. “We can alter the course of someone’s’ life and learn a lot along the way.”