Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County joined 15 volunteers from Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV) on Wednesday, March 8, to renovate a single-family home in Jamaica with the goal of being affordable and energy efficient for low-income, first-time homebuyers.
HGV members assisted with construction work, such as helping install interior sheetrock and laying floors for the home, located at 114-11 130th St., which is slated to be completed by the end of this year.
The initiative is part of HGV’s national partnership with Habitat for Humanity International. As part of its corporate responsibility program — HGV Serves — the company is proud to support new home builds and home repair projects in local communities across the country.
“Our company believes in supporting nonprofit organizations like Habitat for Humanity and has donated funds to support this project here today,” said Jason Tresh, senior director area operations, NYC, Hilton Grand Vacations. “Our team is super excited. While we all work in offices and hotels all day long, coming out here for the day is an incredible opportunity for us to give back to the community.”
HGV started its partnership with Habitat for Humanity in September 2021 and has helped build homes across the country, according to Tresh. In Queens, HGV is helping Habitat for Humanity transform 16 green affordable homeownership opportunities for families to build equity.
The first new construction homes on the Interboro Community Land Trust, which Habitat NYC and Westchester co-founded to ensure permanent affordability for residents and communities, Habitat Net Zero homes in Jamaica will be equipped with rooftop solar panels and highly efficient heat-pump technology for heating and cooling, reducing costs and pursuing near net zero energy use.
“The process for the Net Zero Project began in November 2021, where Habitat for Humanity started with 13 houses, and when the whole project is done there will be 16 houses in total with all of the houses environmentally safe and economically friendly,” said Michael Walker, manager of Corporate Relations, Habitat for Humanity New York City and Westchester County.
Habitat for Humanity is a global nonprofit housing organization working in local communities across all 50 states in the U.S. and in approximately 70 countries, according to its website. The organization works toward its vision by building strength, stability and self-reliance in partnership with families in need of decent and affordable housing.
