Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia recently became one of more than 230 affiliates awarded a grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.

The grants are part of a nationwide initiative to help create more than 350 affordable homes across the United States.

Through the Wells Fargo Builds program, Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia received a $125,000 grant to help build new homes for low- to moderate-income families in North Philadelphia. 

During an event on Thursday, December 15, Wells Fargo employees volunteered alongside a first-time homeowner on Page Street — the area of North Philadelphia where the construction of the homes will take place. 

“Our vision is of a city where everyone has a decent place to live,” said Kathryn Fernandez, chief development officer at Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia.

“To reach this audacious goal, we rely on committed partners like Wells Fargo, who not only support our work through financial contributions, but work right alongside us to help build these homes,” she added.

According to data from The Pew Charitable Trusts, over half of Philadelphians pay more than 30% of their income on rent. 

Given this statistic, Habitat for Humanity and Wells Fargo have collaborated for nearly three decades to take steps toward creating a society where everyone has a decent place to live.

With this new funding, six homes on Page Street in North Philadelphia will be filled with new families by this time next year.

The volunteer day on Thursday marked the 100th-plus employee who has volunteered on a Habitat Philly site, and the first corporate volunteer day for Habitat Philly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In 2019, Wells Fargo completed more than 500 hours of employee volunteer time. 

“As homeownership remains out of reach for too many families, we’re proud of our long-standing work with Habitat for Humanity to increase the supply of homes that are affordable and help more people realize the dream of homeownership,” said Paralee Knight, vice president of community relations at Wells Fargo.

“Volunteering with Habitat has always been a huge source of pride for our employees, and we’re excited to work alongside families again as they start a new journey in their lives as homeowners — especially at this time during the holiday season,” she continued. 

This $125,000 funding is part of a larger $7.75 million donation to Habitat for Humanity International through the Wells Fargo Builds program to support the construction, renovation and repairing of more than 350 affordable homes in 200 communities across the United States.