Helping Hands: Bank employees help build housing in the community

In May, 16 volunteers from the Bank’s head office worked on home-building projects through Habitat KC, a regional arm of Habitat for Humanity.

The employees expressed strong interest in increasing affordable housing and volunteered for the work through the Kansas City Fed’s Community Involvement Program (CIP). Through their work, the volunteers helped build two homes in the Kansas City area.

The work started with the volunteers arriving at an assigned construction site for introductions and to learn more about Habitat KC, which is the country’s seventh- oldest Habitat for Humanity chapter. The organization’s mission is to build a community where everyone has a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. With the help of volunteers and donors, Habitat KC in 2023 helped 838 homeowners in the Kansas City area realize their dream of affordable housing.

Construction site managers put the volunteers to work on one home in Kansas City, Missouri, and one in Kansas City, Kansas. Assignments ranged from caulking and painting to installing windows and framing the roof of a porch. The volunteers worked together to get the homes ready for future homeowners and enjoyed getting to know each other better in the process.

“The team build was such a fun and rewarding event,” were all there for a common cause, to help build a home for those in need of affordable housing. Throughout the day, we were working, getting to know each other, laughing and making memories. And we ended the day feeling proud in serving our community by volunteering with Habitat KC.”

Through CIP, the Bank actively provides opportunities for employees across the Tenth Federal Reserve District to volunteer in a variety of community involvement activities that align with the Bank’s mission and values.

Housing, in particular the cost of housing, can affect people’s economic well-being and is a component of the U.S. economy that is closely studied by the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s Beige Book, published eight times a year, includes regional feedback on housing conditions in low- to moderate-income (LMI) communities.

Housing also is a key component of the Fed’s widely watched Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking, available at External LinkFederalReserve.org.