2024-2025 Year in Review
At South County Habitat for Humanity, 2025 was a year of incredible impact, made possible through the unwavering support of our donors, volunteers, and partners who continue to believe in Habitat’s mission. This year was especially meaningful, as we celebrated 35 years of building homes, community, and hope.
This year, we proudly completed Cardinal Lane, providing seven families with energy-efficient homes and a foundation for stability. We also embraced new construction technologies to build smarter and more sustainably, reducing long-term costs for homeowners and lessening our environmental impact. After completing Cardinal Lane, we began two renovation projects in South Kingstown for families accepted into the program in November 2024.
In Westerly, we acquired land to build duplex homes. We're also looking ahead to the development of 22 additional homes, a transformational project that will expand affordable homeownership opportunities in our region.
None of this would be possible without you — our generous donors, volunteers, and community partners. Your support fuels every wall raised and every family served. Together, we’re not just building homes, we’re building hope.
With gratitude,
Executive Director
By the numbers
5
Homes sold
407
Tons of material diverted from landfills by ReStore
475
In-kind donors
623
Financial donors
811
Volunteers
Stories from home
"My daughter went to college, and then graduate school, and got her master's degree in social work and is now helping people. There is no way she would have had the opportunity to do this if it hadn’t been for our home. I would not have been in a position to help her like that."
- Remarks from a homeowner after paying off her Habitat mortgage in 2025
"This has opened my eyes to a community of people who give their time and dedication to making my dream become a reality. Even though I have not worked side-by-side with everyone, I have seen you all out here putting in your time. I have seen your hand prints, your foot marks, your sweat, your kind words and signatures inside these walls...
There's no more moving, no more rent, no more landlords – just a permanent place to call home. I cannot wait to be able to host parties or events and people at my own home and make memories here and having those first time moments in my own home and continuing to plant roots and watch them grow and being able to say, I achieved this goal in life”.
- Habitat homeowner, purchased in 2025
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"Within the first few days of living in our new home, I truly discovered the importance of personal space. One evening, as I sat at the computer in the living room, I looked around and realized that I was alone – each of my sons had drifted off into his own room. I had my 'aha' moment: the realization that we would finally enjoy the personal space we had needed for so long."
- Longtime Habitat homeowner who spoke at the 2025 Volunteer Appreciation reception
Where your giving goes...
We are proud to share that our ReStore continues to cover 100% of overhead, meaning every dollar you give goes directly to supporting our homeownership programs.
FY 2025 Expenses
3.44% Fundraising
3.64% Administration
92.92% Program
Volunteers
Volunteers are the heart of our mission. The following volunteers generously contributed more than 100 hours to our mission between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025.
100+
David Bannister
Dan Jackson
Kenneth Sisson
Stanley Barszcz
Ronald Spain
Marcia Morreira
Scott Andrews
Eileen Green
Peter Cawley
Milton Finch
Holly Eaves
Christine Fitzpatrick
Patty Harriman
Joyce Fuller
Joanne Verdi
Becks Akin
Clifford Griffith
Denise Plante
Janice Tetreault
Larry Menard
Christine Teeden
Deb Wilhelm
Ronald Laliberte
Mary Drake
Diane Acton
Mary Ann Johnson
Denise Letourneau
Carol Kadamus
Eve Houghton Sowers
William “Bill” Bartels
Steve Taraborelli
Ronald McLellan
Colin Manlove
Deborah Byrne
Jean Dwyer
Maura Travers
Beth Cotter
Marc Schrank
200+
Jerry Wolstencroft
Carol DeRita-Moniz
Gail Faris
Paula Rusu
Chester Kosak
Robin Whewell
Mikey Cole
Paul Costabile
Bruce Evje
Jane Toll
Robert “Bob” Johnson
Edward “Stacy” Westbrook
Diane Goldsmith
300+
Paul Casey
J. Whitney Bancroft
Domenic Ruzzo
Wendy Halstead
Donald Bonn
John Hamilton
400+
Richard Morrissey
George Geehan
Michael Faggella
500+
Randy Esasky
1,000+
Clifton Johnson
Milestone moments
Completion of Cardinal Lane
One of the Cardinal Lane homes
In early 2025 we sold the final four homes of the Cardinal Lane project. The seven homes that comprise the Cardinal Lane project were built to net-zero energy ready standards, and equipped with solar panels. This means these seven families will have little to no energy bill because their homes were built to produce more energy than they consume. These were the first homes in our organizations history to be built to such a high energy efficiency standard.
This project was significantly enriched by the support of Chariho Career and Technical Center. Students from the construction department built two of the seven homes, under leadership of school faculty and Habitat construction staff. They visited the site weekly, gaining hands-on experience, while helping strengthen their own community by building safe, affordable homes for local families.
South Kingstown Renovation
Build Site Supervisor Nathan takes us on a tour of one of our South Kingstown renovation projects. In 1998, this house became home to Melanie, an extraordinary single mother, and her three children. Twenty-five years later, Melanie proudly paid off her mortgage. Sadly, she passed away soon after.
Today, Melanie's story continues in a beautiful way. With renovations now complete, the home will soon welcome Jailine, also a devoted mother of three, who will create new memories with her own family in this home lovingly built and renovated by volunteers.
What makes this project especially remarkable is its transformation into a net zero energy-ready home, retrofitted with innovative new technology to ensure sustainability for generations to come.
Hammer & Ales - Celebrating 35 years
In April 2025, we celebrated 35 years of building homes, community, and hope with a sold-out anniversary event at Tower Hill Brewing. The evening brought together supporters, volunteers, homeowners, and partners for live music by Gooseberry Road, a silent auction, raffles, and food and beverages – many generously donated by local businesses. Organized by our Development Committee volunteers, the celebration raised more than $9,000 for our mission.
2025 Pride Build
In June 2025, we welcomed volunteers to one of our South Kingstown renovation projects for an incredible day of building, learning, and celebrating together! This video shares a glimpse into the magic of the day.