June 1, 2006 — Habitat for Humanity of the U.S. Virgin Islands is receiving assistance from an affiliate thousands of miles away. The Helena (Mont.) Area Habitat for Humanity this year chose its V.I. counterpart for its affiliate tithe, a program in which Habitat chapters in the continental United States contribute ten percent of their incoming contributions to an overseas affiliate.
Habitat's chapter in the Virgin Islands is the international organization's newest overseas affiliate. All Habitat affiliates are nonprofit organizations. Volunteers for Habitat International renovate, rehab and build affordable homes for low-income people.
"The board members here are delighted," said Habitat (USVI) Executive Director Adrian Bishop of the donation. "They weren't expecting this at all. It really was a gift from out of the blue."
Neither Bishop nor local Habitat board member Kirk Boeger knew the final amount of the donation.
The V.I. affiliate started with a group of dedicated volunteers in 2004. Habitat International gave the group its affiliate status in January 2005, and the organization held its first major fund-raiser in early May 2006 at Coral World. Volunteers have already started work on a home on Adele Gade near downtown St. Thomas.
The Helena affiliate started in 1992 and has given its tithe for the past few years to affiliates in Mexico, said Joan Higgins-Smith of Habitat's Helena chapter.
"The reason why we chose U.S. Virgin Islands Habitat is because it is a new affiliate that needs seed money to get off the ground and start building houses for all of those service workers who deserve decent, affordable housing," said Helena affiliate Executive Director Melony Bruhn in a late-May press release.
A small-world connection between sisters didn't hurt, either. St. Thomas resident Jane Higgins is Higgins-Smith's sister.
The tithing program is based on the idea that continental U.S. Habitat affiliates usually receive more contributions than those overseas. Usually, housing in underdeveloped countries is also less expensive to build than it is in the continental United States.
The Virgin Islands, however, is an exception. Bishop said that on the U.S. mainland, the typical Habitat home costs $35 to $45 per square foot to build. Donations and the simplicity of the home keep costs down. (An average private home on the mainland costs $65 to $75 per square foot.)
However, in the territory an average home costs $125 to $150 per square foot to build. The costs of shipping materials here and the worldwide shortage of concrete and steel are the main factors driving up costs in the territory.
Boeger hopes the tithing program will help the V.I. affiliate in the long run. "I think it has a good possibility to help," he said. However, he expressed concern that other Habitat affiliates may want to donate to affiliates in areas not connected to the United States, because he said, "a little bit of money can go so far."
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