Millard Fuller was an ambitious and driven business man. By age 29 he was a millionaire. But in 1965, his life took a dramatic turn when his wife, Linda, told him she was leaving him.
Together, they resolved to save their marriage, give away their fortune to help the poor and focus their lives toward God’s work with a renewed and exciting sense of purpose. Though they had little construction experience, the Fullers set out to change lives just by speaking out, being kind to others and picking up a hammer whenever and wherever they could. In 1976, they founded Habitat for Humanity which has to date built or renovated 400,000 homes worldwide for more than 2 million people.
In 2005, the Fullers once again started over and launched The Fuller Center for Housing which is currently building and renovating homes in 19 countries and dozens of communities in the United States. Working toward a mission to help the more than 1 billion people worldwide who live in poverty housing and the 100 million who are homeless, the Fuller’s extraordinary commitment and legacy continues today through the hearts and hands of hundreds of thousands of volunteers who seek to build a better world, one house at a time.
Below is a timeline of major developments in the Fullers’ volunteer-driven, affordable housing movement below.
Then check out our Mission Statement and begin to explore our programs!
Millard and Linda with Indiana First Lady Judy O’Bannon in North Thailand, 2004
1959-1976: From affluent beginnings
1977-1983: Habitat – The Early Years
1984-1989: Habitat – The Carter Years
1990-1994: Habitat – Years of Growth
1995-1999: Habitat – 80,000 houses
2000-2002: Habitat – International Expansion
2003-2004: Habitat – Leadership struggles
2005: Fuller Center for Housing begins
2006: Fuller Center work goes international
2007: Growing, Speaking, Building
