PERSONAL: 'He put me in this house… I love him for it,' says owner of home President Carter helped build

Record ID: 1893864

  • Title: PERSONAL: 'He put me in this house… I love him for it,' says owner of home President Carter helped build
  • Date: 1st January 2025
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) OWNER OF A HABITAT FOR HUMANITY HOME JIMMY CARTER HELPED BUILD, SALLIE MAE HOLLIS, SAYING: "If it weren't for Jimmy Carter, I would still be going from apartment to apartment. He put me in this house and I'm planning on staying here until they take me out of it. And so I thank him for it. I really do. I love him for it. I really do." TRACKING SHOT OF
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2025 00:20
  • Keywords: atlanta carter homes georgia habitat for humanity homeowner jimmy carter
  • Location: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: ATLANTA, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: North America
  • Reuters ID: LVA003029331122024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Sallie Mae Hollis vividly recalls the week in 1988 when former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn helped build her house in Atlanta, Georgia.
    “He was so plain,” she said in the Habitat for Humanity home she still lives in at age 86. “He was just like everybody else out here working and she worked too. They built my back porch… Jimmy cut the wood, and we finished it that day. That back porch lasted 30 years until I finally replaced it last month.”
    After leaving office, Carter, who passed away at the age of 100 on Sunday (December 29) volunteered with his wife former First Lady Rosalynn Carter for one week a year to help build affordable homes in the U.S. around the world with non-profit organization, Habitat for Humanity.
    A signed photo of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter takes pride of place in Hollis’ scrapbook that is filled with photos, newspaper clippings, and memories of that transformative week.
    “I stayed around the corner in a bedroom and a half with two grandkids and my daughter,” Hollis recounted in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday (December 31). “One day, two guys came by and asked if I’d buy a house if they built one nearby. I said, ‘If they sell me one, I’ll buy one. I just hope it has more than a bedroom and a half.’”
    The Carters worked alongside Hollis and other volunteers to complete the home in a week, sharing meals together and talking as they hammered and sawed. For Hollis, the experience was about more than building a home.
    “He cared for people,” she said. “In this world, you’ve got to have love for your sisters and brothers. We are all sisters and brothers, and that’s what a lot of people don’t understand.”
    When she heard about Carter’s passing a few days ago, Hollis says she felt a mix of sadness and gratitude. “The man have done so many great things. He lived 100 years. That show he did something good for somebody.”
    Standing on her rebuilt back porch, Hollis reflected on her journey, saying if it wasn’t for Carter, she would “still be going from apartment to apartment”.
    “He put me in this house,” she said. “And I’m planning on staying here until they take me out. And so, I thank him for it. I really do. I love him for it.”
    (Production by: Maria Alejandra Cardona)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains images from newspapers or magazines. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing this clip.
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