Habitat for Humanity kicks off at Hillcrest with star power

Fans of country music superstars Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks may want to take note: The former Hillcrest golf course, now known as The Heights, was not only the site of their latest volunteer turn for Habitat for Humanity, butmay also prove to be the start of marital, um, friction.

"I think 17 years of [volunteering for] Habitat has been a lot easier than 19 years of being married," Brooks said, chuckling as he looked sideways at his wife.

Lucky for Brooks, Yearwood appeared not to take offense. The work they're doing, she said, is vital.

"We've known since day one, it's a great organization because it really is about the right thing — infrastructure in our country," she said. "Should we help our homebuilding? That is such a priority in our minds. It's a crisis."

Monday, at St. Paul's far northeast corner, the Grammy-winning power couple joined the kickoff of Habitat's weeklong Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. The project will attract 4,000 volunteers to build 30 Habitat homes at the 112-acre mixed-use development. Habitat will build a total of 147 owner-occupied affordable homes and The Heights will eventually include 1,000 units of housing and 1,000 new jobs.

Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, said Brooks and Yearwood's involvement in Habitat projects from Colorado to Florida, Canada to Haiti, provides an unmistakable boost to its efforts worldwide.

"It's tremendously important," he said. "In the same way that the world found out about Habitat because President and Mrs. Carter got involved as volunteers, starting their 40-year run with us, I think when people with huge social capital lend their celebrity, what happens is we get more media attention and we get awareness, and that allows more people to get involved."

The Carter Work Project runs through Friday. Officials said more than 1,000 people will volunteer each day, 4,000 total. Yearwood and Brooks will be working right alongside them. On Monday, the site was abuzz with workers climbing scaffolding, framing walls and driving heavy equipment.

The project will take place over President Carter's 100th birthday. For the last 40 years, the Carter Work Project has traveled to 14 countries and brings together thousands of volunteers, celebrities, elected officials and other VIPs to build homes and cast a global spotlight on the importance of affordable housing. Twin Cities Habitat is the project's 2024 host.

St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and former mayor Chris Coleman — now head of Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity — joined the others to help launch the East Side project.

Barry Mason, a retired IBM executive from Apple Valley, has been a Habitat volunteer for more than 30 years. For the last five, following his retirement, he and a crew of other volunteers, have devoted every Thursday to Habitat projects.

"I think our skills have gotten better over time," he said. "I love doing this work. I love doing framing. It just feels like, you know, you're building a structure. It just feels like construction."

Mason, who will be at The Heights all week, has worked alongside Brooks and Yearwood before, including in Haiti. There, in addition to their construction work, the music stars gave the 400 volunteers a concert.

"It was a pretty special time," Mason said. "It makes a huge difference to see people of their stature commit their time."

LeAndra Estis is a Habitat for Humanity homeowner who helped build her family's Frogtown house. She first applied for a Habitat home in 2017 and spent two years cleaning up her credit, taking extra jobs and learning the ins and outs of homeownership before the single mother of three qualified for a Habitat home mortgage.

Now an office assistant for Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services, Estis' home was part of Habitat's Women Build program in 2018. "Literally, my home got its start at an event like today," she said.

She loved working on her own home, Estis said.

"I'm thankful because I got that experience," she said. "I'm thankful because the sweat that I put in has helped me to not just know how, but to appreciate what we did."

She also said she appreciates Yearwood and Brooks lending their sweat and celebrity. This is the first time she's met celebrities on a Habitat project, Estis said.

"But I will say that I feel like everybody I meet with Habitat is a celebrity," she said.

Brooks and Yearwood said the feeling is mutual. And their work for Habitat is some of the most rewarding of their lives.

"President Carter said it best," Brooks said. "There's a light inside of you, and it'll shine its brightest when you don't do something for yourself, [when you] do something for somebody else."