MacHabitat is celebrating 30 years of bringing people together to build homes, community, and hope in the McMinnville area.

Our story starts when Bernie Turner and a few of his friends decided to start a chapter of Habitat for Humanity in McMinnville. Bernie had recently retired as the pastor at First Baptist Church and was motivated by hearing former president Jimmy Carter speak about his volunteer work with Habitat.  He became passionate about providing homeownership opportunities to low-income families in the community.  With Roz at his side, Bernie and friends built MacHabitat’s first home in McMinnville in 1991 with the help of dedicated volunteers, charitable local businesses, and generous donors.

Much has changed in the last 30 years!  65 homes have been built in McMinnville, Amity, Lafayette, Sheridan, and Willamina.  For most of these 65 families, the cycle of poverty has been broken as they have invested in their homes and communities while improving educational and health outcomes.