Volunteer
Celebrating Habitat AmeriCorps!
We are thrilled to celebrate the AmeriCorps members who have joined our team this year! With 15 AmeriCorps now on board, our team has grown
11 Mar, 2024
A mother-son story of giving back to families like theirs
“She worked incredibly hard,” Marcus Divita says of his mom, Judie. “She’d work full days, put in overtime to pay the bills, and cook dinner for us.”
In 1978, Judie had relocated from Washington D.C. to Denver with Marcus, who was six at the time, for a computer programming job with the federal government.
“And even in those days,” Marcus remembers, “she gave back to her community.”
Despite her own challenges as a single parent, Judie still prioritized giving back to the Denver community. She volunteered with the JeffCo Action Center and the Red Cross, helping other families access clothing or food. When she couldn’t make financial donations, she donated her time, shares Marcus.
“I learned generosity from my mom,” he said.
Marcus Divita (second from right) volunteers with teammates from Concord Energy in July 2016
Fast forward to 2023, and Marcus is now continuing Judie’s generosity, hoping to help other families who are working hard to make ends meet, just as his mom did when he was young.
Marcus first started volunteering with Habitat more than 10 years ago, when his company, Concord Energy, started sponsoring Habitat for Humanity homes. When the company had a strong financial year recently, Marcus personally committed to significantly impacting organizations that support single moms.
In honor of his mom’s hard work, Marcus is now supporting Habitat Metro Denver’s Women Build program, which empowers women to engage with Habitat’s mission of building and preserving affordable homes in their community. The Women Build program raises awareness about the need for affordable housing and highlights the strength and resilience of women to be part of the solution.
And the work often comes full circle, with women helping other women. Many Habitat Metro Denver homebuyers are single moms or single parents, earning steady incomes, who just need support to pay an affordable mortgage.
“It’s an opportunity to break the chain of poverty – if someone is living paycheck to paycheck, it’s hard to save up for big things and build savings,” Marcus said. “If we can help these families be in a better situation, that supports stability and wealth-building for parents and their kids. You can make several generations better with one step.”
“And kids are watching their moms – like Marcus watched me,” Judie said. “If single parents go back to school, or buy a Habitat home, or set a big goal, it sets a great example for their kids.”
When asked about how Marcus’s donations have impacted her, Judie expressed her gratitude for his opportunity to pay it forward to families like theirs.
“Marcus explained to me that I inspired him with the way I supported him and gave back to the community. Now, he wants to pay it forward – and that makes me so proud,” Judie said.
“It was just mom and me growing up,” Marcus said. “Now I want to thank her and spread the word about how hard she worked to get us to where we are.”
“We want to help that next generation of kids and their amazing moms.”
When asked about how Marcus’s donations have impacted her, Judie expressed her gratitude for his opportunity to pay it forward to families like theirs.
“Marcus explained to me that I inspired him with the way I supported him and gave back to the community. Now, he wants to pay it forward – and that makes me so proud,” Judie said.
Marcus and his mom, Judie – in the 1970s
“It was just mom and me growing up,” Marcus said. “Now I want to thank her and spread the word about how hard she worked to get us to where we are.”
“We want to help that next generation of kids and their amazing moms.”
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