On Monday, December 30, CEO Maureen Sedonaen had the honor of talking with KPIX | CBS San Francisco to join in the tributes to President Jimmy Carter and the legacy of his life of servant leadership.

What Jimmy Carter taught us about living our values

Habitat GSF CEO, Maureen Sedonaen reflects on the legacy of President Jimmy Carter

Historians will be sure to judge President Jimmy Carter’s contributions as a politician and our 39th U.S. president. In the day since he passed away, it’s his post-presidency that I have been reflecting on. For more than 40 years since leaving the White House, he worked tirelessly in pursuit of peace and justice, investing endless hours in support of families and communities across the U.S. and around the world. As someone who has dedicated my career to leading community organizations and championing equity, I’m continually inspired by the former President’s dedication to public service and humanitarian causes. He has taught us the importance of bringing purpose, passion and proximity together to achieve impact.

I see several lessons as we strive to live our values:

Gift your time. He and Rosalynn Carter are certainly Habitat for Humanity’s most famous volunteers. And for good reason. Beginning in 1984 and for every year until the COVID-19 pandemic, the Carters worked alongside more than 104,000 volunteers in communities across the U.S. and in 14 countries to build, renovate and repair 4,390 homes. You can read more in Habitat for Humanity’s press release.

President Carter was 56 years young when he left the White House in 1981. Facing retirement, how did he choose where to focus his time after holding one of the most sought-after jobs in the world? It’s a topic he covers in his memoirs and reflections, where he talks about the importance of work and love in living a long, meaningful life. His gift of thousands of volunteer hours was an investment in the lives of countless people and changed the future for thousands of Habitat families.

With the cost of living continuing to rise and forcing many of us to work longer and commute further, time remains one of our most precious personal resources. As we strive for better work/life balance, it’s helpful to think about time as a gift, both given and received. Time is a gift we give to ourselves, to those we count on, and to those who count on us, like our families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. It’s also essential to remember to appreciate the time that is gifted to us.

Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2017 – Canada

Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2014 – Fort Worth, Texas

Generously share your talents. President Carter was also generous with contributing his talents. Ask anyone who volunteered with him on a Habitat build site and they’ll tell you he wasn’t there for a photo op. He was famously extremely hands-on at construction sites and humbly embraced every task. He didn’t let the fact that he’d served as President of the U.S. get in the way of picking up a hammer, climbing a ladder, working a table saw, or stroking a paintbrush.

A central requirement to becoming a Habitat Homeowner is an agreement to complete 500 of “sweat equity” – hours spent building the home you will own in partnership with the local Habitat staff and volunteers as community partners. At every build, President Carter worked alongside aspiring homeowners, corporate and community volunteers – people with different talents and one shared vision: making the dream of owning a home a reality.

Generosity, hard work, and humility are hallmarks of President Carter’s legacy and character, these all serve as a simple reminder to put our talents to work for the greater good.

Equity and Justice Matter. President Carter’s dedication to human rights, peacemaking and racial justice are well known. He valued the ideals of peace, radical inclusivity, and leveling the playing field for all.

The complexity and enormity of these issues at times can feel overwhelming. The challenges may seem intractable and systemic and make us feel powerless. But there is something more we can learn from President Carter’s work over the last 40 years. He reminds us to focus on what we truly value in life and make a commitment to working for peace and justice.

Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project 2000 – Plains, Georgia

We are so fortunate at Habitat Greater San Francisco to get to work every day with our community to build and preserve affordable homeownership for families across our Bay Area region – 89% of whom identify as BIPOC. Together, we are combatting the long history of housing inequality and discriminatory housing polices by following President Carter’s lead and putting our values at the center of everything we do. I am grateful to all those partnering in their communities across the Habitat network who are living their values to ensure radical inclusivity, peace and justice.

Maureen Sedonaen is the CEO of Habitat for Humanity’s affiliate chapter serving San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin counties, where she oversees a team dedicated to fighting inequity and displacement through building affordable housing and home preservation.

If you would like to volunteer you can find out more here, of if you would like to make a donation to Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco in honor of President Carter, you can do so below. Thank you for your support.

Make a donation