Hedge Funds for Habitat-UK, an initiative by the hedge fund community, has launched a campaign to support Habitat for Humanity.
Hedge Funds for Habitat-UK, an initiative by the hedge fund community, has launched a campaign to support Habitat for Humanity.
The charity, which works in over 90 countries, enables people living in poverty housing to access a safe, decent home in which to live.
Building on the success of Hedge Funds for Habitat – NYC, the new group is helping to globalise the hedge fund community’s support for Habitat for Humanity by participating in an inaugural UK event called the Hope Challenge. Scheduled for June 12-14, 2009, the event is a team challenge that involves 20 miles of trekking, 1,000 meters of hill ascent, and the team spending the night in a shelter they construct themselves from scrap materials. The fundraising income from the event will go to Habitat for Humanity’s projects in the developing world.
‘It costs an average of just GBP1,235 to provide a family in the developing world with a safe, decent place to live. We therefore hope that the first phase of this campaign will raise enough to build ten homes,’ says Stuart Feffer, co-chief executive officer of Lacrosse Global Fund Services, one of Hedge Funds for Habitat-UK’s founding partners.
‘Hedge Funds for Habitat-UK is calling on supporters from hedge funds, private equity firms and the service provider community to support us in our goal. Hedge fund professionals know that investing in human capital is key to the success of our industry – and our cities. This applies equally, if not more so, in the developing world. Safe, decent and appropriate homes will help families to thrive, and that helps all of us to flourish.’
Habitat for Humanity works at the grassroots level in communities affected by poverty housing, offering a hand up rather than a hand out. Typically, the community provides both the people to scope and manage the project and the volunteers, including those who will live in the homes, to help build or renovate. Habitat for Humanity provides access to training, funding and a worldwide network of expertise.
