A Home is Only the Beginning:
Seeing Habitat Collier’s Mission from the Inside
By Brooke Spurgeon, Community Engagement Intern, Summer 2026
Before my internship with Habitat for Humanity of Collier County, I knew the name. I knew the organization built homes. What I didn’t understand was how much happens beyond the construction of a house — or how deeply this experience would change me. I quickly learned that Habitat Collier does not simply build houses. It builds communities, creates stability, fosters relationships, and gives families the opportunity to build a brighter future.
I came in as a marketing student hoping to grow professionally: communications, donor relations, community engagement. I got all of that. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d grow personally.
Seeing the Mission for the First Time
Early on, I toured several of Habitat Collier’s established communities and visited Las Palmas, a neighborhood under construction in North Naples. Seeing entire communities made possible through Habitat’s work was remarkable, as was meeting volunteers giving their time to build homes for families they might never meet.
But an experience within my first few days affected me most.
My supervisor invited me to sit in on a Home Visit Team meeting so I could understand the families Habitat serves and the process they go through to become Habitat homeowners. Beforehand, I read about the families under consideration — some facing unaffordable rent, others living in conditions that weren’t safe for their families. One story in particular brought me to tears. The next day, I listened as the team decided that family’s application should move forward to the Board.
One family’s story changed the way I understood the impact of Habitat’s work.
Reading about what they had endured, the circumstances in which they were living, and everything that had brought them to that point brought tears to my eyes. The next day, I listened as the team discussed their situation and ultimately decided that their application should continue to the Board for consideration. Hearing that their application would move forward was deeply moving in an entirely different way.
Over the following weeks, I continued to see that family. At homeowner orientation after learning they had been approved and then later when I had the privilege of attending the closing of their home. A story that began for me as words on a page became something real: a family receiving the stability and opportunity of a home of their own to build a stronger foundation for their future.
That experience stayed with me.
A Home Is Only the Beginning
As my internship continued, I learned just how much goes into Habitat’s work beyond building.
Prospective homeowners move through a thoughtful process. It’s designed not just to help them purchase an affordable home, but also to prepare them for successful homeownership. Families receive education on budgeting, mortgages, homeowners associations, and the responsibilities that come with owning a home.
I got to be part of that process myself. Alongside a colleague, I visited a mother who was working incredibly hard to create a better future for herself and her daughter. She was balancing rising rent, family expenses, and her education as she worked toward becoming a nurse. After meeting her, I presented her story to the Home Visit Team and recommended that she move forward. When she was approved, I was overwhelmed with joy.
Habitat’s work is not about simply handing someone the keys to a house. It is about giving people a stable foundation from which they can build. And I was even able to see what that foundation could become decades later.
The Sound of the Bell
One of my favorite sounds in the Habitat office became the ringing of a bell.
It meant that a Habitat homeowner had made their final mortgage payment. Their home was officially, fully theirs. To everyone in the office, that bell meant it was time to come out and celebrate.
Those moments taught me something that shaped the rest of my internship: the impact of a home isn’t fully visible on move-in day. Sometimes, its greatest impact becomes visible years later.
Finding My Own Way to Contribute
As I learned more about Habitat’s development work, I became fascinated by the role storytelling plays in advancing its mission. I entered the internship as a marketing student, but I was still exploring where that passion might lead. Through Habitat, I was introduced to areas I had never seriously considered before: relationship marketing, fundraising, donor stewardship, major gifts, and nonprofit development. I sat in on philanthropy meetings and saw how fundraising strategy, donor stewardship, and communications work together toward one goal: serving more families.
Relationships matter here. Gratitude is personal.
That philosophy carried into the project that became one of the most meaningful parts of my internship. We often knew a lot about what families’ lives looked like before Habitat. Those stories are important because they show the need for affordable housing. But I became curious about what happened afterward.
What had changed five, ten, or twenty years later? What did the stability of homeownership allow these families to do?
What I heard reinforced everything I’d begun to understand. A home could mean children finally having rooms of their own. A parent gaining the financial stability to pursue an education. Kids growing up to become nurses, teachers, members of the military, and professionals serving their own communities.
Habitat had helped change the starting point from which those families could build their futures. As a marketing student, I came to understand storytelling in an entirely different way. It’s not about promotion. It is about helping someone understand the human impact behind the work. A homeowner’s story can turn numbers and statistics into something real, and can inspire the donor, volunteer, or community member who makes the next family’s story possible.
More Than Professional Growth
I learned an extraordinary amount professionally this summer: donor relations, development strategy, fundraising, communications, community engagement, and nonprofit marketing. I sat in meetings about topics I had never encountered in a classroom, asked countless questions, and was surrounded by professionals who were always willing to help me learn. But the greatest thing Habitat gave me was perspective.
I never felt like “just the intern.” I was trusted. I was encouraged to ask questions. I was invited into conversations and experiences that helped me understand the organization from the inside out and I was given real work that mattered. I am grateful that my time with Habitat did not end with my summer internship, and that I get to continue supporting this mission.
I began this experience knowing that Habitat for Humanity built homes. I leave it understanding that a home is only the beginning. A home can create stability. Stability creates opportunity. Opportunity can change the trajectory of a family for generations.
I have watched families begin that journey and I have watched homeowners celebrate the end of a decades-long mortgage. I have listened to stories about children whose lives unfolded differently because their parents had a safe, affordable place to raise them.
Habitat for Humanity of Collier County is changing lives, one family, one home, and one new beginning at a time. I feel incredibly blessed to have played even a small part in that work.