Naples, FL (February 25, 2020) —Marco Lutheran Church Foundation answered the call to fight the affordable housing crisis and help another family in need to purchase a safe and decent home. Financial service organization Thrivent selected Habitat Collier to participate in their 2020 Faith Builds matching challenge. The Faith Builds program asks local congregations to help build and fund a home in Habitat Collier’s newest community, Vincent’s Acres. Through this partnership, a qualifying local family will be selected to build alongside Thrivent and Marco Lutheran and later purchase the home with an at-cost, interest-free mortgage this spring.

This is just the latest Marco Lutheran Church Foundation gift to offer shelter to families in Collier County. Habitat Collier’s partnership with the church has been strong for the past 20 years. Since its founding more than 40 years ago, Habitat Collier has served more than 2,200 families, giving them a hand-up to purchase a decent home with an interest-free mortgage.

“Putting faith into action has always been one of the core values of this organization,” says Habitat Collier CEO, Rev. Lisa Lefkow. “When organizations like Thrivent can come together with our local faith community like the congregation at Marco Lutheran to walk the talk, it’s truly something remarkable.”

Marco Lutheran Church foundation members, Thrivent staff, and members of the Habitat family will join to celebrate the hard work of the donors and volunteers who built these homes in Vincent’s Acres at a dedication ceremony next fall. The ceremony will give the new homeowners the opportunity to share their gratitude and offer a look inside the home that this partnership made possible.

About Habitat for Humanity of Collier County
Habitat for Humanity of Collier County’s goal is to empower struggling families to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Habitat Collier is one of the oldest and most successful Habitat affiliates in the nation. For more than 40 years, they have served the needs of Collier County’s workforce, building homes in partnership with families, volunteers, and donors, and then selling them with an affordable mortgage. Since 1978, Habitat Collier has built more than 2,200 homes in Naples and Immokalee. For more information, visit HabitatCollier.org.

About Marco Lutheran Church Foundation
Marco Lutheran Church Foundation uses income from invested assets for the mission and outreach ministry of Marco Lutheran Church.

About Thrivent
Thrivent is a diversified financial services organization that helps people achieve financial clarity, enabling lives full of meaning and gratitude. As a mission-driven, membership-owned organization, it offers its more than 2 million members and customers a broad range of financial products, services, and guidance. Thrivent and its subsidiary and affiliate companies offer insurance, investments, banking and advice over the phone, online as well as through financial professionals and independent agents nationwide. Thrivent is a FORTUNE 500 company with $152 billion in assets under management/advisement (as of 12/31/19). For more information, visit Thrivent.com.

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