President Jimmy Carter ‘s legacy of giving back endures in several nonprofits he and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, supported for the almost 50 years after they left the White House.
In Los Angeles on Monday, members of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles signed wooden two-by-fours that will be used in a new house as a tribute to the former president, who died at age 100 on Dec. 29. In Houston, they are planning to let members of the community sign a door and wall in a new house to remember the thousands of homes the Carters helped build. They will do the same in Tallahassee, Florida, and numerous other communities, in preparation for Carter’s state funeral on Jan. 9.
The tributes to his dedication to providing affordable housing show how the Carters’ work will continue.
The couple established The Carter Center in 1982 with a mission to help resolve conflicts, which expanded to advocating for democracy and eliminating treatable diseases like Guinea worm.
The center’s observers have monitored some 125 elections in 40 countries and three tribal nations, with Carter himself traveling to places like Nepal, Bolivia and Zimbabwe to mediate political agreements and advocate for free and fair elections. In 2002, he won a Nobel Peace Prize for his and the center’s work resolving conflicts and fighting for human rights.