We believe that
everyone
deserves a decent place to live.
Putting love into action, we bring people together to build homes, communities, and hope.
When the Holiday Inn Express in Bountiful was scheduled for demolition, hundreds of beds, desks, chairs, and tables faced an uncertain fate. Instead of sending these furnishings to a landfill, they found new homes — thanks to a collaboration between Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). Together, we transformed demolition into opportunity, creating lasting impact for families, nonprofits, and communities across Utah.
Turning Transition into Renewal
Before the building came down, UDOT reached out to Habitat to help clear out the hotel. Our Habitat ReStore team immediately stepped in, moving furniture and household items into our retail locations.
For low- to moderate-income families, these furnishings weren’t just items — they were a chance to bring stability, comfort, and dignity into their homes.
At ReStore, shoppers now access high-quality, affordable furniture while knowing every purchase directly supports our mission of building homes, communities, and hope.
Habitat Cares in Action
Through our Habitat Cares program, valuable resources extended beyond ReStore to nonprofits across the state. Together, we partnered with organizations serving Utah’s most vulnerable communities:
- Ability Inclusion Services — We set aside 12 complete bedroom sets (queen bed with frame, armoire, dresser) for their new facility in West Valley, creating welcoming spaces for residents.
- Asian Association of Utah — With support from Jess Haro at Rooms Restored and the Malouf Foundation, we donated lobby furniture to furnish a dedicated meeting space for trafficking survivors.
- Utah Women in Trades — Volunteers from this group helped us move hotel furniture and materials into trucks. They also gained access to deeply discounted linens, towels, and lamps — resources that support women entering skilled trades.
- The Other Side Academy — We provided mattress sets for their residential program and resale stores. In return, their team assisted with logistics, multiplying the reach of our shared mission.
Our ReStore delivery drivers and dock workers managed logistics and ensured every piece reached the right destination. For The Other Side Academy, the addition of new beds meant expanding their capacity and welcoming more people into safe, stable housing — a measurable increase in lives transformed.
Building Beyond the Hotel Walls
This collaboration demonstrates that Habitat’s work goes far beyond hammers and nails. By partnering with UDOT, nonprofits, and families, we gave hundreds of items a second life — turning waste into opportunity.
- For ReStore shoppers: Affordable furnishings that transform a house into a home.
- For nonprofits: Resources that strengthen programs and extend community impact.
- For individuals served: The gift of a bed, a desk, or a table — along with dignity, stability, and hope.
Together, We Build Hope
Every demolition is also a chance to build something greater. The story of the Holiday Inn Express didn’t end with rubble; it lives on in homes, classrooms, workshops, and safe places for recovery across Utah.
When we work together, we turn transition into transformation. And that’s what Habitat does best: bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope.
You can join this story. Every purchase at our Habitat ReStore helps build affordable housing right here in our community. By donating gently used items or choosing to shop sustainably, you help us reduce waste, support families, and create brighter futures across Utah.
Visit our local Habitat ReStore to shop or donate gently used items by visiting our donation website: https://restore.habitatsaltlake.org/
"When we invite people to build homes, we invite them to build communities, stability—and lasting opportunity."
Carin Crowe, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Greater Salt Lake Area—and recently named one of Utah Business’s Most Influential Women of 2025—champions collaboration and creative impact. Her leadership has balanced sustainable innovation in our ReStore (diverting 9,000+ tons from landfills while generating revenue for housing) with bold advocacy that shifts policy conversations from “if” to “how” we ensure affordable housing for all. We’re grateful for the partnerships, volunteers, donors, and community leaders who make our work possible.
Read the article from Utah Business Magazine here.
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When you picture Jimmy Carter, images of a peanut farmer turned president might spring to mind, or perhaps his Nobel-winning dedication to peace and human rights. But here’s the twist: Carter’s most transformative chapter began after his White House days, not in grand halls of power, but on construction sites with a hammer in hand. Partnering with Habitat for Humanity, Carter didn’t just build houses—he built hope, futures, and a legacy of compassion that reshaped countless lives.
The impact of President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter on Habitat for Humanity was vital to our success. Today, we join the world in mourning the death of Mr. Carter, who has been on hospice care since February 2023. He was preceded by Mrs. Carter, who died on November 19, 2023. Read Habitat for Humanity International's tribute to the Carters here.
Habitat for Humanity International has created a memory book, and we encourage you to share your remembrance.
“I think every human being has within himself or herself a desire to reach out to others and to share some of our blessings with those who are in need. What’s opened up that avenue for me and my wife and hundreds and thousands of others is Habitat for Humanity. It makes it easy for us to reach out and work side by side with the homeowner who’s never had a decent house, perhaps. I haven’t been on a Habitat project that I wasn’t thrilled and inspired and wept.”
– President Jimmy Carter
The Carters' Impact
After leaving the White House, the Carters sought out meaningful ways to continue their commitment to social justice and basic human rights. They first volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in Americus, Georgia, near their home of Plains, in March 1984. Later that same year, the Carters joined Habitat volunteers in New York City’s Lower East Side to renovate an abandoned building in partnership with families in need of affordable housing. That trip marked Habitat for Humanity’s first Jimmy Carter Work Project (later renamed the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project). Annually until 2019, the Carters volunteered with Habitat to build or improve houses alongside homeowners in communities across the United States and around the world. President Carter also served as a member of the organization’s board of directors from 1984-1987.
Throughout his tenure as head of state and in the years following, President Carter never wavered from his commitment to advancing peace, health, and human rights. Since 1984, the Carters have traveled 167,279 miles to build, repair, and rehabilitate 4,417 houses in 14 countries, working alongside 106,100 volunteers. Their final project took place in 2019, building 21 homes in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Carters and their example have rallied thousands of volunteers, supporters, and celebrities to take part in our mission, helping Habitat for Humanity become internationally recognized for our work in building decent and affordable housing. They’ve touched the lives of tens of thousands of Habitat homeowners and volunteers and inspired millions across the globe.
Learn more about the Carters' work on Habitat for Humanity's website.
Opening Doors
Locally, we created Opening Doors, an interactive tribute to the Carter's commitment to Habitat for Humanity and affordable housing. The project started out with two plain white doors, symbolizing how the Carters opened doors to brighter futures for thousands of low-income families over nearly four decades. The doors were posted at the Utah Capitol building after Mrs. Carter's death, thus beginning their transformation to art began as members of the public signed their names and wrote personal messages.
Opening Doors will be on display at various locations in Salt Lake through February. Check back for updates.
