Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, Oxnard CA (March 17, 2014) – Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County has been awarded $100,000 from Thrivent Financial to build a home in Santa Paula. This will be the fourth home built in partnership with Thrivent in Ventura County.

This award will enable the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate to fund fifty percent of the construction costs for a single-family home. In addition to the Thrivent award, California Lutheran University has committed $25,000 as part of the 2014 Thrivent Builds partnership with Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County. Additional faith-based organizations will join together to fully fund the home.

“Working in partnership with Habitat families to help them build or repair their homes is an inspiring experience,” said Dave Harrington, a local financial representative with Thrivent Financial. “I enjoy working alongside members – who generously donate their time and talents – to strengthen our community.”

The Thrivent funding is part of an ongoing partnership between Thrivent Financial and Habitat for Humanity International. Through the partnership called Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity, Thrivent members, Habitat affiliates and others partner with families across the U.S. and around the world to provide affordable housing and stronger, generous communities. Thrivent Builds inspires members to live generously.

Thrivent Financial is committing $12 million nationally to the 2014 partnership. From the national partnership’s inception in 2005 through 2014, Thrivent Financial and its members have now committed more than $200 million and more than 4 million volunteer hours across the globe.

"Our shared commitment to service makes California Lutheran University, Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent Financial great partners,” said Chris Kimball, President. Our students and staff have long worked with Habitat to build houses for people in need, and we are pleased that this donation will help provide another deserving family with a new home."

The funding will be used to serve families and mobilize volunteers through three programs within the Thrivent Builds partnership: Thrivent Builds Homes, Thrivent Builds Repairs, and Thrivent Builds Worldwide. Since the beginning of the partnership and including the homes for 2014, more than 2,000 Thrivent Builds Homes will have been built across the country. Through the Thrivent Builds Repairs program, Thrivent members and others demonstrate generosity as they help repair existing homes in partnership with families who don’t have the resources or ability to make the repairs themselves. Thrivent Builds Worldwide allows Thrivent members and others to give financially and volunteer their time as they travel to international or domestic locations for a week or more at a time to build Habitat homes and experience other cultures.

“We are extremely grateful to Thrivent Financial and California Lutheran University for their continued support of Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County,” said Steve Dwyer, Executive Director. “Because of this support, more families will have a safe, affordable place to call home.”

Thrivent Financial remains the largest non-governmental supporter of Habitat for Humanity International.

For more information about Thrivent Builds programs or to volunteer, visit Thriventbuilds.com. For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County or to volunteer, visit www.habitatventura.org.

Thrivent Financial is represented in the local area by:
Sherith L. Squires, 771 E. Daily Drive, Ste 310, Camarillo, CA 93010, 805-484-0081
Lisa Marie Higginbotham, 484 Mobile Ave., Ste 17, Camarillo CA 93010, 805-910-5048
Dave P. Harrington, 771 E. Daily Dr., Ste 310, Camarillo CA 93010, 805-484-0081
Jeffrey C. Beeh, 674 County Square Dr., Ste 308d, Ventura CA 93003, 805-644-4790

About Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County
Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County is a locally-run and locally-funded affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Over the past 30 years, 56 new home builds have provided homeownership opportunities for families in need and hundreds of homes have been repaired, providing a safe, clean, decent living environment for lower income homeowners. The newer Preserve a Home program is being embraced by several cities and the County of Ventura as they see the positive impact Habitat has on families, neighborhoods and the community overall. At Habitat for Humanity, we believe that everyone everywhere deserves a decent place to live. For Habitat’s new home program, low- to very-low income families are selected based on their need for housing, ability to repay a zero-interest, no-profit loan, and willingness to partner with Habitat for Humanity. We offer a “hand up”, not a hand out, empowering families who are willing to work hard to achieve their dream of homeownership. Each Habitat for Humanity homeowner invests hundreds of hours to help build their home, and then purchases it with an affordable, zero interest mortgage. Habitat currently has enough donated properties to build 28 simple, decent homes for families in Ventura County. To build these homes we need donations of time, talents and funding from faith groups, businesses, and individual donations In order to complete our next 8 homes on Cemetery Road in Santa Paula. For more information about Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County, visit www.habitatventura.org or call (805) 485-6065, x200.

Habitat for Humanity’s Mission: Seeking to put God’s love into action, Habitat for Humanity brings people together to build homes, communities and hope.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International's vision is a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Anchored by the conviction that housing provides a critical foundation for breaking the cycle of poverty, Habitat has helped more than 4 million people construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes since 1976. Habitat also advocates to improve access to decent and affordable shelter and supports a variety of funding models that enable families with limited resources to make needed improvements on their homes as their time and resources allow. As a nonprofit Christian housing organization, Habitat works in more than 70 countries and welcomes people of all races, religions and nationalities to partner in its mission. To learn more, donate or volunteer visit habitat.org.

Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is a multi-year, multi-million dollar partnership between Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and Habitat for Humanity International. Thrivent Builds is designed to involve Thrivent members and Lutherans in helping provide a “hand up” to people in need of affordable housing, offering them a path to greater economic independence. Excluding government funding, Thrivent Builds with Habitat for Humanity is Habitat's largest single source of funding, constructing and repairing more than 3,500 homes in the U.S. and around the world since 2005. For more information, visit ThriventBuilds.com.

About Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is a faith-based, Fortune 500 financial services membership organization helping its nearly 2.5 million members to be wise with money and to live generous lives. Thrivent Financial and its affiliates offer a broad range of financial products and services. As a not-for-profit organization, Thrivent Financial joins with its members to create and support national outreach programs and activities that help congregations, schools, charitable organizations and individuals in need. For more information, visit Thrivent.com. Also, you can find us on Facebook and Twitter.

About California Lutheran University
Founded in 1959, California Lutheran University's dedicated, accomplished faculty works with small classes of undergraduate and graduate students who are open-minded—about ideas, about people, and about faith—and are seeking to grow as individuals. Both in the classroom and outside of it, everyone at Cal Lutheran is committed to helping each student pursue their passions to discover their purpose, and follow that purpose to transform their community—and the world. Through our undergraduate programs, we offer 36 majors, 34 minors, and 7 pre-professional programs. Additionally, our accelerated Bachelor's Degree for Professionals is designed to meet the needs of part-time returning adult students. Our highly regarded graduate programs include degrees in business, computer science, education, psychology, public policy and administration, and theology, with doctorates in educational leadership, higher education leadership and clinical psychology. We also offer post-graduate credentials and certifications.