Who We Are

The Perinton Congregations for the Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity is a faith-based group in Perinton. We raise funds and recruit volunteers to build homes for the Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity,  a non-denominational Christian housing ministry which welcomes people of all faiths or no faith to help eliminate poverty and substandard housing in Rochester. Since 1999 we have sponsored and built eight homes in several Rochester City neighborhoods. Partnering in 2023 with six other faith-based congregations in Monroe County, the plan is build a new home every year. We are one of the ministries of Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that is sponsored by 13 Perinton Churches.

Why Habitat

Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage.

Habitat homeowners achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and their families.

Habitat's decades of work illustrate that individuals and families thrive when they have a safe and stable
home in a safe and stable community.

Based on the most recent study Flower City for Habitat families reported:
1. A graduation rate of 98% for students in Flower City Habitat Homes
2. 72% of students pursued further education

Perinton Congregations for Greater Rochester Habitat for Humanity is led by a steering committee:

                   Sandy and Mike Joyce

History

In 1997, Flower City Habitat for Humanity asked Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc. to consider building a Habitat house. After a few organizing meetings, the Church of St. John of Rochester and a group consisting of four other Perinton churches—Church of the Assumption, Church of the Resurrection, Fairport United Methodist Church, and Perinton Community Church volunteered to raise funds and recruit volunteers to build Habitat homes. In 1999 the Church of St. John of Rochester built 30 Cuba Place and the other group of churches built 43 Cuba Place. These and other new Habitat homes on Cuba Place transformed a drug-infested street into one occupied by proud new homeowners. It has remained a successful neighborhood for the past 23 years. A few years later the five churches decided to work together, more churches joined, and the group now called Perinton Congregations for Flower City Habitat for Humanity became an official ministry of Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc. with a goal of raising funds and recruiting volunteers to build a new Habitat home every three years. Thanks to the generous support of the Perinton Faith Community eight Habitat homes have been built since 1999. See “Our Homes” for more information about the houses. This year, 2023, the Perinton Congregations has partnered with six other faith-base coalitions in Monroe County, with the plan to build a new home annually. The new coalition, Greater Rochester Interfaith Builders (aka GRIB), includes, Perinton, Penfield, Greece, Brighton, Harvest Home and Habitat Inter-Faith Partnership.

Our parent corporation, Ecumenical Ministries of Perinton, Inc. (EMP), is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) “member” corporation that serves as an umbrella corporation for a variety of ministries including the Fairport Good Neighbor Fund (administered by the Perinton Clergy Association), Prison Ministries of Upstate New York (PMUNY), and Stop the Stigma Roc (teen suicide prevention). EMP also serves as an incubator for new ministries. Each member church appoints a representative to serve on the board of directors of EMP. Directors provide oversight and guidance for the ministries and two-way communication between their churches and the ministries. EMP’s sister corporation is Perinton Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. (PEM), the corporate name of Advent House, our local comfort home for the dying. The same churches are members of both PEM and EMP and appoint the same representative to serve on both boards of directors.