The word “home” can conjure up many memories and emotions for anyone you may talk to, regardless of culture or stage of life. For many, home is a place of safety, love, and care–but for others, this is not the case. In today’s world, a stunning 1 billion people–mothers and fathers, children and elderly–don’t have adequate shelter, something that most would consider a basic human need.
When Brett Hagler took a trip to Haiti, he saw families surviving in tents and shacks pieced together from leftover materials. Devastated by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2010, the people of Haiti had never been able to recover adequate living conditions, which has been aggravated by an uncontrollable outbreak of cholera. On top of this, Haiti was put into a state of emergency by Hurricane Matthew in 2016–and the sight of the Haitians’ suffering prompted Brett and two of his friends to find a way to make a difference.
Enter New Story Charity–an innovative, upfront non-profit that looks to provide safe housing at affordable prices for donors to some of the world’s most needy areas. New Story was the first non-profit to receive funding by the start-up giant Y Combinator, whose work with businesses like Instacart and AirBnb made them a perfect fit for the unique and humane mission of New Story.
New Story Charity, with funding and challenge from Y Combinator, went on to build 113 homes in Haiti in just a month in their first venture. Just in the last few years, they have expanded to four countries, started 16 new communities, built 2,300 homes, and have directly impacted over 11,000 lives.
Most recently, their work went viral when they, along with ICON, unveiled a 3D printer at the 2018 SXSW. This printer can produce a home every 24 hours, for only $4,000–⅔ of the price of the previous homes. This printer is already being put to work in El Salvador, saving time and money to provide families with safe homes as soon as possible.
When you give towards a home at New Story, you’ll be giving 100% of your funds towards the building of a home in a needy community, for both local materials and local labor. Through New Story, you will get to find out exactly where your donation is being put to work, who it is impacting, and the finished results.
At Self Assured Storage, we love home and we want everyone to be able to enjoy a safe place to live. As a local business, we love to hear what innovators around the world are doing to improve life for so many, and we love when they let us become a part of it. Take a look for yourself at New Story Charity’s work in the last few years, and consider partnering with them to provide families around the globe with a stable roof over their heads.
Locally, we are excited about partnering with homeowners to make their houses safe, comfortable, and inviting places to be. Sometimes that means taking control when too much stuff gets in the way–what a good problem to have! Give our experts at Self Assured Storage a call today so we can get you a self-storage unit and clear some space for more memory making in your home!
