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For the first time since President Jimmy Carter's passing, more than 1,000 volunteers, including his son, Chip Carter, have gathered in Austin, Texas for the 39th annual Habitat for Humanity Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project. Chip chuckles in an exclusive interview with HELLO! that this year feels different since he's the one doing the press, but calls it an honor to be there with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that his late parents, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter loved. "[Dad] considered everybody that became a Habitat volunteer to be one of the most special people on Earth. So it wasn't like he was better than they were. It was like we're all in this together, and we had a house to raise and it worked every time," Chip, 75, tells HELLO!. "Dad and mom both were not pretentious. They believed that they were just as good, that nobody was better than them, but they weren't better than anybody, and they trained us children to believe that as we grew up, and it's really helped us all, I think, to be able to give more to nonprofits and more of our time to helping people that have less than we do." From October 26 through October 31, volunteers in Austin will build 25 homes as part of the project, which raises awareness for affordable housing. "We can never replace President and Mrs. Carter, but we know the best way to honor their work is to continue the work," Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity, tells HELLO!. "And we want to use this week to continue to raise attention. And as we say, build homes, but also build community and build hope." Continuing his parents' legacy is "really important" to Chip as it was such a big part of the former president and first lady's lives. "When dad got out of office and didn't want to retire, he was too young, he started the Carter Center, and he was trying to figure out a way to get the public involved in nonprofits, and Habitat became the way to do that for him and I want to try to do it," Chip shares. Jimmy passed away on December 29, 2024, just over a year after his beloved wife, Rosalynn, died on November 19, 2023. Beyond their humanitarian work, part of the couple's legacy is their enduring love story. Asked how he hopes people will remember his parents, Chip responds: "I hope they'll respect them as human beings and respect what they try to do across the world. They changed a lot of people's lives in this world, and it's been a pleasure to see that." The former first son went on to recall his father's state funeral, which took place on January 9 and was attended by five US presidents: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. "When dad died, we had this funeral all over Washington and Atlanta and whatever, and it was pretty much run by Republicans. It showed non-partisanship, I think, and they honored dad because of his integrity, and I think his religious beliefs, and I was really pleased that it was almost non-partisan, the whole thing was," Chip reflects. "So I think that's one of the big things he liked about Habitat, was that you didn't have any idea whether that guy handing you the nails or a hammer or working next to you was a Democrat or a Republican. It didn't matter. You could just talk about everything and hardly ever did politics come up. And I think that was one of the things my parents really loved about the organization." With the one-year anniversary of his father's death approaching, Chip admits that he celebrates his late father's life "every day." He shares: "I think about what he's taught me, and my mother — it's the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Foundation, the children were exceedingly happy when they added mom's name to that list — and I think, you know, just to give of yourself and that you're not better than anybody else, but nobody else is better than you. I think those are the big things that they taught us and it's something I try to live with." Chip continues: "Of course, nobody's perfect, certainly not me, but my mother told me that you could do anything for 20 minutes except hold your breath. In Habitat, you could do the same thing. 20 minutes, you can learn how to hammer, so it works that way."
