Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the annual Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award—sponsored Hearthstone and BUILDER—recognizes home builders and developers who demonstrate a lifetime commitment to public service.
Since its inception in 1999, the award has contributed $7.65 million to various deserving charities, making it the single largest charitable award program in the home building industry.
“As we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award, we celebrate the unwavering dedication of home builders who help those who are less fortunate,” says Mark Porath, CEO of Hearthstone. “The home building community's countless hours of work and large contributions of financial resources to help make a difference in people's lives are inspiring.”
The 2024 winner will be recognized during an in-person awards ceremony at Builder 100 in Dana Point, California, on May 6. Before the announcement, let's reflect on some of the humanitarians we've celebrated in the past 10 years.
2023: Recognized as a collective company, Meritage Homes’ core values “start with heart.” For almost 40 years, executive chairman Steven Hilton and CEO Phillippe Lord have helped forge partnerships and rally the entire Meritage team to support countless charitable causes, including No Child Goes Hungry, Habitat for Humanity, Arbor Day Foundation, and more.
2022: As a fourth-generation home builder, HistoryMaker Homes CEO Nelson Mitchell has a servant heart that has been passed down through generations. Under Mitchell's leadership, HistoryMaker has raised more than $14 million dollars for children with disabilities, impoverished communities, veterans, and the homeless.
2021: Taylor Morrison's chairman and CEO Sheryl Palmer fosters a workplace that continually gives back. The company’s employee-value proposition, called TMLiving, includes daily huddles that allow employees to have regular conversations about everyone’s charitable efforts and provide inspiring examples of how team members give back to their communities.
2021: Edward Burr, the CEO of GreenPointe Holdings, started the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, an after-school program designed to educate and empower children against abuse, bullying and victimization, in honor of his late wife. The foundation has educated more than 5 million children in Florida.
2020: Pulte’s Built to Honor program constructs mortgage-free homes for military veterans and their families. Each home represents $400,000 in donations and gives U.S. veterans the chance to experience what some would consider the ultimate American dream: owning their own home.
2020: Great Southern Homes’ Michael Nieri has contributed to educational institutions that helped shape him, like Clemson University, and to local charities that will create a positive impact in the community in which he builds, such as Camp Cole and the Building Industry Charitable Foundation.
2019: Hayden Watson of Oregon–based builder Hayden Homes has a passion for making houses available to those who otherwise might not be able to afford them. His First Story charity, founded in 1998, helps prospective homeowners qualify for mortgages on newly constructed homes from his company.
2018: Pat Hamill of Oakwood Homes aimed to train the next generation of construction talent. He created the Colorado Homebuilding Academy, a learning lab that seeks to educate students—from high schoolers to adults looking for a job change—about a career in home building and provide them with hands-on construction experience.
2017: DeNova Homes’ David and Lori Sanson have completed some major fundraising efforts over the years. From dining halls for the homeless and hungry to remodeling a domestic violence shelter to involvement with HomeAid, the duo love “to build, raise money, and work to support populations of fellow Californians who need others' help.”
2016: Chris Gaffney, group president at Toll Brothers at the time, supported the work of Covenant House, a national organization that serves homeless youths or kids in crisis. Gaffney inspired a movement by recruiting friends and colleagues while also giving hope and opportunity to hundreds of young children.
2015: Dan Ryan of Dan Ryan Builders made community giving a priority for over 30 years. From schools and youth programs to affordable housing and hospitals, the Maryland builder made significant financial donations, donated his time, and participated in many local nonprofit boards and committees.
2014: Bert Selva of Shea Homes served for 11 years on HomeAid’s board of directors and worked to provide housing for homeless families, victims of natural disasters, and veterans. At the time, the builder had built eight HomeAid shelter projects and contributed nearly $850,000 to HomeAid and its chapters.