Habitat for Humanity and Christian Music Artists Put Faith Into Action at Nashville Build

Habitat for Humanity and Christian Music Artists Put Faith Into Action at Nashville Build

NASHVILLE, Tenn., April 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Habitat for Humanity, Word Entertainment and a host of Christian recording artists are putting faith into action through a partnership to build a decent, affordable house in partnership with a Nashville family in need during the Gospel Music Association Music Week.

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Christian recording artists from Word Entertainment, including Stellar Kart, David Phelps, Mark Schultz, Pocket Full Of Rocks, Point Of Grace, Mark Roach, Building 429, Big Daddy Weave's Mike Weaver and Jeremy Redmon, BarlowGirl, pureNRG, Group 1 Crew and Salvador's Nic Gonzales will help build.

The house will be framed on Monday, April 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Tuesday, April 24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., to build wall panels for a house. Following building on Tuesday, a dedication ceremony and concert is planned from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. to honor the partnership and Habitat family.

The artists will join staff from Habitat for Humanity International, Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity and volunteers from Habitat campus chapters at Belmont and Vanderbilt universities. Construction will take place at the 4th and Commerce streets parking lot across from the convention center located in downtown Nashville. The completed frame will be used for the annual Music Row build, sponsored by music-industry professionals.

"Word Label Group and our recording artists are excited to partner with Habitat for Humanity to build a home with a Nashville area family and raise awareness for the need for more affordable housing," said Jim Van Hook, CEO of Word Entertainment. "We are pleased to devote our resources and time to a project that will have a lasting impact in our community."

The event is part of GMA Music Week activities, culminating in the 38th annual Dove Awards, Christian and gospel music's biggest night of the year held at the Grand Ole Opry House.

"The GMA is thrilled that so many artists are participating in this build which represents the perfect opportunity to join faith with works," said John W. Styll, president and CEO of the Gospel Music Association. "We believe it is essential to our industry's mission that the message in our music is supported by actions that represent the gospel."

The project marks the second time GMA industry members have collaborated. In 2004, as part of a project known as 'Faith Works,' GMA members worked with Habitat to help a Franklin, Tenn., family achieve the dream of homeownership. According to Habitat's chief executive officer, the need for adequate, affordable housing is still great.

"The need for decent shelter around the world remains immense, and Habitat for Humanity will never overcome it alone," said Jonathan Reckford, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity International. "Partners like Word Entertainment and the GMA help us deliver a lasting impact in the lives of families across the globe who urgently need an adequate home, yet who cannot qualify for conventional home-lending programs. These families work hard to build their Habitat homes, then buy them on no-profit terms they can afford- illustrating that the more we can direct our individual strengths toward a common goal, the greater the impact we can make collaboratively for those who need help most."

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in Americus, Ga., in 1976, Habitat has built more than 225,000 houses in nearly 100 countries, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1 million people. For more information, visit www.habitat.org .

About Gospel Music Association

Founded in 1964, the Gospel Music Association serves the Christian/gospel music community and is dedicated to exposing, promoting and celebrating the gospel through music of all styles including pop, rock, praise & worship, black gospel, R&B, hip hop, southern gospel, country, and more. On behalf of its 4,000 members which include agents, artists, church leaders, managers, promoters, radio personnel, record company executives, retailers and songwriters, the GMA produces the GMA Dove Awards, which recognizes achievement in all genres of Gospel music and is the premiere television awards show for Christian/gospel music. Other programs presented by the GMA are GMA Music Week, GMA Music in the Rockies and the GMA Academy. GMA is also actively engaged in advocacy efforts with members of Congress and other governmental agencies on issues like copyright protections, digital rights and music piracy. For more information, visit www.gospelmusic.org and www.doveawards.com .

About Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity

NAHFH is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization committed to providing families with the life changing opportunity to purchase decent, affordable homes. The agency consistently ranks in the top 1 percent of all Habitat affiliates and has quadrupled in size since 2002. NAHFH built a record 50 homes in 2006 - 38 locally and 12 abroad. As of December, 2006, 1012 family members, including 672 children have been served by NAHFH. To request an application or to receive more information about NAHFH, call 615-254-HOME or visit www.habitatnashville.org .

About Word Entertainment

Word Entertainment, a Warner/Curb company, is comprised of Word Distribution, Word Music and Word Label Group's Word Records, Fervent Records, Myrrh Records and Word Music Publishing. Leading the industry with over 50 years of music making history, Word Entertainment represents some of Christian entertainment's top brands, including award-winning artists Amy Grant, Selah, BarlowGirl, Mark Schultz, Point Of Grace, Randy Travis, Natalie Grant, Aaron Shust, Big Daddy Weave, Nicole C. Mullen, Stellar Kart and Building429, in addition to Big Idea's successful VeggieTales video series.

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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050501/NYSU020LOGO
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Source: Habitat for Humanity

CONTACT: Duane Bates, +1-404-733-3079, dbates@habitat.org, or Nakia
Fowler, +1-404-962-3445, nfowler@habitat.org, or Ashley Webster,
+1-615-969-2373, ashweb@comcast.net, all of Habitat for Humanity

Web site:

http://www.habitat.org/
http://www.gospelmusic.org/
http://www.doveawards.com/
http://www.habitatnashville.org/

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