The following is a speech from Habitat Wake founder Rick Beech, delivered to the Apex Town Council on February 10, 2026

I have lived in Apex since 1998. I love living at the “Peak of Good Living”. I was fortunate to move here when families with modest incomes, including many public servants, could afford to live here. I passionately speak tonight with the hope that Apex could again be a place where public servants can live and serve here. I plead for the Town’s help so that the dream of serving and living in Apex does not stop with my generation.

Last week, Habitat Homeowner Rae joined nearly 500 Habitat for Humanity leaders, supporters and homeowners in Washington, D.C. to participate in the annual Habitat on the Hill Conference. This gathering provides a platform for Habitat affiliates across the nation to meet with lawmakers and urge them to act on affordable housing solutions. For Rae, it was also an opportunity to share her story directly with her representatives.

"The very first time we volunteered with Habitat the weather was terrible and they had us dig footings out with shovels. As we were driving home that night, we both said, ‘We will never do this again.’”

Amy and Joel would never have imagined that years later they would be at the Habitat Wake construction site every week...for fun!

Their journey into regular volunteering with Habitat was gradual.

Chyna is used to caring for others. As a healthcare worker in Wake County, she spends her days (and nights) monitoring patients through some of their hardest moments. But the cost of housing in Wake County has left her little time to care for herself. 

“I was juggling a lot of overtime hours at my job,” she said. “Day in and day out working 12, sometimes 16 hours, just to make ends meet.”

At the center of it all was housing. Chyna was navigating a rental market that continuously moved the goalpost.

“Right now, we are standing in our future home. It’s still just the bones of a house, but soon it’s going to be so much more.”

A few years ago, Joseph and Maria packed up their life and moved across the country to North Carolina. They were searching for new opportunities and a place where homeownership might one day be possible.

Walking through the framed walls of their future home, it was clear that this moment was the culmination of years spent working toward a stable, joyful future.

If you ever swing by a Habitat Wake construction site and see the Cardinal Gibbons High School bus parked nearby, you're in for something special. Sure, there's a bit more goofy energy going around than usual (Picture: 30 high school seniors at 9am in hardhats). But there's also something special happening here: young adults are laying the foundation for a lifetime of service and community engagement. 

Throughout the year, scattered legacy doors have been gathering signatures and messages in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, tributing his decades of service and dedication to Habitat that have inspired generations of affordable housing advocates.

The doors have been featured in five Triangle ReStore locations and at several events throughout Habitat Wake’s 40th year, showcasing the community’s collective dedication to building homes, communities and hope.

When Habitat for Humanity of Wake County was just beginning in the 1980s, Raleigh business leader Tommy Fonville was among the first to step in to support affordable housing in the Triangle. Forty years later, his daughter Mary Burr Edwards is carrying on that mission.

Their story is one of legacy, but more importantly, it’s about how families and businesses can make a lasting impact by investing in the community they call home.

Habitat for Humanity of Wake County announces the Pope Leo campaign

In the summer of 2024, Gretchen was caught off guard when her best friend, Mica, suddenly asked, “Hey, what’s your gross income? How long have you lived in Wake County?”

Gretchen laughed, unsure what was happening. “I was like, I have no idea what you’re doing—but here you go.”

What Gretchen didn’t realize at the time was that Mica was filling out a Habitat for Humanity of Wake County application on her behalf.