Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award Recognizes HistoryMaker’s Decades of Giving Back

HistoryMaker CEO, Nelson Mitchell, is the recipient of the 2022 Hearthstone BUILDER Humanitarian Award. Since its inception in 1999, the award has donated more than $7 million to numerous charities, making it the homebuilding industry’s single largest charitable program.

This year, HistoryMaker is honored to add to that grand total and match Hearthstone’s $150,000 award for a combined $300,000. Two organizations, Homes for HOPE and The Miracle League, will split HistoryMaker’s donation – but this isn’t the first time the HistoryMaker family of companies have come together to make a difference.

BUILDING LOCALLY TO END POVERTY GLOBALLY

Homes for HOPE brings HistoryMaker and trade partners together with the goal of building and selling a home at little to no charge to maximize profits on the sale. The proceeds are used to help those living in some of the most impoverished areas around the world become more self-sufficient by providing access to micro loans, savings services, training, mentoring, and spiritual support. Homes for HOPE and HistoryMaker worked together in 2014, 2019, and look forward to continuing to support their mission.

BASEBALL IS FOR ALL

The Miracle League believes that every member of the community should be able to enjoy America’s national pastime, regardless of differences in mental and physical ability. HistoryMaker’s belief in their mission led to the sponsored construction of a handicap-accessible pavilion adjacent to Miracle League Field in Arlington as well as regular charity golf tournaments.

CULTURE OF GIVE BACK

Since the early days of building homes for soldiers returning from World War II, the Mitchell family has spent years weaving a servant’s heart into the fabric of the company that has lasted through decades of growth and change.

HistoryMaker’s forefathers built a tradition of charity that inspires the generations after to foster this culture of giving back. Having spent over 17 years with the company, Director of Construction Casey Jones has witnessed exactly this: “To be able to work with likeminded people who have a heart to serve and want to do the right thing because it's the right thing to do - it's a culture I haven't been a part of anywhere else.”

Part of the legacy that’s been handed down started with Nelson Mitchell’s father and 3rd-generation CEO Bryan Mitchell, Sr. In 2021, Texas A&M University’s Department of Construction Science inducted him into the Constructor Hall of Fame for his years of service to the program’s students and faculty through endowments, scholarships, curriculum development, and internships that continue today with HistoryMaker’s newest generation.

Thanks to four-generations of family-focused, Christ-centered values, HistoryMaker sees a unique passion for philanthropy cultivated by their own employees, as evidenced by the Joy of Giving program. Every year, each community’s sales and construction teams receive an allotted amount to gift to a charity or organization of their choice. The program gives employees true ownership over give back initiatives that directly impact the communities they build in, hoping to snowball efforts and inspire other community members to do the same.

"The give back culture at HistoryMaker has introduced the concept of giving to team members who may not have had that opportunity in the past.” Director of Culture Cindy Culpepper speaks to the Joy of Giving’s butterfly effect, “We have seen how that has grown, blossomed, and how so many of our team members have built relationships in the communities they serve.”

In 2021 alone, through the Joy of Giving program, HistoryMaker impacted organizations and initiatives like I Can Still Shine, Toys for Tots, Cloud 9 Charities, Say Never Network, Youth With a Mission, Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, and Northwest Assistance Ministries. These charities are in addition to various chambers of commerce, animal shelters, school districts, police, and fire departments in cities like Royse City, Van Alstyne, Celina, Terrell, Cleburne, Denton, and Katy.

For Nelson, in an industry that’s been at the forefront of an ever-changing economic and social landscape, there’s never been a more important time to keep this unique piece of HistoryMaker’s culture thriving.

“I don’t think at the end of our life people are going to worry about how much money we made, how many possessions we accumulated,” He notes, “but really measure how many people did we help and what impact did we have on the world around us.”