Jane Schwarz: Making the World a Better Place
By Zoe Trout
After spending “38 long hot years in Houston, Texas,” Jane Schwarz and her husband, who is an artist and musician, moved to Asheville. They were attracted to our City’s artistic community– and because being a vegetarian in Houston made her an anomaly.
While living in Texas, Jane volunteered on the construction site at Houston Habitat for Humanity. Now, you can find her at the front desk of Asheville Area Habitat’s administrative office on Monday afternoons answering the phone, greeting visitors, and taking payments from home repair clients. Jane enjoys interacting with so many different people and being close to the mission. She loves the excitement of people when they turn in their applications for homeownership because they have worked so hard to get to the point of application and they have so much hope for their futures. Jane always says, “Good luck! I hope you get to buy a house!”
Jane’s energy and enthusiasm is contagious and she believes in the impact of the Habitat model to lift up families through homeownership. “I think Habitat’s mission crosses political lines; and it’s not a hand out, it’s a hand up.”
Her passion for volunteering doesn’t end with Habitat. She is also a member of P.E.O. International, a women’s organization that raises money for scholarships for women all over the world; and she organizes neighborhood clean-up days in Fairview.
Creativity drove Jane’s professional past. She worked as an Interior Designer and at one point owned her own interior design business. She sold commercial wallcovering for part of her career, calling on architects and designers who would specify her product in large commercial jobs like schools, hospitals, and hotels. And, Jane loves remodeling projects of all sorts.
She continues to feed her creative spirit here in Asheville, by storytelling, regularly participating on The Moth, and taking a writing course through the Great Smokies Writing Program at UNC Asheville.
Jane always has a smile and a kind word for anyone who walks through the door and her creativity brings a burst of energy to our office. When asked why she volunteers, she notes that her children are grown, she no longer runs her own business, and she finally has the time to get more involved and to give back more. With a deep belief in our mission, Jane said, “I think the world is a better place because of Habitat.” Well Jane, we think the world is better because of you! Thank you for sharing your time, talent and creative energy with us.
