Why I’m involved in Women Build…

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that I have always had an interest in and last year I had the opportunity to participate in Habitat’s Women Build program with the ‘Dream Builder’ team.  Women Build teams assist in building homes for families that need ‘a hand up, not a hand out’.  Last year we helped build a home for Vicki and attended the ribbon cutting ceremony where she was handed the keys to the very first home she had ever owned – it was an extremely moving experience for all of us and we are excited to fundraise and help another family this year. 

Owning a home is a dream come true for all Americans, but to a habitat family - it is life changing.  Home ownership instils a sense of pride and stability for these families perhaps for the first time in their lives. I have also had an opportunity to become a member of the Habitat Family Support Committee.  We meet monthly and participate in many aspects of the process families must go through to become a Habitat Homeowner.  I used to think that the houses built by Habitat were free to the recipient and this is simply not so. 

• Qualifying to become a Habitat homeowner is a rigorous and time consuming process
• Families must meet minimum income requirements and sustain this level prior to and throughout the process
• It can take from 1 to 3 years for a qualified family to close on their new home and move in
• Homeowners must complete training classes that teach everything from handling finances to home maintenance – months of training! 
• Homeowners must put in 200 hours of sweat equity on their home; that’s 200 hours on the build site
• Last but not least, Habitat homeowners do have to pay a monthly mortgage payment

If you are interested in joining with us to build a home for a deserving family, we would love to have you as part of our team.  As part of the team, you will build relationships with like-minded women, the satisfaction of physically building a home, and an undeniable sense of community in helping a deserving family realize their dream.  As a team member, we ask each person to raise a minimum of $350; our team goal for 2019 is $10,500.

If you would like to participate, but don’t have the time to join our team directly, I would be most grateful if you could assist me in reaching my fundraising goal of $1000.  If you are able, please donate now.  As soon as Dream Builders raises $3500, we can select our first build date and with each additional $3500 we can select another date.  Build days will be sometime in April or early May.

Please join me, let’s build a dream ~

Renee