Habitat South Central New Jersey’s Women Build was held on March 8 in Cherry Hill on property donated by the township.
Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build, an initiative that empowers women to help provide housing for other females in their communities, conducted a week-long project during the week of March 2 in Cherry Hill.
“Habitat’s Women Build volunteers come together from all walks of life to build stronger, safer communities, honoring Habitat’s mission to build homes, community and hope,” said Annie Fox, chief development officer for Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey (SCNJ).
Women Build brings together the community and volunteers in an effort to address the challenges women often face with housing.
“Women and children make up the majority of people populating Habitat neighborhoods, and they are the most likely to be affected by poor living conditions,” Fox explained. “Women Build events provide the opportunity for women to take a proactive step in serving their communities.”
Women Build construction sites are less intimidating than the typical Habitat for Humanity projects, so they attract more females to learn new skills they can use to repair and maintain their own homes, according to Fox. The March 8 event drew about 50 area volunteers to property donated by the township.
“The property includes an existing home,” Fox said ahead of the build, “that will gain an addition and be rehabbed and readied as a new Habitat affordable home.”
Construction volunteers are drawn from all backgrounds and walks of life, explained said Laura Van Booven, director of community engagement for Habitat for Humanity of SCNJ.
“Every volunteer has their own motivations, but for this event specifically, it’s usually the desire to come together with fellow women for a day of empowerment, learning and community building,” she noted. “Volunteers … include existing and future Habitat homeowners who are volunteering ‘sweat equity’ hours toward their new homes.”
More than 1,800 individuals volunteered on Habitat SCNJ’s build sites and in its ReStore retail locations in the past year, Fox noted. Week-long Women Build events include writing letters of inspiration to future female homeowners.
“We are so invested in sharing our strengths with members of the community, and delighted to host these events during Women Build Week so that we may empower local women,” Fox said. “The impact of their participation will last beyond this week, and we are so pleased to team up with volunteers, partner families, and women from all walks of life as we continue our work of building homes, community and hope.”
The program started in 1991 when a group of females in Charlotte, North Carolina, completed the first women-built Habitat for Humanity house. Women Build was officially designated in 1998. Volunteers have completed new homes, repairs and renovations in 650 communities in the U.S., according to Fox, and more than 5,700 homes have benefited from their work across the country.
“Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program manages, mobilizes, trains and empowers women,” Fox emphasized. “While men aren’t excluded, the program strives to create an inclusive and collaborative atmosphere specifically for women to help themselves and their neighbors improve their living conditions.”
Habitat for Humanity does not give away houses; instead, future homeowners partner with local affiliates and volunteers to build or rehabilitate a home and pay an affordable mortgage, according to the organization’s website.
“Using professional and volunteer labor, Habitat builds single-family homes on land purchased from or donated by the community,” Fox said. “Eligible families and individuals demonstrate a need for housing, an ability to pay and a willingness to partner.”
For more information about Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey, visit https://www.habitatscnj.org/.
