Habitat Choptank Plans All Women Built House

Habitat for Humanity Choptank is challenging women from around the community to raise a hammer to help create safe and affordable housing in partnership with a local working family. The nonprofit home builder is announcing plans for its next Women Build house, with the goal of completing a single family home that is built and funded entirely by women. The start of construction is schedule for 2015 with a groundbreaking to take place during National Women Build Week in May.

To help build momentum for this project, Habitat Choptank will be hosting special build days and fundraising events over the next year like those held during the most recent National Women Build Week. Over the course of that week, women volunteers of all ages and backgrounds came out to help with final landscaping on a single family home at 707 Wright Street in Cambridge which has since been sold. Volunteers also worked at 716 Rigby Avenue, a house Habitat has acquired to renovate. The future buyer for that home was among the volunteers there helping to install a new fence around the yard, power wash the siding, and remove all the finishes from the interior of the home. The week also included an evening garden party at the home of Susan Granville as an opportunity to bring together women supporters.

Habitat Choptank will be recruiting women volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to join a volunteer crew in support of the next Women Build home. No prior experience in construction is required. Groundbreaking is planned for May 2015. To build momentum for the project, Habitat will be hosting special women build work days like those recently held during National Women Build Week. Here, a Friday afternoon work crew pauses during renovation of a house at 716 Rigby Avenue in Cambridge.
Photo By: Ted Mueller

Women Build is Habitat for Humanity’s initiative to empower and engage women who want to learn construction skills and build homes and impact communities. This program brings together women from all walks of life to address the housing crisis facing millions of women and children worldwide. No experience is necessary and there are many ways to participate in addition to swinging a hammer on the jobsite.

The Women Build project is already gaining momentum. Habitat Choptank has acquired a lot at 130 Hammond Street in Easton and seed funds have been raised toward the total goal of $96,000 to cover the costs of permitting, building materials, and utility connections.

Since 1992, Habitat Choptank has empowered 63 low-income families from Talbot and Dorchester counties to build a better future for themselves through home ownership. Each family contributed 300-400 hours of “sweat equity” in the building of those houses and purchased their home with a 20 to 30-year no interest Habitat mortgage. Currently, five future buyers are working through Habitat’s multi-step partnership program toward the goal of becoming successful home owners. For information about home ownership, to volunteer with Habitat Choptank or to make a donation, visit www.habitatchoptank.org or call 410-476-3204

Plans for Habitat Choptank’s next Women Build house were announced at a recent garden party at the home of Susan Granville. Supporters at the event included (left to right) Joyce Doehler, Laurie Roysdon, Susan Granville, and Rooney Stencil.
Photo By: Jill Jasuta