International Women’s Day is a day of celebration for the Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Women Build initiative; not only do all 15 exclusively female volunteer construction teams embody the vision of this holiday, but it also marks the kickoff of their latest home renovation project for low-income women homeowners, occurring annually since 2012.
This year, Women Build is renovating two homes in Ypsilanti for women homeowners and their families, with a $65,000 fundraising goal. By the completion of these projects, hundreds of women will have contributed hundreds of volunteer hours in the typically male-dominated field of construction. Since Women Build first began twenty years ago in 2002, they have completed twenty homes in the West Willow, Gault Village, and Sugarbrooke neighborhoods of Ypsilanti. This year, the Young and Campbell Families have been selected to purchase a newly renovated, high efficiency home.
Renovations are completed by teams of all-women volunteers, with six to eight volunteers per team. Team Leaders have a fundraising goal of $800, which if attained, will allow them to have a closed volunteer day of their choosing on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday from March 8-May 21, 2022. In addition to volunteers’ fundraising, Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley also have a variety of sponsorships and partnerships with local businesses, like Zingerman’s Deli. Zingerman’s Deli is celebrating their 40-year anniversary with a donation match the entire month of March up to $40,000 for the 2022 Women Build season. If you are interested in your business becoming a sponsor, click here.
Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley also offers individual volunteer opportunities. A public build event will be held Saturday, April 9 from 9 am – 4 pm. They are seeking 6-8 volunteers for this event. Another event is planned for Saturday, May 21 at the West Willow Community Resource Center. At least 15 volunteers are needed for this event, which will include yard cleanup, planting flowers, and other neighborhood beautification activities. You can find the information regarding these events here.
Please note, all volunteers are required to complete a liability waiver prior to entering the site. Minors who are at least 16 years old may volunteer, but a minor liability waiver will need to be completed prior to the event and must be accompanied by a legal guardian at all times. Contact Leah Tessman at ltessman@h4h.org for more information.
If you would like to support this empowering initiative but are unable to volunteer or become a sponsor, you may make individual donations or shop at the Huron Valley Restore, which sells lightly used home improvement materials – like a thrift store for home repair and/or improvement.
Restore is open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 am – 6 pm at 6241 Jackson Rd in Ann Arbor. www.h4h.org/shopthestore.
Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley 950 Victor’s Way, Suite 50, Ann Arbor. (734) 677-1558 www.h4h.org . Please note – currently closed to the public. Phone calls and emails are encouraged.
