'Helpers High' - Habitat for Humanity Women Build Day

Have you heard of a ‘helpers high’?  It’s a documented response our bodies have when we volunteer and help others. And it was clearly evident last weekend when a dozen women got together for our first Women Build day for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland. 

The day started when everyone arrived - most with little or no building experience. Our coaches/guides/experts for the day, Chad and Carson, gave us a quick orientation and overview.  (BTW - Chad likes working with all women teams - he said they always follow directions 😂😂)

Did you know that habitat homes are for people making less than 80% of the Area Median Income?  They have many applications and they go through a rigorous screening process that includes 3 qualifiers:  their need for affordable housing (this could mean their current housing is overcrowded, dilapidated or too expensive - just to name a few qualifiers), their ability to pay a low-interest mortgage, and their willingness to partner with Habitat of sweat equity.  What is that?  They agree to spend 250 volunteer hours helping work on their house and helping in the community to gain a better appreciation for the place they’ll be calling home.  What a great way to create a strong connection between the new homeowner, their home and their community!  

We were working on two neighboring homes. What sweet houses!!!  One is almost complete and the volunteers set out to do some final painting. Soon it will be home for a family from Rwanda with 3 little girls, who are very excited to be moving in soon. 

The final punch list is almost complete!  Move in Date is right around the corner!

The second home is for a single mom with two sons.  

We had 4 teams installing flooring (Luxury vinyl tile, a great choice for a family) throughout the home.

Most of the gals had never installed flooring - they had such fun learning some new skills!  

At the end of the day, we felt like we'd learned something new and made some great new friendships.  What a great way to spend the day!

Would you like to participate?  Here the link to sign up - Women Build Day.  Each participant is asked to do fund raising to contribute towards these wonderful homes.  Habitat has a great 'Go Fund Me' type of site to help with fund raising.  And there are some very cool incentives for raising more money!  One of the wonderful women on our Build Day raised over $1200!!!  So she will get all of the incentives listed in the $1,000 level below:

$250 = insulated tumbler

$500 = tumbler + 4 stemless wine glasses

$1,000 = tumbler + 4 stemless wine glasses + quarter zip sweatshirt

$1,500+ = tumbler + 4 stemless wine glasses + quarter zip sweatshirt + zippered tote bag 

Hope to see you at one of our upcoming Build days soon! 

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