Women Build is an International Habitat program that encourages women to make a difference by building homes and communities. Women Build celebrates the compassion, dedication, talents and abilities of women from all walks of life. Its goal is to both showcase the accomplishments of Habitat’s women volunteers and to invite more women to join the effort to provide decent, safe, affordable housing for local families.

In June 2010, Habitat dedicated its ninth Women Build home.  This home is located in the Corazon del Pueblo neighborhood and was part of our 2009 Building Freedom Day – Mandana and her two daughters very happy to be there!

The eleventh Women Build home was started on September 11, 2011 at our annual Building Freedom Day with hopes of completion in May 2012.

Building Freedom Day 09/11/10

Last year on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Habitat for Humanity Tucson raised the walls on four new homes for hardworking Tucson families at Building Freedom Day. This year, with the help of many generous donors and a grant from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, Habitat Tucson began seven homes. In order to raise all the walls, Habitat brought together more than 500 volunteers made up of community members, representatives from local businesses, congregations, members of the military and current and future Habitat homeowners as early as 5 a.m. in remembrance of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11 nine years ago. Photos by: Dan Francis, Catherine Farrell, Janet Ash, Carol Bondurant and Amanda Thomas

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2008 Women Build Homeowner – Maria Flores’ Story

Women Build Home Dedication 04 28 09

After months of hard work and hundreds of hours of volunteer time, almost completely donated by women, Habitat for Humanity Tucson celebrated the completion of its eighth Women Build home on April 28. The Women Build house is now a home to Maria Flores and her adopted daughter, Nohemi, 8. Flores, said, “I’ve wanted to buy a home more than anything.”

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The 2011 Women Build home is being built in partnership with The Lopez Family and the following sponsors:

Pima Neighborhood Investment Partnership
City of Tucson
Pima County
Dale and Joan Kreider
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Lowe’s
Jan and Art Hoffman
In Memory of Mike Riley (2)
Fred and Ann Boice
Community Foundation for Southern Arizona:
Anonymous
along with other generous donors

Women Build Background

In 1991, a group of women in Charlotte, N.C., completed the first women-built Habitat for Humanity house, planting the seeds for Habitat’s Women Build program. Since the Women Build department’s official creation in 1998 by Habitat for Humanity International, affiliates have enabled Women Build volunteers to construct more than 1,200 homes around the world.

With special events, such as the 2006-2007 First Families Building Homes Across America campaign, and with additional sponsors signing on to help affiliates undertake more projects, more Women Builds are underway than ever before. In 2006, approximately 32,000 volunteers helped build 160 Women Build houses. In 2007, 209 more homes were added. This number continues to grow, especially through the success of our partnership with Lowe’s, the program’s underwriter.