Walls, walls, walls

The past couple of days have been all about the walls! Walls of LOVE!

In fact, the house is getting closer to being a home each day thanks to our awesome Women Build volunteer & fundraising teams.

We’d like to take a moment to say thank you to every one of you who has come out and built so far this summer. We know it’s been dusty and sticky.

Sometimes it’s been wet and muddy. But our Women Build volunteers have complained not once and look at the incredible progress that can be done when a bunch of good-hearted people put their mind and muscles to work! Incredible things.

Speaking of fundraising, you can join Calico Hammers at their Garden Party this Thursday at the Warner Castle in Highland Park to raise funds for the Women Build program. Just click here to make a $35 donation and get your name on the entry list.

Calico Hammer’s Garden Party
August 14th
6:00—8:00 pm
$35 minimum donation
Rochester Civic Garden Center
Warner Castle at Highland Park
5 Castle Park, 14620
On-site and street parking on Reservoir Ave.
No tickets sold at the door.

One more event update – we wanted to let you know that the Women Build dedication that was set for August 23rd has been postponed. So you can free up that day, but hold on tight because we will be dedicating this house and once we have a date, we’ll make sure you know it!

The Porch Days of Summer

Filled with lounging, lemonade, people watching, and neighbor chats. This is what late July and August is about! And for our Women Build teams, it’s about building that porch for our future homeowner family.

That’s right, we’re on to outside details like porches, siding, and doors. You know, all of those things that begin to make for curb appeal.

And speaking of appeals, we’re only about $5,000 away from making our $75,000 2014 Women Build goal. Which means we need your help to make that final push to your friends, family, and other networks to help us call the financial part of this house a done deal. And remember, anything extra we raise still goes to the Women Build program – so push push push! And if you’d like to donate, you can click here to make a general 2014 Women Build donation.

Then it will be time for celebration! In fact, add the date below to your calendar. It’s when we’ll be dedicating the house to the Bailey family – and EVERYONE is invited (including your team members, donors, and curious friends.)

2014 Women Build House Dedication
August 23rd
11am
796 Jay Street
Rochester, NY

The pink, white, and purple

As we all get ready to celebrate this awesome holiday of Independence Day we thought it might be fun to share some of the most recent Women Build photos we’ve either taken out on site or received from our teams. A little glimpse at the progress that has taken us to today, where the house is all roofs, walls, and electric lines. (But there’s still a lot of work to do!)

And as you’re watching the fireworks this weekend, don’t forget to think about how YOU are helping a family with their own sort of independence. Owning your own home is a lot of responsibility, but it also means that you can choose your wall colors, plant a garden in your own yard, and show your children that with hard-work and dedication you CAN do better. Oh the American Dream in all its glory!

Be sure to keep us up to date on how YOUR team is doing on site. Don’t forget to tag us in Facebook (@RochesterHabitat) or include us on Twitter (@RocHabitat) and use hashtags #Roc and #WomenBuild to share your good work with the community! And you can always send your photos to Deanna Varble at dvarble@rochesterhabitat.org so we can add your team’s pic to our collection. (Don’t forget to tell her your team name, and send a quick caption.)

Happy Fourth to you all and congrats on making it to over $57,000! Less than $20,000 to our goal!

The Pink Wall

Last Sunday we celebrated with the raising of the pink wall at the 2014 Women Build home.

Teams came up one by one and you all did a fantastic job raising the wall, posing for photos, and giving an incredible round of applause.

Some of you may have given Erwin a little bit of a panic attack with your enthusiasm. But it’s okay, we feel that excited to!

Especially to share that with the donations you have brought in, the Guest Bartender Night from April, and the Lowe’s Women Build Week grant – we have raised over $50,000 for this house!

Along with the wall raising, we got to meet the newest Bailey – Jordyn! Yes, that’s right, Je’nnell had her babe. Isn’t she gorgeous?!

The Democrat and Chronicle had a great summary of the wall raising event in Monday’s paper. You can check it out by clicking here. Be sure to share it with friends and donors! And if you’re looking for MORE photos of the wall raising event, you can find them here at Flower City Habitat’s Facebook page. Share, share, share!

$50,000 means that we only have 1/3 left to go! So if you’re still working on your $200 now’s the time to get the word out! And if you’ve passed your $200 goal, keep the good work coming! Every little bit helps, and all donations that we get beyond the $75,000 we need this year will help us get a jump-start on next year’s house.

Speaking of FUNdraising events, we have some coming up.
See below for information.

Monday, July 21 On Kall Women for Habitat Golf Tourney: Mendon Country Club. 1pm shotgun start with a casual lunch prior included.  The format will be scramble (best ball); looking for a max of 25 teams.  The cost is $400 per foursome, includes lunch, one drink ticket, 18 holes of golf, cart, appetizers after the round.  Cash bar will be available.  We’ll also sell tickets for raffles and possibly opportunities for extra tickets to sell for mulligans, and “have the ace golfer hit for you”.

Thursday, August 14 Calico Hammers “Women Build & Rochester Civic Garden Center Homes & History Fundraiser”, 6-8 pm – more details in next week’s email.  SAVE THE DATE!

One more thing, our thanks to Stephanie Morrow for donating her photography power and grabbing a lot of these shots. We couldn’t look this good without you!

The First Women Build House

It’s Thursday, which means if you’re anywhere on social media today you will probably see the hashtag #tbt which means Throwback Thursday. According to the website, know your meme (a site we highly recommend if you’re ever looking to be “in the know” on a web/social media thing) Throwback Thursday as been looming on the web since somewhere between 2003-2006 and it encourages folks to share old photographs of themselves. (See here for more Throwback Thursday history.)

Anyway, seeing that we like the fun of a clean internet meme, we thought we’d make today’s Throwback Thursday Women Build related and share with you pieces from a book loaned to us by the incredible Sheila Sloan. Sheila, and others, helped make possible the first Women Build home in 1995.

Sunday we raise the wall on out 10th Women Build house in Rochester, (Everyone is welcome! June 8th, 2pm at 796 Jay Street.) and we can’t believe that it was 19 years ago that we finished the first!

Ten Women Build houses, which means ten families whose lives have been forever changed thanks to the women leaders who stepped up to say poverty housing is NOT okay, and we will change the housing system to be fair, equitable, and attainable.

We will raise our hammers and drills to work alongside families who believe that hard-work does pay off and the American Dream is still possible.

We will come together as women to support families who are working to break out of poverty and provide a better life for their children. We will learn together, work together, believe together in a world where EVERYONE has a decent place to live.

 

 

 

RAISE THAT WALL!

Get your camera batteries charged, ladies because it’s that time again – time for WALL RAISING!

2014 Women Build Wall Raising
Sunday, June 8th
2pm
796 Jay Street
Rochester, NY 14611

If you’ve not been to a Women Build wall raising before, this is your chance to get with your team and raise a wall on the Women Build home. It’s a great photo opportunity, a chance to mingle with other Women Build fans, and an opportunity to get out in the neighborhood.

We’ll also be passing out our 2014 Women Build t-shirts to those of you already on a team. If you’re not already on a team, stop on out so we can get you hooked up with an amazingly fun way to give back to your community!

The event is open to the public, so bring your friends, family, or even your donors. We’ll raise that wall as many times as we can. And if you’re the only one who’s able to come from your team – come out anyway. We’ll be sure to get you in on the fun!

Home is where the start is

 

A great bite-sized article came out today from Habitat World about the benefits of safe, decent, affordable housing and the impact it can have on education, stability, and opportunity.

We know that first hand here in Rochester, NY where 98% of Habitat homeowner children graduate from High School or go on to get their GED.

Calico Hammers Women Build Team on the 2014 Women Build home

We know that home ownership leads to a path out of poverty for the next generation. We know that healthy, lead-free homes give young children an opportunity grow-up without the side-effects and learning troubles that lead-poisoning brings.

One of Insero & Company’s Women Build Teams on the 2014 Women Build home

We know that working hard for something seemingly un-attainable, and succeeding in your goals leads to self-esteem that can help inspire other positive changes. Being able to put 450 hours of sweat-equity into your house as down-payment instead of money allows Habitat families and opportunity at the American dream. A zero-interest monthly mortgage payment allow them a fair “hand-up not a hand-out” and a way to contribute back to the affordable housing mission.

Hammer N’ Heels Women Build Team on the 2014 Women Build home

But YOU are the reason we are able to make these opportunities for low-income families possible. Without your gifts of time, talent, and treasure – these would just be ideas. You build, you give, you advocate. You are part of our story, part of our success.

And we just wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

Breaking Ground

 

This Saturday (May 10th) at 11am we’ll all be gathered at the 2014 Women Build house on 796 Jay Street to share the progress, dig a little dirt, and toss a few blessings and hopes into the foundation of the project. It’s our 10th Women Build house, so it promises to be a historic occasion.

It also happens to be National Women Build Week around the US, so we’ll be celebrating and thanking our friends at Lowe’s for their $5,000 gift to 2014 Women Build, and the $63 million they have given to Habitat for Humanity since 2003. Our friends from Henrietta, NY Lowe’s will be on hand to celebrate with us, and we simply can’t wait to bring them into the fun and passion you all bring to Women Build.

Be sure to bring your camera, there will be tons of opportunity for photos with the foundation, golden shovels, and homeowner family. If you share your photos (which we encourage you to do!) be sure to tag them with #WomenBuild so that Habitat affiliates around the US can see the great work that you all are making possible in Rochester.

SAVE THE DATE
For our Women Build clinic with Henrietta Lowe’s. They’ll be teaching our Women Build volunteers how to tile as another gift to our Women Build program. RSVPs are necessary so we have the right amount of material, so be sure to email us if you’re planning to attend.

Sunday, May 18th*
8am – 10am
Henrietta Lowe’s
2350 Marketplace Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
Email tbianchi@rochesterhabitat.org to RSVP yes.

*We know that for many of you, Sunday mornings are time for faith so we’re working on adding another date for this event. Stay tuned and we’ll let you know if it all works out.

Twitter Party!

Get your tweet on and join the Habitat for Humanity International Women Build community for a Twitter party WEDNESDAY APRIL 30th at 2pm! (Yep, that’s tomorrow.)

This is a chance for you to help spread the word about National Women Build Week and all of the good that’s happening across the country May 3-11th. This is chance for you to chat with other Women Build fans, help us get twitter a-buzz with Women Build empowerment, and give a little thanks to National Women Build Week sponsor Lowe’s. (Did you know that Flower City Habitat Women Build is the recipient of one of the 2014 $5,000 gifts? It’s true. Thank you Lowe’s!)

Want to learn more about what a Twitter party even is? Check out Resourceful Mommy’s National Women Build Week Twitter Party Post.

We’ll also be celebrating on Wednesday at our Women Build Guest Bartender Night. So after you’ve twee-twee-tweeted your heart out be sure to join us at The Grill at ONE starting at 5:30pm. We have some fantastic guest bartenders lined up to pour pints for Flower City Habitat Women Build. All of their tips from the night will go to the 2014 Women Build program – so we hope to see you there.

And one more mention of Lowe’s, we’re working on lining up our 2014 Women Build Clinic at Henrietta Lowe’s. So stay tuned for dates and details on how you can gain some DIY skills off the construction site and among your Women Build friends.

She’s the One Video

If you haven’t had a chance to see the fantastic video “She’s the One” from The Shriver Report, we highly suggest you take a moment to watch it.

 

This is why we do what we do:

to empower,
to learn,
to teach,
to support,
to inspire women to change their community for the better.

To lend a “hand up, not a hand out” to families living in poverty so that one day we will see a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

Because we believe if you give a woman a power tool, she can change the world! You can join in, you can make a difference. All you have to to is pick up a hammer and join a Rochester Women Build team. Click here to help us change the world.