How Affiliates Can Participate

How Women Build helps build more homes
The Women Build department helps Habitat for Humanity affiliates to build more homes by involving women and girls in building homes and communities. Women represent a tremendous volunteer pool. Women Build projects provide an opportunity for them to learn construction skills through training and working on Women Build houses with crews composed predominantly of women.

Thanks to the high-quality training and hands-on construction experience offered by the Women Build program, female volunteers often become long-term, committed affiliate volunteers and crew leaders. Every week women who have learned their skills through Women Build are found on regular Habitat builds, helping women of modest means to secure safe, decent, affordable housing for their families.

More than 1,200 Habitat houses have been built by women crews in communities around the world. This number grows each year as affiliates, donors and sponsors recognize the impact of women volunteers and their resources.

Women Build resources for affiliates
A major reason for this growth is the Women Build department, which provides how-to manuals, a variety of general and in-depth training opportunities, support materials, templates, logos, t-shirts and hats – everything an affiliate needs to complete a successful build. Women Build also maintains a database of Women Builds, which is found in Habitat's Special Events. There is also a volunteer resource bank of skilled trainers and construction workers who can assist affiliates in creating their Women Build program through the critical early days of a build. For more information about these resources, please contact womenbuild@habitat.org.

Women Build Global Village trips offer another opportunity for women volunteers to participate with Habitat for Humanity. These trips pair women from many countries with women from host countries to meet the challenge of poverty housing at the street level, training local women to continue building after the Women Build volunteers have gone home. Information about these trips may be found by calling the Women Build department at 1-800-HABITAT, ext. 7519 or e-mail womenbuild@habitat.org.

Women Build’s affiliate task force also provides input regarding the strengths and needs of affiliates of all sizes. To participate, call 1-800-HABITAT, ext. 7519.