- THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
FERNDALE - When Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County builds its next home, almost all of the construction workers will be women.
Groundbreaking for the nonprofit's fourth house in the Trigg Woods neighborhood is Sunday, April 22. The project is Habitat's second "Women Build" home in Whatcom County. The first was completed in July 2011 on the same street.
The program is meant to encourage women to learn construction skills in a supportive environment. Men are not turned away, but at least 75 percent of workers on a given crew should be female, Habitat says.
"We had a great turnout" at the first Women Build project, said Emily Wagnitz, publicist for the Whatcom Habitat chapter. "We definitely brought in some people who hadn't been hooked into Habitat before, and some who worked for us (in the office or store) who hadn't gotten their hammers out."
The house is for Victor and Juana Ortiz of Everson and their four children. The family has already put in the mandatory 500 hours of volunteer work for Habitat, what the organization calls "sweat equity." The Ortizes also will help build their own home. Additionally, the family pays a small down payment and a zero-interest mortgage, to fund future Habitat projects.
The four-bedroom Ortiz home, the 33rd built by Whatcom Habitat, should be completed by October. Two other Habitat houses in the same neighborhood were finished in November 2011.
Habitat for Humanity seeks work volunteers and donations for its latest project. For more information visit hfhwhatcom.org or call .
Reach Ralph Schwartz at ralph.schwartz@bellinghamherald.com or call.
No comments:
Post a Comment