History of the Women Build program -- Habitat for Humanity Int'l 1
History of the Women Build program
1991
A group of women in Charlotte, North Carolina complete the first women-built Habitat for Humanity house. With this event, the seeds for Habitat for Humanity's Women Build program are planted.
A handful of Habitat for Humanity affiliates continue to build houses with women crews.
1997
As part of the Jimmy Carter Work Project, U.S. first lady Hillary Clinton, Kentucky first lady Libby Jones and Oklahoma first lady Cathy Keating participate in a Women Build. The idea for Habitat’s First Ladies Build is born.
1998
Habitat for Humanity International forms the Women Build department and the Women Build program becomes an official HFHI initiative.
1999–2001
The Women Build department hosts the First Ladies Build. Women governors and first ladies from all 50 states join Habitat for Humanity to build houses with families in need.
2001
Women Build launches “Women Building a Legacy.” United States’ first ladies, celebrities and women from all walks of life swing hammers to actively address the problem of children in poverty.
2003
Lowe’s signs on as Women Build’s underwriter. Home Interiors and Gifts, Inc. becomes Women Build’s major sponsor. Since 2003, the program has more than doubled in size.
2006
Thirty-two thousand volunteers complete 160 Women Build houses.
2006–2007
Women Build’s “First Families Building Homes Across America” unites women volunteers with governors' spouses, local and statewide leaders to construct Habitat homes in every U.S. state and the District of Columbia. Fifty-two homes are built throughout the country.
2007
Women Build volunteers build more than 200 houses.
2008-2009
Lowe’s sponsors National Women Build Week, held in the days leading up to Mother’s Day. In 2008, more than 6,000 women volunteers participate at more than 150 Habitat affiliates across the United States. In 2009, more than 7,000 volunteers joined in at more than 200 Habitat affiliates.
2010
As of the beginning of 2010, Women Build volunteers had helped build more than 1,650 houses. A record 252 Women Build homes went up in 2009.
The program continues to grow across international borders, empowering women everywhere to address poverty housing for themselves, their families and their neighbors. Dozens of international Women Builds have taken place, and the program aims to direct financial assistance to women-led projects worldwide.