Pensacola women building 10th Habitat for Humanity home
Women from across the area are banding together to support the 10th anniversary of Pensacola Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build.
More than 150 Pensacola area women work together each year to not only raise $150,000, but to physically build a home to help a woman in Habitat’s homebuyers program achieve homeownership. Groundbreaking on the 2023 house began with about $130,000 already raised, and fundraising will be open through the end of Pensacola Habitat’s fiscal year.
"This is just a great opportunity for me and my kids to have (our) own space," said 2023 home recipient Rachel Hudson. "Just seeing how many people take time out of their day to do and help others with just this one organization, it's just amazing and it makes me want to keep volunteering even after my home is complete."
Hudson, 26, works for Florida Power and Light and is currently raising two children in a one-bedroom apartment. A coworker of Hudson's mother was a recipient of a previous Habitat home, and Hudson and her mother participated in the recipient's home build.
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Habitat officials say the women’s build experience helps participants gain new construction skills and strengthens their relationships with one another.
"There's something about helping another woman in our community to become a homeowner," said Crystal Scott, who is returning to Habitat's women build for the sixth year in a row. "It's always amazing camaraderie meeting new friends and being reconnected with old ones in the community."
The volunteers split into different departments, such as marketing or fundraising, as they work together to provide the home for a member of Habitat’s program. According to Habitat, 86% of their homes closed in the last fiscal year are owned by a woman-led household.
“Women’s build is women supporting women,” said Blaise Moehl, director of development for Pensacola Habitat.
Women who are interested in assisting with the annual event can register on Habitat's website. Those who register are split into teams and they will each get a full day to work on the site.
Members of the teams must raise $500 individually or the team's total fundraising must equate to at least $500 from each person in order to receive annual incentives and participate on build day, according to Habitat.
It's worth the time and money, volunteers say, to see another woman succeed.
"(Homeownership) is the single most wealth-generating thing that an individual or family can do," Scott said. "Knowing you helped someone achieve that feels good."
One of this year's sponsors for the women’s build is PNC Bank, which strives to accelerate women’s financial equity when compared to their male counterparts through its Project 257 initiative.
The project was conceived following the 2020 Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, estimating that it would take approximately 257 years for women to catch up to men economically. PNC offers resources, programs and events in order to help women mitigate this economic gap, including the Women’s Build.
“PNC is committed to making investments in the communities in which we operate that help empower people to move forward financially,” said Rusty Shaw, PNC regional president for the Gulf Coast. “Commitment to our communities like this is part of who we are as a national main street bank."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Habitat Women Build construction of tenth anniversary home
