Women Build

The 2009
Women Build Project

Join us…be empowered…build walls to shore up our community make a difference, and help eliminate substandard housing in Schenectady County. Our two-house 2009 Women Build, 522 Gerling Street and 526 Gerling Street, is nearing completion – work remaining includes landscaping, taping, painting, trim, siding, cabinet, and flooring installation. The partner families for these two homes are:

The Powell family (522 Gerling Street)

The Salvo family (526 Gerling Street)

On Make A Difference Day, October 24, 2009, many events are planned including a community celebration and house dedication. Your involvement is extremely important to the success of this project. If you would like to receive more information and learn how to participate, send us an email at WomenBuild@hfhscny.org with your contact information.

Plans are already underway for a 2010 Women Build project.

YOU can help build it!

Construction work is conducted in a teaching atmosphere at a Women Build – a buddy system is established to share knowledge and help train new volunteers.

Women Build works with affiliates to access new resources for homebuilding, including recruiting and training women volunteers to build and maintain simple, decent, healthy, and affordable homes.

Women Build is not about excluding men; men are often involved in a variety of roles. Women Build is not intended to be exclusive. It is simply a way of providing women the opportunity to learn construction skills and help others in a non-threatening environment.
Women Build is about including women, opening doors of opportunity that uncover their abilities to build homes and move families, their own or those of neighbors around the world, out of poverty and into hopeful futures.

Come be a part of this exciting and fulfilling experience. Give us your spirit and we will give you life long skills.

Read a message from Jamae Powell, daughter of Latasha Powell, who will be the homeowner at 522 Gerling Street.

If you would like to volunteer for the Women Build:

Please complete these required forms:

Volunteer Information Form by either:
1) Completing and submitting a form via the internet, click here
2) Downloadable one of our forms for an individual or group for printing and mailing

Volunteer Release & Waiver of Liability form

Safety Training

Safety is of the utmost importance on our construction sites. Please review the Work Crew Safety information.

On-line safety course: Help our affiliate stay in compliance with OSHA and insurance requirements by taking approximately 15 minutes to complete this course. A certificate will be sent to our office, and kept on file to let us know that you have completed the course.

The link to the on-line course is http://www.hfhvolunteerinsurance.com/ NOTE: when you access the page, there is link for the "Course Instructions" on the right side of the window. Clicking on the link will launch a pop-up windows that contains the instructions that you must read to get a code that will allow you to access the training material.

If your browser blocks pop-up windows, you may need to temporarily allow pop-up windows to gain access to the instructions. When completing the form at the end of the training, for the Location information of our Habitat affiliate, use Habitat for Humanity of Schenectady County, Inc.

Our first Women Build home was constructed in 2004. This home located at 1945 Watt Street in Schenectady, NY was dedicated on Sunday, November 7, 2004.