Women Build 2009 week 7 update

I arrived at the site on Friday to see volunteers resting on the porch, empty plates in hands, and dreamy, satisfied looks on their faces. Turns out that everyone had been treated to a gourmet lunch from Never Enough Time Catering, complete with house- and tool-shaped cookies. I arrived just in time to snap some photos of the cookies and snag some leftover salad and couscous. Yum!

Once I could see past the food, I was blown away by the progress on the house. The drywall finishing (commonly known as mudding and taping) had begun and would be done within a week, as Jaclyn informed me. Walking outside, I could see that the siding had been completed and even painted a light, soft shade of green. The front of the house remained to be painted, though, as volunteers were busy building the front porch. Jaclyn told me that the structural part of the porch was done and all that remained was to finish it with siding, soffit, and fascia.

A big surprise waited for me in the back of the house: a whole garage had been built since my last visit. There were volunteers on the roof, lining up and nailing down shingles, and a group installing housewrap. Plans are to have the garage completed early this week!

I had a chance to talk with Nellie DeBruyn, who is proudly serving her third year in a row as a Crew Leader. She remarked that each year has been different, with more organized crews, more skilled Crew Leaders, and less of a need to fix mistakes (yes, everyone makes mistakes – even during Women Build!).

“My life has changed a lot in the past few years,” she added, explaining that her first Women Build experience was very therapeutic back when the economy had forced her out of the real estate development field. When I asked her why she keeps volunteering at Women Build every year, she excitedly replied, “I love building…and I love working on women crews.” In fact, she is helping an affiliate in Florida, where she lives for part of the year, get their own Women Build project up and running.

Let’s hear it for Week 7 Team Leaders Julie Hughes, the Professional Women in Building Council - Builder’s Association of the Twin Cities, and Kate Stottlemyer. And a special “Yum” to the Lunch Providers: Julie Hughes, Dina Carpenter from Turtle Bread Company, Jane Metzger from Metzger Building Materials, Seema Maddali, and Cynthia Olson from Never Enough Thyme.

Don’t forget to head over to our Facebook page to see more photos (or add your own), and you can always read past updates on the Women Build website.

Take care,
Andrea

Andrea Cole
Women Build 2009 Committee Member
Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity