Selected homes have female homebuyers/heads of household, children
Each year, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna holds Women Build, a multi-day event where women-led teams participate in raising funds and building Habitat homes. The idea of Women Build is to invite women to help empower other women in their community through the creation of affordable homeownership opportunities. For the past six years, the Women Build activities have focused on Habitat houses intended for female heads of households, and almost all the homebuyers have had children. This year’s Women Build raised approximately $70,000, through fundraising efforts by the teams and sponsorships, towards three Habitat homes.
“I couldn’t be more proud of what our teams, sponsors, and supporters accomplished,” said Phyliss Mosca, Habitat Susquehanna’s Donor & Faith Relations Manager, who coordinated the event. “Together, over 400 people raised more than $70,000 to help fund the affordable homes three single mothers will be purchasing, and about 100 team members volunteered to help build these homes.”
Janney MACWIN (Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Women’s Interactive Network) raised the most money during the friendly competition between ten participating Women Build teams. It was the third year in a row that Janney MACWIN had won in the team fundraising category, headed by its team leader, Sherry Kimball.
Even though the Women Build participants worked hard fundraising and volunteering at the build sites, they did have fun as well. They got swag bags, were fed delicious lunches (donated by local eateries), were given chair massages (by Heaven and Earth Healing Arts) and had their pictures taken with a Rosie the Riveter-style cardboard cutout. 
One of the “perks” of being on a Women Build team was being fed delicious meals during lunch breaks from house building activities! The lunch donors during Women Build were Pats Pizzaria (Havre de Grace), Pairings Bistro, Chick-Fil-A (Aberdeen) and The Greene Turtle (Bel Air). (Pictured are two of the ten Women Build teams, represented by Stellar Home Group and Tru Contracting, with the Chick-Fil-A cow.) 
Brenda Betz, owner of B+M Restorations and B+M Cabinetry Plus, was the top individual fundraiser for this year’s Women Build event. She is pictured (at far right) with her Women Build team members in front of the Elkton house build site where they volunteered. 
Kim Bachmann (in the pink hard hat) led her team Bel Air Business Builders to a second place victory in the Women Build team fundraising category. It was the team’s first year participating in Women Build. Kim’s parents had been Habitat for Humanity volunteers almost 30 years ago, and one of Kim’s fundraising donors also volunteered with Kim’s parents at Habitat builds. She cited these types of relationships, and a belief in a worthy cause, as factors for why people wanted to be a part of contributing towards the Women Build event. 
Each year, Women Build teams engage in a friendly competition as to which one can raise the most money, by collecting donations from its own team members as well as their families, friends, coworkers, and other contacts. Team Janney MACWIN – pictured at one of the Habitat build sites in Havre de Grace — has won the team fundraising competition three years in a row. The Women Build experience encourages women to help other women build strength, stability and independence through housing. 
Team Janney MACWIN won the Women Build’s team fundraising competition for the third year in a row. They were awarded the “Tacky Hammer” which will hang in their Westminster office for a year. During the two previous years, a different Janney office has gotten to display the award after winning the team fundraising category.
“Being a single mom myself, I know how important it is to have a stable home for your children,” said Kimball. “I have a great group of women who are so enthusiastic and love the whole concept of Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build. We love the competition between the other teams; it really motivates us!”
The event participants followed each other’s fundraising progress through an online leaderboard, and encouraged their co-workers, family members and friends to help their teams raise money towards the homes by an allotted deadline.
In second place was the Bel Air Business Builders — whose team was participating in Women Build for the first time — led by Kim Bachmann.
“My parents were involved with Habitat nearly 30 years ago,” said Bachmann, “and that was part of my ‘why.’ And it was also part of the ‘why’ for one of my donors because her mom volunteered with my parents! There are myriad volunteers and donors out there simply waiting to be invited to participate. Sometimes they do it because of the cause, other times it is because of their relationship to you. My experience with Women Build engaged people with both reasons. Simply reaching out via phone call, email, text, or social media and then doing a polite reminder moves people to action!”
The top individual fundraiser for this year’s event was Brenda Betz, owner of B+M Restorations and B+M Cabinetry Plus.
“Every little thing helps, even if it’s just a dollar, even if it’s ten minutes,” said Betz. “It’s such a great organization and they really need your help. It makes a difference; it’s a hand up, not a handout.”
The other Women Build teams included Adkins Letschin Home Group of Long & Foster, Tar Heel Construction, Tru Contracting, Stellar Home Group, Emmett Fitness, Allan Myers, and Word of Faith International Outreach.
Additional sponsorship funding was received from Allan Myers; Enspire Energy; M&T Bank; Wegmans; Coldwell Banker Realty Cares Foundation; Jones Junction; Stack & Store Self Storage; B+M Cabinetry Plus; B+M Restorations; DTC, Inc.; Harford Tree Experts & Landscaping; Jarvis Appliance; Capitol Finishes, Inc.; American Home and Hardware; Armory Financial; Spartan Equipment; Tar Heel Construction Group LLC; First National Bank; KOA; Janney MACWIN; Dr. Daewon Kim, DDS PA; and, Harford County Association of Realtors. The lunch donors who fed the teams during their housebuilding activities were Pats Pizzaria (Havre de Grace), Pairings Bistro, Chick-Fil-A (Aberdeen) and The Greene Turtle (Bel Air). The snack and beverage donors were Pepsi Bottling Co. of Havre de Grace and Frito Lay. Heaven and Earth Healing Arts donated on-site chair massages to the winning team members.
By holding fundraisers (such as Women Build), receiving sponsorships, and having volunteers build these Habitat homes, Habitat Susquehanna is able to keep construction costs low and create an opportunity for someone who could not afford a home the traditional way. Each homebuyer applicant who partners with Habitat Susquehanna is required to complete 250 “sweat equity” hours before move-in day, building their home or the home of another. They also attend mandatory financial literacy classes to learn good money management skills, as well as home maintenance classes.
To learn more about Women Build or to organize a Women Build 2024 team, contact Phyliss Mosca at [email protected].
About Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Inc.
Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Inc. is an ecumenical Christian housing organization devoted to building, renovating and repairing houses in partnership with the community in Cecil and Harford counties. Since its inception in 1993, Habitat Susquehanna has served over 700 families through its Homeownership, Repair and Financial Literacy programs. For more information, call 410-638-4434 (Harford County) or 410-398-3399 (Cecil County), or visit www.habitatsusq.org.
