Actress and author Holly Robinson-Peete joined more than 13,000 women across the country, including Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers, to build or repair homes at Habitat For Humanity construction sites in recognition of National Women Build Week, May 3-11.
Held the week leading up to Mother’s Day, National Women Build Week encourages women to devote at least one day to help build affordable housing in their local communities. The week also spotlights the homeownership challenges faced by women.
“I am delighted to once again support National Women Build Week and look forward to building alongside the amazing women who take part in this special event,” said Peete, a mother of four and longtime supporter of Habitat for Humanity. “A home provides such a strong foundation for families, and this week offers great opportunities for women to join together, learn new skills and help families in need of affordable housing.”
Now in its seventh year, National Women Build Week is a nationwide initiative of Habitat’s Women Build program developed in partnership with Lowe’s. Each year, Lowe’s offers the support of Lowe’s Heroes and conducts how-to clinics at stores to teach volunteers construction skills. Lowe’s donated $1.75 million to support this year’s National Women Build Week, which includes providing $5,000 gift cards to 300 participating Habitat affiliates.
“As part of National Women Build Week, we’re encouraging women across America to raise a hammer to help create safe and affordable housing in partnership with local families,” said Joan Higginbotham, Lowe’s director of community relations. “We thank our Lowe’s Heroes and the thousands of volunteers who will help strengthen communities throughout the country this week.”
National Women Build Week is one of the major initiatives supported through Lowe’s new five-year partnership with Habitat that will bring Lowe’s total contributions to more than $63 million since 2003. In celebration of this renewed partnership, Lowe’s and Habitat launched Hammers for Habitat, a volunteer initiative inviting men and women across America to give one day to help make the dream of homeownership a reality for a family in their community. To learn more, visit Habitat.org/Lowes.
“It is always inspiring to see women come together to help families in need of affordable housing,” said Renee Lewis Glover, chair of Habitat for Humanity International’s board of directors. “We are grateful to Lowe’s and all of the women volunteers who are working hard to help Habitat homeowners build a better future.”
The U.S. Census Bureau reports more than 16.1 million children are living in poverty in the United States. Nearly 24 percent of children reside with women heads-of-household. Since Habitat’s Women Build program was created in 1998, more than 2,200 homes have been built in partnership with low-income families using Women Build crews. More than 52,000 women from all 50 states have volunteered at the six previous National Women Build Week events.
For more information on Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program, and to learn about Women Build projects in communities across the U.S., visit Habitat.org/wb or the National Women Build Week tab here.
