Great Habitat event here locally

Habitat Women Build kicks off near Covington

Published: Monday, October 10, 2011, 12:00 PM

By Sarah Bonnette The Times-Picayune Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West’s Women Build event for 2011 is full swing, with women volunteers donning hard hats to help build homes for two families. The yearly campaign encourages women volunteers, without excluding men, to further the home-building mission of Habitat STW and improve the lives of children by making home ownership a reality for families.

The program was started by Atlanta-based Habitat International. This is the eighth year Habitat STW has participated, according to Development Director Jennifer Moskowitz.
Karen Slaton, the chairwomen of Women Build 2011, said the campaign also is about creating a fun atmosphere for the women who volunteer.
“We’ve had new recruits this year, and they’ve already decided to come out to volunteer again,” Slaton said, adding that volunteers still are needed this month and beyond to complete the two houses. Available volunteer slots can be found on the Women Build calendar page on Habitat STW’s web site, ww.habitatstw.org.
The homes are located in the Abita Nursery subdivision between Covington and Abita Springs, where Habitat for Humanity STW has built close to 100 homes, Moskowitz said.
A four- bedroom house is being constructed for Regena and Joseph Smith, who are parents to four boys ages 18 to 28. They lived in a rented trailers, some of which had holes in the floor, until partnering with Habitat STW.
A second three-bedroom house is being built for the Kristen Winsten and her two children. Winsten only could afford an apartment with rental assistance. The apartment complex’s living conditions were unacceptable, she said, and in 2010, she partnered with Habitat STW to own a home.
The Smiths and Winsten will pay no-interest mortgages on their homes, and they must put in sweat equity hours helping build their home or those of other Habitat families.
By the end of Women Build, the goal is to have the Winsten and Smith homes framed and finished enough to be dry from the weather, Moskowitz said.
Completion of the homes is dependent on the weather but could happen sometime between the holidays and January. Volunteers will do most of the work, except for installation of plumbing, electrical and heating and air conditioning systems.
Last week, women from the Professional Women of St. Tammany brought 20 volunteers to the sites to framing and weatherization of the homes. The non-profit group, made up of women from across St. Tammany Parish, is dedicated to promoting education and community service, its president, Betty Motichek, said
They hold their biggest fund-raiser of the year Oct. 20 to name the St. Tammany Parish Woman of the Year and raise money for scholarships.
The group aims to do a community service project every two months. They have participated in Women Build before, Motichek said, but this year marked their biggest turnout of volunteers.
“You feel so rewarded after you do it,” she said.
Women Build volunteers are asked to make a $30 contribution to cover the cost of building materials. For the first time this year, the Professional Women of St. Tammany paid for the contributions for all its members.
“Women Build is the only time we ask people to make a donation because we’re encouraging women to come build and raise funds to build. All their money goes back into buying construction for these two homes directly,” Moskowitz said.
For more information on Women Build, or for any other Habitat activities, call 893.3172 or send an email to volunteer@habitatstw.org. Information also can be found at http://www.habitatstw.org/

>>>They do such great work here in Abita Springs, Covington, etc.