Building More Than a House

Habitat’s Women Build participants help create a home.

Each year, the Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity organizes a Women Build, a fundraising and construction project peopled almost entirely by women. Those builds are always special, but the 2023 event added something new.

“This year was the first time we’ve ever hosted a Women Build luncheon,” says Habitat’s Director of Communications, Danny Akright. “We wanted to celebrate the incredible leadership of the women who made the build possible and to introduce this year’s Women Build home buyer to the community.”

Held at the Willow on Grand in Des Moines, the luncheon brought together over 200 attendees, some including volunteers, sponsors, community partners, and Builders Circle members. The afternoon included a meal, recognition of sponsors and volunteers, and a panel discussion on the importance of home.

“The event was a part of the fundraising for this year’s Women Build, helping us close the distance to our fundraising goal,” Akright says.

By the day of the event, pledges and donations for the 2023 Women Build had nearly reached the goal of $125,000. Those funds also include table sponsorships, ticket purchases, and Wells Fargo’s presenting sponsorship. In addition, the Professional Women in Building supported the Panel Build for the project, constructing the walls that were moved to the homesite later.

Another key benefit from these funds goes directly to the home buyer, single mom Blessed, who attended the luncheon and shared in the celebration.

“The most fun aspect of this event, in my eyes, is the Women Build team commitments,” says Akright. “Each team committed to raising $2,500 or more for the build, in addition to volunteering on-site. The teams make a tangible commitment to encouraging Blessed on her journey to homeownership.”

Not only does the Women Build fundraising effort support the construction of the home, those funds also contribute toward making Blessed’s mortgage affordable, Akright says.

“Like every Habitat home buyer, Blessed will purchase her home with an affordable mortgage that will be capped at 30% of her monthly income at the time of purchase,” he explains. “Sponsorship dollars, volunteer time, and other resources are critical to closing the gap between the actual cost of the home and the mortgage our home buyers can afford.”

Every Habitat home buyer also contributes sweat equity toward the home by working on-site toward the home’s construction, which adds yet another layer to that sense of ownership. But those who benefit from a Habitat project already understand that a house is much more than a piece of property.

At the Women Build luncheon, a panel of local experts offered a reminder of how life-changing homeownership can be. Led by moderator Brenda Fonseca, the Heart, Head, and Home Panel included Rev. Jordan Derhammer Capek of West Des Moines United Methodist Church, Dr. Sarah Ling from MercyOne, Jodi Long of Healthy BirthDay, and Nina Richtman from the Treatment Advocacy Center.

The women discussed how other areas of life are affected by the home in which one lives—including mental health, physical health, spiritual health, and even mortality rates. They shared some startling statistics to support that relationship:

• The average American spends 90% of his or her time indoors, 50% of that indoor time at home. That means the home’s air quality, structural stability, and accessibility of services have a direct impact on physical health.
• Women of color are more likely to live in neighborhoods that offer less physical and financial security, adding chronic stress to an already challenging situation. That may be one factor in the shocking statistic that women of color are six times more likely to die during or immediately after giving birth.
• The commonly accepted hierarchy of needs states that an individual’s most basic needs must be met before others can be addressed. So mental and emotional health are typically addressed only if an individual feels secure in his or her ability to provide food, shelter, and clothing. Those whose living situation is insecure will almost certainly suffer from mental and emotional health issues.

Panelist Capek shared a personal testimony of both the importance of home and the influence Habitat for Humanity had on her own life. When she was a child, Capek’s family purchased a Habitat home in eastern Iowa.

“Our church rallied around us and contributed to the sweat equity of our home,” she says. “They taught me how to put siding on the house. Our family would not have been able to build that house without our church community and Habitat. My parents are still in that house today.”

Habitat for Humanity was founded on the principle that “everyone deserves a decent place to live.” The Women Build Luncheon revealed how very important that is.