Habitat for Humanity of Kosciusko County has set the groundbreaking for the Women Build in the county for March 22. The ceremony will take place at 2:30 p.m. at the location of the build, 549 E. Market St., Warsaw. In addition to being the first Women Build for the Kosciusko affiliate, the build marks an increased focus beyond the simple, decent, affordable mantra Habitat has employed in the past. Desirable, accessible and sustainable will be additional areas of focus going forward to raise the bar for housing within the county for lower income families. Diane Jones and her son Keatrine will be the partner family for the Women Build, ultimately providing the sweat equity necessary to complete the house and paying the mortgage so that more houses can be built in Kosciusko County. To date, the Women Build Committee, formed in February 2012, has raised more than $58,180 toward the goal of $70,400 and brought in more than 180 volunteer registrations. It takes roughly 200 volunteers to build a Habitat house through scheduled volunteer days. There is still a chance to volunteer for the build by going to www.kosciuskohabitat.com and clicking on the green volunteer link at the top of the page. Donations can also be made at www.kosciuskohabitat.com by clicking the green donate link. Habitat for Humanity International officially formed the Women Build department in 1998 to promote the involvement of women in the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes. At that time, about six to eight Habitat for Humanity homes a year were built by women. Now women crews are building more than 200 Habitat for Humanity homes a year and have built more than 1,900 to date. Women Build teaches women to do construction and gives them the opportunity to actively address the problem of families in substandard housing. Lowe’s is the underwriter of the Women Build program and has contributed nearly $40 million to Habitat for Humanity.
