[OCONNOR]
In Salisbury on May 13, women in hard hats and work gloves spent the day building more than just sheds. The annual Women Build event, hosted by Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County, brought together volunteers from Perdue Farms to help support future Habitat homeowners through hands-on construction work.
I’m Jenny O’Connor.
Women Build has been part of Habitat for Humanity’s mission since the 1980s, and locally, the event has become a longstanding partnership between Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County and Perdue Farms. Christina Williams is the Director of Development at Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County.
[CHRISTINA WILLIAMS]
“So today we have a group of really strong women from Perdue Farms that are building sheds for us. Every Habitat homeowner gets a shed that goes along with the house that we’re going to build on this site. Right now it’s an empty lot, but by the winter, maybe early spring, we should have two new homes here.”
[O’CONNOR] Christina Williams is the Director of Development at Habitat for Humanity of Wicomico County. She says Women Build is about more than construction. It’s also about representation and empowerment.
[CHRISTINA WILLIAMS] “It’s really important to have women on a construction team first because women are underrepresented in the construction industry and getting women out to get their hands on an actual construction project, it either teaches them skills that they’ve never had or it reinforces skills and strengths that they already have and it builds great teamwork.”
[O’CONNOR] Williams says the mission also connects directly to many of the families Habitat serves, including single mothers working toward homeownership.
[CHRISTINA WILLIAMS] “We do have our one of our homeowners for this house that will be buying one of the houses here on Christopher Street is a single mom of two and we’ve had multiple other homeowners that are single mothers and that number is just growing so it’s important for the community to be aware that that is a changing landscape.”
[O’CONNOR] For many of the volunteers, the event has become a tradition. Sheila Nichols is a logistics coordinator at Perdue Farms and has spent nearly a decade participating in Women Build projects.
[SHEILA NICHOLS] “They sent out a memo that said we needed women to help build it and that’s something I like to do. I think it was way back in 2015, 2016. That was my first build and I jump on the list every single time because it’s one of my favorite Perdue activities that we do.”
[O’CONNOR] Nichols says seeing the final impact on families is what keeps her coming back year after year.
[SHEILA NICHOLS] “Actually was able to attend one of the dedication ceremonies to one of the families and it was great. I’ve only been to that one but it’s good to see them go into their new house and have that house dedicated to them for the first time.”
-she also says she drives by them
[O’CONNOR] This annual event is an event that Perdue employees jump at. Emma Elling is a marketing manager and associate engagement leader at Perdue.
[EMMA ELLING] “When we put out that we were needing volunteers, it filled up almost within a couple hours. Everyone was super excited to come give back to the community and everyone was super excited and eager to be here this morning.”
[O’CONNOR] Elling says this experience helps strengthen relationships both inside and outside the workplace.
[EMMA ELLING] “Perdue is all about women empowerment so I think that this women’s build was super important for us to be a part of today.”
[EMMA ELLING] “I think this is super important for the associates to get out into the community working with non-profits like Habitat for Humanity and it definitely brings a lot of morale back into the workplace as we get to give back to the community as well as our internal associates and we get to bond and get a little closer to each other.”
[O’CONNOR] Maria Johnson is a corporate communications specialist at Perdue Farms and she says this work is about supporting neighbors and simultaneously emphasizing how Perdue continues to expand
[MARIA JOHNSON] “We want to help them in many ways outside of just supplying food on the table. We want to create homes and build homes for them to deliver hope to our neighbors for sure and just create a safe place where they can live.”
[O’CONNOR]
Plus their mission helps inspire the community by unite women through male-dominated work.
[MARIA JOHNSON] “When women unite it just shows how powerful teamwork comes in action where we can build hope for our neighbors and for our communities and just really shows where we can make a lasting impact.”
[O’CONNOR] Williams says that impact stretches far beyond the build site itself.
[CHRISTINA WILLIAMS] “It’s transformational. So it’s not just them, it’s their family. It’s them having some equity to pass along to other family members or to use for themselves. It’s the chance to have a lower cost mortgage payment than their rent payment, and they can start saving for not just emergencies, which is really important, your car breaking down or other things, but also to start investing in themselves, investing in their education and their futures.”
[O’CONNOR] For Delmarva Public Media, I’m Jenny O’Connor.
Perdue Teams Up with Habitat for Humanity for the Annual Women’s Build
