Volunteers plan to break ground in September

Skagit County women are still working toward plans to build a house.

Fundraising efforts and volunteer recruitment for the project have taken place for more than a year now, and preparation work is coming down to the wire.

Participants of the all-women volunteer project are hoping to break ground in late September. The home will be located on property on Polte Road in Sedro-Woolley.

Preparation work for the project has been fun, said Ginny Bode, Skagit Women Build publicity chairwoman. She said she has enjoyed meeting such a diverse group of volunteers.

“It’s just a cross section of women from all over the valley,” Bode said.

The Women Build project is part of Skagit Habitat for Humanity and is what the organization calls a sanctioned build — a project organized and carried out by a specific group or organization.

Skagit Habitat for Humanity’s purpose is to reduce substandard housing and homelessness by building affordable housing with the help of various volunteers from all faiths and backgrounds.

This Women Build project is the first of its kind in Skagit County. However, other areas in Western Washington like Whatcom and King counties have women builds.

The organization committee kicked off the Women Build project in May 2007 when the group held its first informational meeting for volunteers.

Since then, the women have nearly reached their fundraising goal of $130,000 in financial and in-kind donations, and more than 200 volunteers are enlisted, said Wayne Wegner, Skagit Habitat for Humanity executive director.

Bode said last fall she was “panic stricken” with how to collect that amount of donations in the county.

Wegner said he is “amazed and impressed” with the project’s outcome so far. He said he attributes the group’s success to its leadership since the women have treated the project like a business.

“Based on the results, I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “They’re ready to put a spade in the ground and start building a house.”

In addition to fundraising and volunteer recruitment, Skagit Habitat has selected a “partner family” to occupy the home once completed. The family consists of a single mother and her two daughters.

Partner families have met several requirements created by Skagit Habitat in order to participate in the housing program. For example, the family must have established residency in Skagit County for at least a year before applying and at least half of their income was going to rent, or they were living in inadequate or subsidized housing.

Once selected, the family is required to contribute more than 500 hours of “sweat equity.” This equity is used to help the partner family build their new home and gives them the opportunity to help another partner family build theirs.

In addition, once the home is built, the family has 20 years to pay Habitat a monthly zero-interest mortgage.

To prepare for the housing project, Women Build volunteers are participating in training and have volunteered their labor at other Skagit Habitat homes.

On the last Tuesday of each month, the women have been attending training sessions at Lowe’s in Mount Vernon where they are learning construction skills like carpentry work and how to use power tools.

“The purpose is to learn the skills and see how the process works,” Bode said. “Just to get more people comfortable working with the (construction) environment ... So when we’re building our own house, it won’t be such a surprise.”

Prior to breaking ground on the home, Women Build volunteers are hosting a final celebration on their efforts to get the project underway.

A jazz, blues and folk concert will be held Sept. 14 at Maple Hall in La Conner. The concert will feature guitarist Orville Johnson, singer/songwriter Mia Vermillion, pianist Tom Kellock, percussionist Mark Ivester and Grammy award winner Garey Shelton.

The celebration in La Conner is a way to bring the focus on why volunteers are building the house, Bode said. She said she is looking forward to the process of seeing the Women Build home come together.

What will be rewarding, she said, “is the satisfaction that we all got together and did it ourselves.”

For more information about Women Build and to volunteer, call Women Build Volunteer Coordinator Carol Hildahl at 360-757-2072 or the Skagit Habitat office at 360-428-9402.