Hundreds to Gather for Habitat for Humanity Build Event

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Patti Wang Cross
Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley
510-803-3348
PWCross@HabitatEBSV.org

Hundreds to Gather for Habitat for Humanity Build Event

Women’s Leadership Build Marks Its 7th Year

WALNUT CREEK, CALIF. (May 5, 2023) — Esperanza Place – a 42-home affordable neighborhood being built by Habitat for Humanity – is about to get a huge production boost, thanks to a couple hundred volunteers who are about to descend on the construction site in May. The Women’s Leadership Build is an established favorite on the event calendar for the local Habitat affiliate, now in its seventh year of uniting women and allies to combat the housing crisis with hammers and nails. This year’s event is drawing dozens of volunteers from the community and from a range of sponsoring groups, as well as both current and future Habitat homeowners, and legislative leaders.

Volunteer interest in the Women’s Leadership Build has grown so much that Habitat is staging this year’s event across two weeks. Not only can the two-Friday build accommodate higher volunteer numbers, but Habitat can use the help at this critical stage of construction. 

“Our incredible community will be out in force, doing some roofing, putting up siding – you name it, volunteers will be working on it,” said Janice Jensen, President and CEO of Habitat East Bay/Silicon Valley. “At the end of the day, though, we’ll see change that goes well beyond fresh shingles and boards. We’ll see a neighborhood of affordable, sustainable homes get closer to fruition. We’ll see families that much closer to owning homes, when a few months ago the prospect seemed far out of reach.”

The event starts on Friday, May 5th, and one volunteer who is eager to get to work is Rose Baty, who has owned her own Habitat home in San Pablo for eight years. She thinks of homeownership as “a sense of agency,” and she returns often to support other families on their journeys toward homeownership. Joining Baty for the work day will be scores of fellow volunteers, including Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, Supervisor Ken Carlson, and Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan. 

The event’s second day is on Friday, May 12th, and will be joined by longtime Habitat homeowner Valerie Paschall, as well as Assemblymember Timothy Grayson and yet more volunteers – including a group from ICE Mortgage Technology, returning once again as the event’s top sponsor for the third year in a row.

The Women’s Leadership Build will compress months of work on the first phase of 23 homes, keeping it on track for a late-year completion, to be followed by construction on the final 19 homes. These homes will be sold through stable, affordable mortgages to families earning low to moderate incomes – families typically priced well out of the opportunity of homeownership in the Bay Area.

Joining the crew from ICE Mortgage Technology will be volunteers from Genentech, John Muir Health, Kiewit, Logitech, PG&E, Simpson Strong-Tie, and more.