Women Build

The 2026 Fall Women Build, held over two weeks in September, saw over 100 volunteers donate their time and energy into building homes and inspiring other women to work on construction sites. This season’s build took place at Yarrow Townhomes and Riverbend Comunidad in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, along with volunteer days at the Habitat Stores and Volunteer Workshop.  

Women Build is an affinity build that celebrates women heads of household, who make up 60% of Habitat homeowners. It is also about creating welcoming construction sites where women feel comfortable accessing this industry. Onsite mentorship means that those who have blazed a trail in the construction industry help to lift the next generation.  

Women Build is also about recognizing inequities that still exist in the construction industry, and that meaningful change requires both individual and structural investment. Liz Mathiesen, a former AmeriCorps turned Habitat SKKC staffer on the Construction team, said of her time in the industry, “Construction sites have a reputation for being boys’ clubs, and unfortunately, that reputation has a lot of validity. Women have been historically excluded from the trades—and given that most tools, equipment, and PPE in use today are designed exclusively for men, that history is far from over. As someone who regularly makes do with high-vis vests and work gloves that don’t quite fit, I’m reminded all the time that the construction industry has a long way to go when it comes to including women.” 

This event reflects our commitment to doing the work needed to make construction a more welcoming field to all. Most importantly, Women Build—and particularly the Women of Impact Day—is about the power of gathering in community, as women celebrating and supporting other women.   

Women of Impact, the premiere event of Women Build held on September 12, saw over 30 volunteers participate in one action-packed day at our Riverbend Comunidad site. The morning kicked off with an orientation, speeches from Habitat SKKC’s CEO Brett D’Antonio and Lily Kim, Principal at Amazon, and safety instructions from Liz Mathiesen.  

Participants also heard from Danacia S., one of Habitat’s homeowners, who discussed what being a first-time homeowner has meant to her: “Homeownership gave me the security I needed to start building a life instead of simply trying to survive. My home has given me a foundation. It has given me a place to heal, a place to create, a place to work, and a place to imagine what comes next.” 

Led by Habitat SKKC staff, volunteers at Women of Impact had a variety of projects to work on at the build site, from framing walls to building planter boxes. The day brought out many groups, from coworkers to friends to a couple of mother-daughter duos, including Habitat SKKC Senior Manager of Repair Kate Lemly and her mom, Kathleen. Kathleen said proudly of her time onsite, “It’s a delight to be anywhere my daughter is. I’m inspired by her leadership.” 

The ability to do hands-on work is a draw for many Women Build participants, but even more so is the opportunity to build camaraderie with the other volunteers.  

At the end of the event, Liz optimistically reflected, “Despite the data bias and stigma of being a woman on the job site, women show up anyway. We have so many wonderful women volunteers who come out during Women Build and work incredibly hard, building useful things with equipment that wasn’t designed with them in mind. I find it so meaningful to work alongside these women and prove that the job site is our space, too. Women Build is always so awesome, so I hope to see more women volunteers out year-round!” 

This year, we expanded Women Build to include two opportunities for community members to get involved. The springtime event, which ran May 2-16, brought longtime supporters and new volunteers out to our Yarrow Townhomes and Cloverdale communities in King County, our Stuart Meadows neighborhood in Ellensburg, as well as to our Habitat Stores.

Over 100 volunteers participated in the annual affinity build, and in two weeks they contributed over 1,000 volunteer hours. Regular Women Build volunteer Michelle V. returned this year, noting that, “You guys put on such a great event for us. I’m volunteering, but you guys treat us like kings and queens when we’re out there.”   

At both the Cloverdale and Yarrow Townhomes sites, our newest volunteer build sites in the South Park neighborhood of Seattle, volunteers framed both exterior and interior walls. At Yarrow Townhomes, they also installed joists and beams for the second floor, installed the subfloor for the next level, and worked on cabinet blocking and second floor handrails for safety. 

Michelle continued, “Any time we lift a wall, you know how incredibly heavy it is, and you would expect you need a room full of men at the gym to lift it. Then we lift this wall, and it’s always incredible. It really speaks to the folks who work the job sites; they know how to make all the tasks as volunteer friendly as they possibly can. They do a tremendous job.” 

Katie Long, Habitat SKKC’s New Construction Site Coordinator in Kittitas, reflected on the growth she saw in one return volunteer: “One of my favorite moments from this year involved a volunteer who also joined us during last year’s Women Build. When I first met her, she shared that she didn’t do ladders or power tools except on very special occasions. By the end of the day, she had stepped completely outside of her comfort zone: She was up on a ladder using a drill to help install upper cabinets in House 16. It was incredibly rewarding to reconnect with her and see the smile on her face at the end of the day. Watching volunteers discover confidence in skills they never thought they could do is one of the most meaningful parts of Women Build.” 

At Stuart Meadows in Ellensburg, volunteers worked across several homes and participated in a variety of construction tasks. In House 16, where we built the walls during last fall’s Veterans Build, volunteers installed both upper and lower kitchen cabinets. Another group installed flooring in House 18, while volunteers in House 14 worked on finishing details like applying wood putty to the baseboard trim. 

Katie added, “I think it’s incredibly important to continue inviting more women onto our construction sites because Women Build creates a welcoming space for people to try something new, gain confidence, and realize they are fully capable of working in the trades and construction environment.” 

Thanks to the generous support of our individual volunteers and corporate sponsors, this year’s Women Build raised over $84,000! 

Missed volunteering this spring, or ready to build again? Join us September 9–19, 2026 for the fall edition of Women Build. Learn more here.