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.