Women Build 2021 Kickoff - Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro, NC

Photo credit: Ivan Saul Cutler

Our Women Build 2021 kicked off on Saturday, June 12th with a joyful celebration of thanksgiving for those whose contributions helped to make this build possible.

Habitat Greensboro COO Ruthie Richardson-Robinson opened the event with a rousing call to action of “Women, are you ready to build this house?” followed by a blessing from President and CEO David Kolosieke.

Our Foundation Sponsors shared brief messages of encouragement. Janet Ward Black and Gerard Davidson celebrated the joy that this home will bring for Tamieka and her sons and the love and care with which it will be built. Dawn Chaney shared her belief that “strong women make a difference, powerful women make change,” celebrating the women who are making a change through the Women Build. We also recognized and celebrated our other Women Build sponsors, including: Lowe’s, Paula Stober and Bill Bucklen, Muslims of the Triad, Erickson Advisors, Islamic Center of the Triad, Calvary Christian Center, CBRE – Triad, LMS, Mt. Pisgah UMC, PT-CREW (Piedmont Triad Commercial Real Estate Women), and Window Works Studio.

Following a beautiful introduction by Rosalind Simpson, Director of Homeowner Services and Neighborhood Outreach, future homeowner Tamieka shared her joy over this day and her upcoming build – view her message here.

The Women Build 2021 Fundraising Teams were celebrated. These teams included: Alamance Presbyterian Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. GSO Alumnae Chapter, Kristi’s Krew, Legal Ladies, Market Street Builders, Muslims of the Triad, Pest Management Systems, Inc., Pink Ladies, Sharrard McGee Accounting, State Street Ladies, Team PAPP, Team SBCG, Trudy’s Troop, Voice of Women, and Women’s Professional Forum.

Our Women Build 2021 Kickoff concluded with a Litany of Prayer led by Sarah Hutchinson:

As we draw together this morning,

Let us give thanks for the women gathered here today to build a house for Tamieka, Christian, and Cameron.

Let us remember the women who have shared of their spirit, their energy, their wisdom, and their time to help a family realize their dream of not just receiving a house but creating a home.

In bringing together the spirit of love, the gift of service and a renewed hope for one family, we consecrate this ground and make it Holy.

Today we bless more than a structure. We bless the Smith Family as we begin to build their home together.

Their love as a family will permeate these walls for years to come. It will become a fixture that will hold them in their joy and celebration, as well as in their sorrow and tears.

And so, in the spirit of life and love…we bless all those who gather this morning to celebrate this build.

In the name of all that we deem Holy and sustaining, we bless the many gifts of Women Build, this home and this family. Amen.