Women Build Dedication - Habitat for Humanity of Greensboro, NC

Habitat Greensboro dedicated its Women Build 2021 home, the first of six homes to be built in the Willow Oaks community, on Saturday, January 8. The home was dedicated for the Smith Family – Tamieka and her sons Christian and Cameron.

Despite the chilly weather, the mood was jubilant as donors, volunteers, and community members gathered to celebrate the completion of this home. Councilwoman Sharon Hightower summed up the mood perfectly, stating, “Today may be a little chilly, but the reason that we are all here makes us warm inside, so we do not even feel the weather.”

Welcoming those in attendance to the event, Ruthie Richardson-Robinson, Habitat Greensboro COO, shared that Habitat Greensboro feels “fortunate to come back to the Willow Oaks subdivision to build six homes through a partnership with the City of Greensboro. Coming back to Willow Oaks is like coming back home for Habitat.”

Habitat Greensboro is partnering with the City of Greensboro to complete an initial six homes in Willow Oaks as a part of the City’s redevelopment efforts. Regarding this build, Mayor Nancy Vaughan shared, “It is always a pleasure, being on City Council when we can do something like this. Because we know what a change it makes, not only in the individual and family’s life but a change to the neighborhood, this is an opportunity for a neighborhood to grow and a family to gain generational wealth.”

Councilwoman Hightower echoed Mayor Vaughan, sharing, “We recognize that homeownership is key to the stability of our neighborhoods. It is an investment not only in the community but an investment in yourself and your family.”

Homeownership is an investment in Tamieka’s future and that of her children. Tamieka shared early in her journey that she has made goal setting and stability a priority, and her two children are learning from their mother’s hard work and perseverance. The dedication of her home brings Tamieka one step closer to her goal of homeownership and will provide both her and her children with stability for years to come.

Tamieka shared that her children inspired her to complete this journey to homeownership as she thanked everyone assembled for joining today to celebrate with her and her children, stating, “Wow. This is a dream that I never thought would happen. I feel so blessed.”

Tamieka will close on her new home in just a few weeks and begin paying an affordable mortgage. All Habitat Greensboro partner families are guaranteed that their mortgage payments will be no more than 30% of their income. This provides families with an opportunity to build wealth and increases opportunities to invest in themselves. In Tamieka’s case, she will be continuing her studies at Guilford College, completing a Sociology degree with a minor in Psychology.