Sawdust flies during Women Build

It's not often that you walk onto a construction site and come upon a bunch of women in pink T-shirts up on ladders, wielding hammers and wrangling two-by-fours. But for three days last week that's how it was on East Cascade Avenue, where two townhomes were under construction as part of National Habitat for Humanity's Women Build Week.

Fifty female volunteers from around Sisters Country strapped on their tool belts and hard hats, picked up their hammers and power tools, and did a smashing good job framing and sheeting, helping to build affordable housing for two Sisters families.

The Maxwell family and the Spain family will be living next door to each other in their respective new two- and three-bedroom townhomes "by September 1," according to team leader Larry Lennon.

Lennon enjoys working with the women volunteers, who call him the "go-to guy," because they can "admit when they don't know something and are better at taking direction. Men tend to think they're supposed to know everything and don't ask questions, which can lead to mistakes that have to be redone."

The women who volunteer are given some basic training and safety instructions through Lowe's national partnership with Habitat for Humanity, and a number of the women, who have been volunteering for Women Build two or more years, have acquired various skills in home construction.

Several of the volunteers work with new homeowner Kristina Maxwell at US Bank, which encourages volunteerism among its employees. She has them writing their names on the studs of the rooms they work on so they are always part of her experience as a homeowner. She spoke about what a privilege it was "to be working alongside these wonderful people."

Judy Osborne is the Maxwell family partner from Habitat, who guides them through the process and is a huge part of their journey to home ownership. She had decided when she retired that she wanted to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. She finds it "very rewarding to see such dedication from these families. They work so hard to fulfill their dream of being a homeowner."

Darleene Snider is a team leader who traces her passion for community service to her service in the U.S. Air Force. She says she likes "building things and being outside," and strives to build community through her work. This is her second year with Women Build and she hopes to continue working with Habitat for Humanity.

Sandy Brink, a Sisters Habitat board member, who also works at US Bank, helped with the landscaping at a Habitat home across the street last year and this year decided to pound some nails. She enjoys the whole experience, the friendships she makes, and says, "It's just a good thing to do."

David Spain is particularly interested in getting his family into their own home as quickly as possible. He and daughter Marie, a junior at Sisters High School, and son Brock, an eighth-grader at Sisters Middle School, look forward to each having their own room and their dream of homeownership coming true.

If you are looking for a way to give back to the community, have some time on your hands, want to meet new people and make new friends, community members are invited to become a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity Thrift Store or ReStore or the building crew. Orientations are held the first and third Wednesday of every month above the Thrift Store at 141 W. Main Ave.

For information or to RSVP for the next orientation, contact Volunteer and Family Services Manager Marie Clasen at [email protected] or 541-549-1193.