Homeownership is one of the most dynamic tools a person can use to build a strong and stable future, but it is a tool that far too many women can not attain or are being denied access.

From the gender pay gap and its impact on credit profiles, to uneven child care responsibilities that consume time and financial resources, to higher rates of mortgage denials despite superior payment performance, the barriers keeping women from homeownership are massive.

But I am helping to do something about it. I have joined Habitat Chicago's Women Build alongside 300 other women to try to help lessen these barriers.

Together, we will completely fund and begin building the home of a woman-led family and celebrate all of the women purchasing affordable homes with Habitat for Humanity Chicago.

You can make a difference. Help me reach my goal so we can change the lives of these women forever and prove that there's nothing we can't do when we set our minds to it. I appreciate any support you can give - big, small, or somewhere in between.

Thank you.

Kelly