As a community of 300 women strong, we will accomplish two incredible goals:
1. Raise $175,000 to:
• Entirely fund a woman's future home (the "Women Build Home")
• Cover the cost of the homeowner education courses for all of Habitat Chicago's current female buyers

2. Advance construction of the Habitat homes at 119th and S. Union, building right alongside their future owners from October 9th - 13th

Each Women Builder commits to building for one full day of the event and raising at least $350 to participate, earning prizes as she goes.

Fun, hard work, hands-on. Build site activities can include anything it takes to build a home from start to finish. Some typical volunteer activities include: framing, siding, painting, roofing, laying flooring, hanging doors or windows, trim work, finishing, landscaping and cleaning. All of it is critical to a finished home and a healthier, more stable family.

Here's an overview of the day: 

7:30am: Registration
8:00am: Construction
11:30am: Complimentary lunch
12:30pm: Construction
2:30pm: Clean up
3:00pm: Wrap up and Departure

Toilets, water, and first aid will be on-site at all times. You'll work in project teams under the supervision of our construction leadership. During lunch you'll have the opportunity to learn more about Habitat Chicago and get to know our female homebuyers. After lunch you'll return to a project team to finish out the day.

We'll begin wrapping up before 3 pm and send you home with some take-away items, worked muscles, and happy memories!

There are two ways women can participate:

1. As a Team Leader. Each Team Leader:
•Attends the Team Leader Kickoff on Tuesday, June 12th.
•Commits to fundraising at least $350 and building one day of the event
•Recruits 11 women to join her Team to hit these same commitments!
•Motivates her team members and ensures they have a whole lot of fun every step of the way
•Coordinates with her team to get everyone registered and ready to build

2. As an Individual Builder. Each Individual Builder:
•Joins a team with open spots (we will get you matched up with a Team on your preferred date, dependent upon availability).
•Commits to fundraising at least $350 and building one day of the event
 

It's very easy - just contact us and let us know that you'd like to be a team leader. We will then set up a time to chat about the role and responsibilities. 

Please visit the Teams page or click the "Register" button at the top of the page. You can then select "Join" to join a team that has available spots; if there is no option to join, that means that particular team is full. Once you complete the registration form, you will receive instructions to get started and your Team Leader will contact you to welcome you to her team. 

If you don't hear from your team leader within a week, please contact us. 

All build days are first come, first serve. If your first pick is already full, please choose another day that works for your schedule. Volunteer days fill quickly, so the sooner you register, the better!

Women Build takes place at 119th St. and S Union Ave. in the West Pullman neighborhood, where Habitat Chicago is in the process of finishing 18 homes.

No, we encourage everyone from professionals to novices to come build with us. There are a variety of jobs perfect for every level of skill. Our staff provides on-site training and all-day guidance, as well as all of the tools and materials needed to complete the tasks at hand.

No! We'll provide all materials on site. Some people choose to bring their own tool belt for comfort, but please be sure to clearly label any personal tools/equipment you bring to site. 

Volunteers should wear close-toed shoes and long pants and avoid loose clothing and jewelry. We will be distributing Women Build t-shirts at check-in, so come ready to change. We recommend layering for the weather as many tasks will be outside.

Not yet - maybe one day! But don't worry, we will be getting some serious work done across several homes.

You must be at least 16 years of age to volunteer on our build site. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a chaperone with a ratio of at least 1 chaperone for every 4 youths. All chaperones must be at least 21 years of age.

No, we'll meet you on site. Carpooling with other volunteers is always encouraged, as well as public transportation. We will send along parking information closer to the event, but there is plenty of free street parking on the blocks surrounding 119th and S. Union Ave.

Please make all checks payable to: Habitat for Humanity Chicago. 
Please make sure that in the memo line it says Women Build and whom the donation should be credited to. 

All donations should be mailed to: 

Habitat for Humanity Chicago
1100 W Cermak Rd., Ste. 404
Chicago, IL 60608 

If you would like to credit a builder or a team for the donation, please be sure to include a name on the check memo line or in an accompanying note. 

Click on the search icon on the Women Build homepage and begin typing the participant's first or last name. Your options will display as you type.

Yes. You can make a donation to an individual builder on a team or you can make a general team donation. To do so, make a donation from the team page OR select the team at the time of donation.

Any donation made online should post immediately. If an online donation does not post within 5 minutes, please contact us.

All monetary donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Any donor who mailed his/her donation and provided an address will receive a receipt via mail once the donation has been processed. If you made your donation in installments, you will receive a receipt each time a monthly payment is processed.

Yes, anyone who donates online, regardless of the amount, will receive a receipt via email.

A Tax ID number identifies Habitat for Humanity Chicago as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Habitat for Humanity Chicago's Tax ID number is 46-0494889.

When you make a donation online, you can type a message of encouragement in  provided field. This will appear on the fundraiser's personal page. You can also indicate what you want to appear as your recognition name associated with the donation and message. 

Yes. For Canadian donations made online with a credit card, the amount entered in the online donation form will be in U.S. dollars.

Each Women Builder commits to raising at least $350 to hit our shared goal of $175,000.

Each Women Builder is required to raise $350 to participate. If a Women Builder doesn't hit the minimum, she may forfeit her right to participate in future Women Build events.

This may seem like a lot now, but give it an honest effort and you'll be surprised at how easy it is to reach that goal! Make a genuine appeal to your friends, family and coworkers - they'll most likely be thrilled to support your build (people really like supporting people that they like)!

If you truly feel that you will not be able to reach your $350 goal, work with your team leader or Habitat Chicago staff to see what your options are.

A very small fee per online donation goes to payment processing (less than 5%); the rest goes directly to home construction for our female homebuyers, covering cement work, lumber, insulation, finishes, landscaping, etc.

On your "My HQ" page click on the “view my page” button in the left hand column, under “Hi, [Your Name]”. To edit the blurb at the top of your page, click the small “edit” button at the top. To edit your page photo, click “photo” under “edit my info”. To change your overall fundraising goal, please hit “goal” under “edit my info”

If a donation check has been written out to you personally, you may endorse the back of the check and mail it in with a completed donation form to Habitat for Humanity Chicago.

It is not a good idea to send a cash donation in the mail. You may drop off the cash at Habitat for Humanity Chicago along with your information or you can deposit the cash into your checking account and send a personal check from your account.

You can enter a check as a pledge online. You can do this from fundraising section of your headquarters page when you are logged in by entering an offline donation. After entering online, send or deliver the check to the Habitat Chicago office as soon as possible. Once Habitat Chicago receives the check, we will process it and change the donation status from pending to received. At this time, you will see the amount credited to your fundraising progress.

Checks should be mailed to:
Habitat for Humanity Chicago
1100 W Cermak Rd., Ste. 404
Chicago, IL 60608 

Please make sure that in the memo it says Women Build and whom the donation should be credited to. 

 

Any donation made online should post immediately. If your donation does not post within 5 minutes, please contact us. 

A Tax ID number identifies Habitat for Humanity Chicago as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Many donors will request this number to validate their donation as tax-deductible. The Habitat for Humanity Chicago Tax ID number is 46-0494889.

As your donors make a contribution, they have the option of whether or not they want to appear in the Honor Roll.

Log in with your email and password to visit your HQ  page. Select "My Fundraising Report" on the left side. You will then find a list of all of your donors as well as a list of all donors to your Women Build Team .

You are receiving these emails so you can stay up to date on your fundraising progress and to be able to thank your donors in a timely manner. The default setting in your account preferences is to receive all emails but you can modify your notifications as you wish. Please login to your headquarters and edit your account preferences.