Monday, March 8, kicks off a design competition, “Women Think Outside the Box." The best simple idea to reduce cost or increase energy efficiency on our next house build, will win a $100 gift card from Lowe’s. Click here for more information and how to enter.

Tuesday, March 9, 7-8pm—Carol Jacobsen, an engineer, architectural designer and executive board member of Mitchell-Yancey Habitat, will give a presentation “How Does a Woman Build a House?” She will show the stages of house construction, discuss common construction terms, highlight the tools used on the jobsite and cover important safety precautions.

The intention is to give women and girls who have an interest in house building an opportunity to learn about it in a fun way.  Women often lack even the most basic knowledge of skills and tools on the construction site. That creates a shyness about joining in. We want to generate interest in construction, demystify the environment, and encourage women to learn more about it so that they will want to participate in future Habitat volunteer crews. 

The session is not limited to women and welcomes everyone interested in learning more about the house building process.

Thursday March 11, 10-11am,  Mitchell-Yancey Habitat for Humanity hosts a community forum on Habitat’s Cost of Home advocacy campaign.

Cost of Home is a five-year campaign through which local Habitat organizations, partners, volunteers and community members across the country are working to increase access to an affordable home.

In North Carolina, 1 in 8 families currently spend half or more of their income on a place to live. This often means foregoing basic necessities such as food and health care to make ends meet. The stability that housing should bring continues to remain out of reach for many people.

The Cost of Home campaign focuses on improving home affordability by identifying and improving policies at the local, state and federal levels. The program seeks to improve affordability in four areas: increase supply and preservation of affordable homes, increase access to credit, optimize land use for affordable homes, and ensure access to and development of communities of opportunity.

Sara Thompson, a representative from Habitat North Carolina will talk more about the Cost of Home campaign, and participants will be welcome to ask questions and to discuss local opportunities and initiatives to expand access to affordable housing in our area. 

To learn more about Cost of Home, visit the Habitat for Humanity website: www.habitat.org/costofhome.