8/12-8/15 2026
Women’s Week returned to our Manchester build site August 12 through 15, and there’s really no better way to say it: this group got a ton done. Across four days, 38 volunteers gave more than 200 hours, installing the home’s entire drywall ceiling while also working on siding, fascia, porch framing, a shed ramp and door, planter boxes, and everything else it takes to keep a busy site moving. About half were new to Habitat, working alongside returning volunteers, neighborhood Habitat homeowners, the family buying the home, and even its future next-door neighbor. Their work pushed the house into its next major phase, allowing interior framing and electrical work to move forward. It was productive, positive, and exactly what Women’s Week is supposed to be.
Women make up just 11.7% of the construction workforce nationally. In Vermont, that number falls to 8.4%, the lowest share in the country. Women’s Week exists because that statistic shouldn’t.
Habitat worksites are open to everyone, but we know that simply saying so is not always enough. Construction still carries a deeply rooted stigma about who belongs on a worksite, and a general invitation does not always cut through that. We cannot erase that stigma ourselves, but we can use the worksite and platform we have to push against it.
Women’s Week makes the invitation unmistakable. This is not a practice day or a watered-down version of construction. It is a regular Habitat build day, with lunch and a theme meant to make that invitation louder for people who may not feel as welcome on a construction site as we wish they did. The work is the same work waiting for every Habitat crew, and there is a place for you in it. Show up, pick a task, and help build a home. Women’s Week is our way of saying: the drill already has your name on it.
Of the 38 volunteers who joined us, roughly half were volunteering with us for the very first time. Some came with family, some with friends, some with coworkers, while a few simply saw the event online and thought it looked fun. (Spoiler alert: they were right!)
Wednesday started strong with 14 volunteers from Heritage Family Credit Union, giving the week a ton of energy right from the get-go. On Thursday, the neighbor living in the house next door joined us for a workday, excited to meet her future neighbor. (Another spoiler alert: she came back on Saturday to work more!)
Friday brought community friends who had been trying to get to the site for a while, Habitat staff who had been jonesing to swing a hammer, and total strangers we were thrilled to meet. By lunch on Saturday, there were no strangers left, only friends sharing laughs and good times.
The crew also included people with a much closer connection to this particular home. Alexis, whose family will purchase the house, worked alongside the crew on multiple days. Habitat homeowners from the surrounding neighborhood came over for shifts, working beside a family now going through the same process they once did. We even had parents and children of Habitat homeowners on site, representing multiple generations of this community.
Before the family has even moved in, the neighborhood is already showing up.
Group build days on a Habitat site are a relatively common occurrence. The key difference is cadence. We host one group per week at most, and every other week is more typical. On top of everything else Women’s Week offered, it gave us four group build days in a row. That meant we got to have one big, impactful, powerful day… and then do it again the next day. And then again the next. AND the next.
Together, volunteers installed the home’s entire drywall ceiling from start to finish. They also worked on siding, soffit and fascia, framed the front and back porch ceilings, stained the shed door, built the shed ramp and planter boxes, prepared materials for interior framing, hauled supplies, organized the site, and cleaned up plenty along the way. The ceiling is the clearest example of why those 200 hours matter. With the drywall complete, interior framing can begin. That allows electricians to get inside, which opens the door for the next long list of work needed to bring the home closer to completion. One finished task does not just shorten a checklist. It makes the next task possible.
By Saturday, we were not just looking at a finished ceiling. We were looking at what happens when one person gives a few hours, then another works beside them, then a new crew arrives the next morning and carries the work forward. We are grateful to every volunteer who showed up, whether for one shift or several. Together, they packed progress that would normally be spread across weeks into four days. Standing inside that house at the end of it, it was impossible not to wonder: what if every week looked like this?
Four build days require four solid lunches. Sam’s Wood Fired Pizza Co. fed Wednesday’s crew, Zoey’s Double Hex provided lunch on Thursday, and Dina Bronson took care of Friday before we closed the week with a Saturday cookout.
Each meal gave the crew a chance to put down the tools, sit together, catch their breath, and get ready for another afternoon of work. Thank you for taking such good care of us.
Women’s Week may be over, but the work continues throughout the year. Pick a build day, join the crew, and help us make more weeks look like this one.
