NJ women give back by building up on International Women's Day
HIGHTSTOWN, N.J. (CBS) -- Giving back by building up. It was a mission for a majority women team out of central New Jersey on International Women's Day.
It was quite literally a labor of love for volunteer Ella Graham in Hightstown, New Jersey, on International Women's Day.
"I've never done this before, it's my first time," Graham said. "Can't you tell? I'm so excited."
A majority female volunteer team from Ewing-based mortgage company Cenlar FSB joined forces with Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey to frame the second floor of a duplex.
The work on Wednesday was a part of Habitat's Women's Build Program.
"It's a hard day [of] work," Kim Matthews, head of HR and corporate education at Cenlar FSB, said. "We're really giving heart and soul into what we're doing here."
Next door to the duplex the team worked on Wednesday was another home built by Habitat for Humanity last year.
"That was the first half of this project," Annie Fox, chief development officer for Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey, said, "and we have two single-head-of-household families who have purchased those homes."
Fox says notes that female-led households make up the majority of their new homeowners.
"They learn how to be a homeowner vs. a renter," Fox said. "The importance of credit, how to use insurance, when to put insurance in when not to put an insurance claim in and also how to budget."
By the fall, the Academy Street Project Affordable Duplex Home will be complete.
Until then, there's no question the team is leaving its mark and pouring its heart into giving back.
