At our March meeting, we met with the director of Habitat for Humanity and the construction manager at a prepped home site that will be built in April.  We learned about the national and local donation contracts that Wichita Habitat has that reduce the cost of each house.  All paint, heating and air conditioning systems, lights, and flooring are all or partially donated, and some trades people donate their time.  We met on the site of a 4 bedroom house.  All of the houses have vaulted ceilings, a storage shed, and a handcrafted pantry.  The owners get to choose their paint colors, flooring, and lights from a Habitat collection.  Owners are required to put in time on other houses before they are given their own house, and they have to work on their own house.  At the end, they are given the mortgage, and become home owners and tax payers.  We also met a homeowner and toured a house, and discussed what it was like for the owner before and after attaining the home.
We learned a lot about the homes, the application process, and about what will happen with the Women Build house in September.  This house is partially funded and because of that our section is helping to raise money to sponsor one day of the build. We are selling shares for $30. Please consider buying a share or two. Checks can be made out to Habitat for Humanity. If interested, contact Vickie Glancy-Cannon at Vickie.GlancyCannon@swe.org. Also, shares will be on sale at the May banquet. The Women Build will be this fall. We have slots reserved for Saturday September 9 and Saturday October 2. Please consider setting aside one of these days to help SWE build.