It was a different kind of construction site Saturday May 2nd at 403 Indiana Ave., Valparaiso. Everyone wore pink, and most of the construction crew was female. Men were cooking lunch for them.
This was a major milestone for the maiden voyage in an initiative called Women Build - the raising of the walls for the latest project of Habit for Humanity of Porter County.
About 50 volunteers showed up, most of them women, and donned pink Habitat T-shirts.
After ceremonial remarks to launch the project, men stood back while women lifted the walls that had been built in the Portage Lowe's parking lot a couple of weeks earlier and hoisted them into place.
They drilled, sawed and hammered the walls into place, some using skills they'd learned in construction clinics conducted by Lowe's. The company is a national partner of Habitat for Humanity's Women Build.
Construction continued intensely the rest of the week, despite a couple of rainy days. Completion is expected in September.
One active participant Saturday was Jaclyn "Jaci" Gabrysiak, who looks forward to moving into the house and giving sons Nathan, 9, and Nick, 7, a more suitable home than the leaky trailer they occupy now.
Gabrysiak, who has a full-time job in Merrillville, said she plans to return to school to become a certified nursing assistant.
Like others who have cleared the rigorous screening and committed to buy Habitat homes, Gabrysiak is to provide 300 hours of "sweat equity" working on her house or other Habitat projects.
Two current Habitat residents and the family slated to begin work on their Habitat home in June joined the workforce Saturday.
Like Gabrysiak, they met income limits - minimum and maximum - and other Habitat requirements. Not the least of these is a promise to make the payments on a relatively modest mortgage held by Habitat. These payments then help the organization finance future projects.
Helping set the tone for Saturday's activities were guest speakers Caroline Shook, CEO of Housing Opportunities; Peggy Buffington, superintendent of the School City of Hobart; and Bob Ax, president of 1st Source Bank; as well as Brian Johnson, executive director, and Kim Cuellar, Women Build coordinator of Habitat for Humanity of Porter County.
The new home is being built on a lot formerly occupied by a home that 1st Source had foreclosed on, and donated to Habitat. After evaluating the structure, Habitat determined that it needed to be demolished to make way for new construction.
This project will continue through the summer with work scheduled for Saturday's. Volunteers are needed to help complete this home as well as the home scheduled to begin in June. Those interested in volunteering can go to Volunteerup.com and register for a work day. Any groups interested in scheduling their own work day can contact Kim Cuellar at 219-531-0359 or kim@portercountyhabitat.org