Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers were among more than 90 volunteers to join Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County to help build affordable housing in Santa Paula in recognition of National Women Build Week, May 2-10. On Saturday, May 9th, a large group of women volunteers worked to provide, safe, decent, affordable housing in Habitat’s new Trinity Lane Development.

Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County has been participating in Women Build events since 2007. This year, participants included a number of mother-daughter teams and a diverse group of women, ages 16 to 75+, representing local businesses, community groups, and faith-based organizations – all working side-by-side with Habitat Partner Families who will purchase their Trinity Lane homes upon completion of construction and homeowner education classes.

Two successful young women who participated in Saturday’s build have been in their own Habitat home since 2005; sisters Maria Guadalupe Cisneros and Maria De Jesus Cisneros have earned their bachelor’s degrees, and Maria De Jesus is now enrolled in the master’s program at California State Northridge. Twenty year-old Irisela, the oldest daughter of our fifth Trinity Lane Family Partner has been working on-site with her mother and father helping to build other Habitat homes until construction on their house begins this summer. Irisela shared her family’s story during the Women Build lunch-and-learn, speaking to a crowd of more than 90 participants. Her parents and five siblings, ages 11 to 21, are currently living in a crowded three-bedroom apartment with a leaky roof, electrical problems, and no power in one room; her brother is sleeping in a walk-in closet. Irisela’s parent, who been employed by the same agriculture company in Ventura County since 2002, are excellent role models encouraging their daughters and sons to work hard and focus on their studies.

The first two Trinity Lane homes will be completed and dedicated on May 30, 2015 and another two homes will be dedicated in December of 2015. Among the first five homes in Trinity Lane, eleven young girls and five boys will soon have a decent place in which to live, grow and thrive.

“It is an exciting day when so many women work together to build and support families in need of safe, decent and affordable housing. Habitat is built on partnership and volunteerism, and Women Build is a particularly meaningful day of hard work and construction mixed with a desire to support our community,” said Steve Dwyer, Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County’s Executive Director.

National Women Build Week is a weeklong event created by Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program that challenges women to devote at least one day to help build affordable housing in their local communities. Across the nation, more than 15,000 women are expected to volunteer at Habitat construction sites this week to spotlight the homeownership challenges faced by women.

Lowe’s helped launch National Women Build Week in 2008 and each year provides the support of Lowe’s Heroes and conducts how-to clinics at stores to teach volunteers construction skills.

“National Women Build Week has made a difference in the lives of thousands of families since its inception,” said Joan Higginbotham, Lowe’s director of community relations. “We’re grateful to all the women in Ventura County who got involved this week and were part of something bigger with Lowe’s and Habitat.”

Lowe’s donated nearly $2 million to this year’s National Women Build Week, including a $5,000 store gift card to Habitat for Humanity of Ventura County. National Women Build Week is one of the major initiatives supported through Lowe’s national partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Since 2003, Lowe’s has committed more than $63 million to Habitat and helped more than 4,000 families improve their living conditions.

Habitat’s Women Build program recruits, educates and inspires women to build and advocate for simple, decent and affordable homes in their communities. Since the program was created in 1998, more than 2,300 homes have been built in partnership with low-income families using Women Build crews.

For more information on Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program and to learn about Women Build events in communities across the U.S. year-round, visit Habitat.org/wb or the Women Build tab on http://www.facebook.com/habitat.