Circle of Women Blog

The Circle of Women home is currently under construction. Follow the progress as Robin Richards, a Texas A&M student and Habitat intern, blogs about the build, made possible by a group of generous women in our community.

Circle of Women home to be dedication Dec. 7

Daphne Nix’s home will be dedicated this Saturday, Dec. 7! All are welcome to attend the dedication ceremony at 10:00 a.m. Join us as welcome Daphne home and wish her a Merry Christmas!

Circle of Women Spotlight – Stephanie Sale – Blog 3 (November 13, 2013)

The Circle of Women build is made possible by many dedicated volunteers. Some women volunteer once or twice but others have been involved for numerous years. One of these committed volunteers is Stephanie Sale. Stephanie has been involved with the Circle of Women builds for four years and has worked on three homes.

Stephanie has extraordinarily fond memories on the construction site. For Stephanie, helping a family’s dream come to fruition is a pleasure that is dear to her heart. She described her construction experiences: “Early morning fresh air, unpredictable weather forecasts, laughter, new skills to master – it’s all of this and more.” She added that she prefers to assist with the wall raising and siding tasks of the construction process. Other members of Circle of Women choose to paint inside or outside, tile, shingle or plant.

When thinking about her experiences with Habitat for Humanity, Stephanie recalled one heartfelt moment. One year, she handed the front door key of the newly built Circle of Women home to its proud owner. She thoughtfully reminisced, “Her face, her smile, her tears are with me still. I don’t think life gets too much better than that.”

Circle of Women has been quite a rewarding experience for Mrs. Sale. The group of women that convene every year to ensure that a family has a safe, new home can be thought of as a sisterhood. This collaboration has continued to grow thanks to the efforts of participants that invite more friends year after year.

Making Progress (November 7, 2013)

All the rain we’ve had recently has slowed construction down. But we’re still making progress!

November 7, 2013

Volunteers from Southwood Grace Bible Church paint the exterior.

Circle of Women Spotlight – Diane Jones Meier – Blog 2 (October 14, 2013)

The current Circle of Women build would not be possible without the efforts of one inspirational woman. Diane Jones Meier has played an integral role in B/CS Habitat for Humanity and the Circle of Women. She started on staff as the volunteer coordinator for B/CS Habitat in 1999 and later became a co-coordinator for Circle of Women, a position she still holds today.

Circle of Women first started in the 1990s as an idea to merge giving circles that donated money to Habitat – a way to incorporate donors with a women build. When the idea was brought up in the Habitat office, Meier was interested. Little did she know that she would become the coordinator.

Today Circle of Women helps raise the $50,000 needed to sponsor a home and provides much of the physical volunteer labor. Meier explained, “Women are the initiatives, funders, and hopefully provide most of the volunteer labor on the weekends.” Since its humble beginnings, Circle of Women has built seven homes with B/CS Habitat for Humanity.

Many members of Circle of Women spend their Saturday mornings out on the construction site on their designated days to help. Meier noted that she always makes an effort to be at the wall raising ceremony for each Circle of Women house. She even helped carry walls for the home that is currently in progress. Since many of the Circle of Women participants are not construction science experts, the organization holds a workshop prior to their build. The workshop covers safety tips and provides hands-on experiences with power tools.

Diane Jones Meier sees many benefits to an all-women build. She recalled that the first Circle of Women home allowed for local female trailblazers, like the first female plumber in the area, to show their stuff. In addition, the friendships made through the group have flourished through the fellowship of working toward a charitable goal.

The new Circle of Women home is now well on its way. The most recent progress is a roof! Construction continues each week, Tuesday-Saturday.

Daphne’s home has a roof! (October 8, 2013)

Circle of Women build is underway – Blog 1 (September 28, 2013)

When you first think of building homes, what comes to mind? One might think of big, burly men swinging hammers and operating chainsaws. This time the picture is a little different. A group from the Circle of Women will be donning hardhats and tool belts to give back to the Bryan/College Station community.

Circle of Women members at the kickoff reception, September 17, 2013.

Circle of Women is a group of local women that partner each year with Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a family in need. They are true examples that anyone can build a home and volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. In addition to providing much of the labor, they donated the $50,000 required to sponsor the home.

Daphne Nix will be the homeowner of this house built in large part by women. In addition to the hard work of the Circle of Women, the Nix family is performing 500 sweat equity hours to help build their home and the homes of other Habitat families.

B/CS Habitat for Humanity and the Nix family are so grateful for the support of Circle of Women. We look forward to seeing the progress on the Nix home and hearing about the experiences of the Circle of Women volunteers! Continue to follow the build’s progress on the B/CS Habitat for Humanity blog.