Don’t let their pink hard hats fool you. Women Build volunteers aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty for a good cause. Earlier this month, the volunteers began building a single detached home for a family in need at 439 York Road in Guelph.

“Women Build isn’t about excluding men; it’s about including women,” says Lynda Slater, chair of Women Build’s steering committee and an educational specialist in U of G’s Centre for Students with Disabilities. “We do have men that work on the site. The focus is on women because it’s a really empowering thing for women to be involved in construction.”

Slater says Women Build gives volunteers the opportunity to develop skills that are normally reserved for male-dominated trades. “If you own your own home, you can put some of these skills to use and fix things that you would typically call someone to have fixed.”

A branch of Habitat for Humanity, Women Build has constructed 49 homes across Canada since 2000. Guelph’s first Women Build home was completed in 2010 at 133 Bagot Street with the help of 250 volunteers, including 175 women who worked on site. This year’s home is expected to be completed by the end of the summer.

Slater began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in 2007. While working on a building site in Guelph, she met the woman who would eventually occupy the house.

“I was working alongside this woman and found out that she was the one getting the house,” says Slater, adding that recipients of the homes are required to contribute 500 hours of sweat equity on site. The recipient of this year’s Women Build house is a single mother with two children.

“I encourage all U of G women to come out and build and learn some new skills,” says Slater. “Join the build and do something that’s good for the community and good for a family who wouldn’t be able to own a home without the help of Habitat.”

Anyone can volunteer, regardless of their experience level.

“We have women who have never touched a hammer in their lives and some who are real pros,” says Slater. For those who are intimidated by power tools, Habitat for Humanity offers workshops that cover the skills they need to cut with confidence. They also learn from each other and the site supervisor.

Women Build starts planning and fundraising for each house one year before the groundbreaking. “We have to raise the amount of money we need to build a house and get donations,” says Slater, “so if you don’t want to build, you can raise money for the cause instead.”

Slater says she’s met many new people on the job site and thinks a building project would be a great way for U of G staff and faculty to connect. “Often on campus we only know people by their phone extension or their email address,” she says. “We don’t get to see their faces and meet in person. Wouldn’t it be great if we got groups of staff members and faculty meeting each other in a realm that wasn’t work-related?”

Slater says Women Build is hosting a family barbeque with live entertainment and children’s activities on June 26 from 12 to 4 p.m. at Riverside Park. Admission is $10 per person or $35 for a family of four. Proceeds from the event will go directly towards this year’s build.