CRAVEN COUNTY, N.C. — It's International Women's Day! Habitat for Humanity is hosting its annual Women Build week all over the world.
This week is Habitat for Humanity's Women Build week
Thousands of women every year learn how to construct affordable housing
The first Women Build started in Charlotte in 1991
The event allows volunteers to build confidence in their abilities and give back to the community
Tens of thousands of women participate every year to learn how to construct decent affordable housing.
Women Build started in 1991 in Charlotte when a group of female volunteers completed the first women-built Habitat for Humanity house. Thirty-plus years later, a group of women volunteers in New Bern is defying gender stereotypes and proving their capability.
Rachel Vautrin is no stranger to construction.
“My parents raised me to be able to do anything I wanted to do,” Vautrin said. “You know, they didn't give me any limitations.”“My parents raised me to be able to do anything I wanted to do,” Vautrin said. “You know, they didn't give me any limitations.”
She's owned five homes and done her own renovations on most of them. A couple years ago, when her roof came off during Hurricane Florence, she helped with a lot of the repairs.
“I guess it goes back to being an engineer,” Vautrin said. “I've always been really kind of loving to build things, take things apart and put them back together. I just love making things, kind of coming up with a plan ... figuring out the pieces and how they fit together and building it and making it look beautiful when you're done.”
Now she's back on the job volunteering for Women's Build with Habitat for Humanity. She's here with a group of volunteers from Nutrien, the company where she works. The group is part of the WINTER program which stands for women in non-traditional environments and roles.
“Women make up 50% of the work force,” said Renee Hunt, the human resources manager at Nutrien. “So this is a great opportunity to show women the different things they can do, the different jobs that they can hold that are maybe nontraditional roles for them. But how they can also participate and do these jobs and do them well.”
Vautrin has worked in manufacturing for almost 30 years. When she started as a chemical engineer, there weren't a lot of women in her field.
“I want to make it easier for other women and make sure they're supported and have somebody to talk to when they need to,” Vautrin said.
Volunteering for the Women Build event is important to her because it helps women build confidence in their abilities, give back to the community and learn skills that they can use on their own homes in the future.
“I think it's really cool to see ... that women can do anything that men can do,” Vautrin said. “And that sometimes we can do it better.”
Women Build started Tuesday and will continue through Saturday. Check your local Habitat for Humanity website to sign up and find ways to volunteer.
