Since 2003, the Atlanta Women’s Build (AWB) has been providing single mothers with an affordable place to live, and a place they can call home. In partnership with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, the AWB works to raise funds and actively construct homes from the ground up. These projects are dedicated to supporting single mothers and female heads of households who achieve permanent, affordable homeownership. Through this hard work, the AWB initiative has successfully constructed 22 fully-funded projects, while fundraising for more than $2.5 million through the empowering help of over 4,000 women volunteers.
Daughters build alongside mothers, and strangers build alongside new friends during the annual all-female build. It’s a legacy of family and community that began when founders and friends Barbara Reid and Polly Simpson decided to start their own grassroots volunteer initiative over 23 years ago.
Now AWB is one of 50-plus builds Atlanta Habitat for Humanity constructs a year, with AWB being the only one that is fully-funded. Rosalyn Merrick, the president and CEO of the Atlanta Habitat for Humanity, called the work that AWB has achieved “inspiring.” Their work has sparked other groups, such as the Alpha Kappa Alphas to start their own builds…