GMM Habitat Celebrates Women Build Month

One family is now closer to achieving the dream of home ownership, thanks to Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat for Humanity (GMM Habitat) and more than 100 volunteers who came together during Women Build Month in May to further construction on a single-family home located in the White Meadow Lake section of Rockaway Township.

“Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program engages, mobilizes, trains and empowers women,” said Liz DeCoursey, CEO of GMM Habitat, at a Women Build celebration in May. “A construction site can be intimidating for anyone. Women who might have shied away from volunteering on an active construction site can step forward to learn new skills and become empowered to take on new challenges. Habitat’s goal is to empower women to help themselves, their families and their communities build strength, stability and independence.”

Donning hard hats and swinging hammers, volunteers focused their efforts on framing and installing exterior and interior walls. The two-story home will have four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a garage. A second home will be built on a contiguous lot that will have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The properties were donated by Rockaway Township.

“The Township of Rockaway knows the importance of working together to provide everyone with the opportunity to own their own home,” said DeCoursey. “To offer a hand up, not a handout. To bring the community together with neighbors helping neighbors. Rockaway not only donated this property but also provided $150,000 toward the construction of the projects.”

GMM Habitat also received $465,000 from the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund (NJAHTF), critical funding that made the projects possible. According to DeCoursey, the NJAHTF funding is now in jeopardy. “The proposed fiscal year 2026 state budget will divert the entire NJAHTF to other programs,” said DeCoursey. “Without this crucial gap funding, many projects, just like this one, will not be built. Municipalities will have difficulty fulfilling their affordable housing requirements --and worst of all –families in Morris County and throughout the state will have even fewer opportunities to own affordable homes of their own.”

In addition to the public-private partnership with the state and municipality, GMM Habitat partners with “homeowners in progress” who are required to put in hundreds of hours of ‘sweat equity’ toward building their homes. Families work alongside volunteers and play an active part in making their dreams of owning a home a reality. They also attend financial literacy and homeownership classes that prepare them for long-term success.

Stacey Moore, Relationship Manager with Provident Bank, also attended the celebration and spoke of her company’s commitment to GMM Habitat and promoting affordable homeownership. “Provident Bank has been a longtime supporter of Habitat, and we’re proud to sponsor this event,” said Moore. “We had a group of volunteers out here on this very site. Out of the group, four had never done a Habitat build before, and most had never used a saw or drill, but before noon we were a well-oiled machine!”

The Women Build event had an international component this year with a small contingent participating from Habitat Honduras. “A house means health, hope and education, and that means wellness,” said Mareha Guillen from Honduras Habitat. “We’re sister organizations with GMM Habitat, and we’re excited to be supporting this project and the family.”

Sponsors for this year’s Women Build Month include: The Margaret A. Darrin

Charitable Trust; Provident Bank; Passion 4 People Consulting; Crum & Forster; GAF; Lord Abbett; Valley Bank; Smolin Advisory, Tax and Accounting; Vanguard Energy Partners; People’s Security Bank & Trust; PSE&G; and Sphere Construction Group.

ABOUT GREATER MIDDLESEX & MORRIS HABITAT FOR HUMANITY

Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat for Humanity is part of a global, nonprofit housing organization, Habitat for Humanity International, committed to building homes, communities, and hope. The organization, which is one of the leading builders of affordable housing in New Jersey, serves 68 municipalities in Morris and Middlesex Counties and the greater Plainfield area. Through volunteer labor and monetary donations and materials, Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat builds affordable new homes and provides home repair services to income eligible families and individuals. Now in its 40th year, Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat has served nearly 1,100 families through building more than 200 local homes, preserving 531 homes for low-income homeowners and seniors, and helping 383 families with housing solutions worldwide. The local affiliate organization has engaged more than 150,000 volunteers in its various programs. Greater Middlesex & Morris Habitat also operates a successful ReStore home improvement and furnishings outlet in Randolph which has kept 21,772 tons of reusable materials out of landfills and funded 42 homes since 2007.

For more information, visit gmmhabitat.org or call 973-891-1934.