Joplin Habitat holds Women Build workday

May 29—While on a water break during Wednesday's Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity's Women Build, Cherie Bebee took volunteers on a tour of her new house.

Bebee, her friends and volunteers from Mercy Orthopedic had been working all morning, putting siding on her home along Eighth Street in Joplin.

Inside, the rooms were roughed in by studs. She showed where her children had picked out their rooms. On many of those wooden studs they had written Bible verses and positive quotes to be forever present in their new home.

"This workday is just a step closer to my house being done," Bebee said. "It's awesome to meet other females in the community that you might not have known. To see the turnout of how people are donating their time, it's such a blessing."

Barbie Huff, director of family services for Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity, said there were nearly 40 female volunteers during the Women Build workday. The volunteers were helping install siding at two of Habitat's in-progress builds.

Huff said Habitat had so many volunteers for the workday that it was able to add more projects — a "Brush With Kindness" repair project for an older homeowner and two tornado-related yard cleanups. The organization even scheduled another workday with about 10 women who had conflicts Wednesday.

Habitat for Humanity International's Women Build department held its first Ladies Build in 1999. Women governors and first ladies from all 50 states joined Habitat to build houses with families in need.

That workday is usually held in March for Women's History Month, but Joplin Habitat moved its workday to late May when the weather would be better, Huff said. Joplin Habitat held its first Women Build about 12 years ago, doing a complete house build. Since then, Habitat has also done workdays with various improvement and building projects.

"I hope these women have a really great time and learn some skills," Huff said. "It may be skills they never use again, but they seem to love to come out, swing hammers, paint and do whatever is required. I think they also love the camaraderie of it being an all-women day."

Bebee said this was her first time putting on siding. She said it has been a learning experience but something she believes she could do again now.

She previously was a renter and said she had a hard time finding housing she could afford. She connected with Habitat through Building Bridges and now volunteers with other projects with Habitat for hours to put toward her new home.

"They've been friendly and helpful, always encouraging and talking positive," Bebee said. "It's nice to see there's people who care in the community, seeing as we have so many volunteers here today."

Sister-Corps

At the "Brush With Kindness" project on Jackson Avenue, Pam Dobson volunteered with a group called the Sister-Corps. It is a national group of female volunteers who provide recovery efforts from natural disasters. The group started in 2017, and many members are retired and pay their own expenses to reach devastated areas.

"I'm at that period of my life where I want to give back," Dobson said. "Because we're with Sister-Corps, we go as responders to hurricanes, tornadoes, floods. We just came back from doing tornado work in Oklahoma."

One of their sisters is from the Joplin area, and other volunteers responded from around Arkansas and Missouri. Dobson is from Branson. The sisters pitched in to clean debris from a fence, put mulch down and stain the porch Wednesday.

"It's always great working with the women," Dobson said. "It's a nice crew, and everybody pulls together. I think I get more out of this than the people that are our clients."

Addie Lewis worked with her mother and her daughter on the "Brush With Kindness" project, staining a porch.

Those volunteer hours will count for her Habitat house as well. She said the Women Build workday is also her next step in working toward her future home with Habitat for Humanity.

"I like working with the women here today. It's a lot of fun," Lewis said. "Habitat has been so generous, so giving. I wouldn't be able to get a house without Habitat. They do a lot of volunteer work, and I enjoy giving back."

Lewis said she doesn't usually get the opportunity to do work like this, and it helps give her experience for when she'll need to do her own yard work and home repairs.

Being a single mom with two kids, she said, she didn't qualify for other housing programs in the area. She said Habitat was her last resort and that she's now excited for her new life.

"I'm learning all these new homeowner experiences that I will have to do," Lewis said. "When we start work on my house, I'll be incredibly grateful for all the help. They'll show up like everyone has today, and I'll be honored to have people work on my house."

Joplin Area Habitat for Humanity and its subsidiary, the Joplin Economic Housing Development Initiative, have constructed 187 homes in the area, Huff said.