GM Wentzville Volunteers Partner with Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County for Women Build

Volunteers from GM’s Wentzville Assembly and local UAW chapter 2250 partnered with Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles County on Saturday to help build their seventh Women Build home.

Women Build is Habitat for Humanity’s program for women who want to learn construction skills for building homes and communities. This program brings together women from all walks of life to address the housing crisis facing millions of women and children worldwide.

The three-bedroom home is being built in partnership with the Tesson family, who were recently selected as the 72nd partner family with Habitat St. Charles.

“It was overwhelming to see the Tesson Family building their own home so I’m proud that we could help them and be part of such a worthy event,” said Pat Wyse, UAW Local 2250 Joint Training Representative.

Working alongside the Tesson family, Habitat volunteers are working to complete the home by November of 2015.

“We are very excited for this new partnership with the GM Foundation,” said Resource Development Coordinator, Lauren Grotegeers. “Women Build is one of the most impactful themes for Habitat. The goal is to empower and educate women on the job site; however, we welcome anyone with a passion for making a difference in their community to join us.”

This Women Build home is made possible by a $1 million grant from the GM Foundation to Habitat for Humanity International. The grant will fund 11 new-home builds internationally, as well as a special veterans’ program in partnership with up to 50 Habitat affiliates.

“This is about more than just building a house,” said GM Foundation President Vivian Pickard. “This is about giving a families like the Tesson’s the stability of a permanent home and a better sense of belonging to a community.”

This is the third consecutive year the GM Foundation has provided grants to Habitat for Humanity, bringing its total support to more than $3 million dollars.