Women to take the reins on building Norman Habitat home

NORMAN — Local women will take over the power tools and paint brushes Saturday on Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity’s latest building project.

The nonprofit agency is participating in National Women Build Week which encourages women to get involved with the program.

About 30 women will volunteer their time on the home at 313 W Himes St. They will be putting in laminate flooring and painting the exterior.

The home is sponsored by University of Oklahoma fraternity and sorority members. Both men and women have been working on the project, but the men will have to step back Saturday, organizers said.

The day is a great way to introduce women to the kind of work they would do on a building project and meet other women who volunteer with the organization, said Jana Castleberry, director of Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity.

Women interested in working on the nonprofit’s next Women Build project should stop by Saturday, she said.

The agency is in the planning stages for the next home that will be constructed by an all-women crew. They are recruiting team members and raising money for the construction project which will begin in the spring of 2010.

Habitat for Humanity brings together volunteers to help build affordable houses for needy families. The home Cleveland County volunteers are working on is for Joseph Johnson. The single father will live there with his son Jo Jo, who has Down syndrome and leukemia, and Joseph’s mother, Diane.

Cleveland County Habitat for Humanity received a $5,000 grant from Lowe’s for participating in Women Build Day.