Habitat for Humanity Choptank will be going to settlement on its 72nd home with the sale and completion of its Women Build House. The community is invited to join in a house blessing celebration on Saturday, April 1 at 9 a.m. A brief program will be followed by refreshments and a chance to tour the home, which is located at 59 Pleasant Alley in Easton. The home will be purchased by Ashley Velez, who is employed with Linton’s Managed Services, working at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center.

Women Build is a program of Habitat for Humanity that empowers and engages women in learning construction skills, building homes and positively impacting their community. For the Pleasant Alley house, Habitat Choptank’s goal was a home built and funded by women. This is the nonprofit’s second such project; the first Women Build House was completed in 1998.

Groundbreaking for this home took place during National Women Build Week in May 2016. Since then, a crew of volunteers has been working regularly on Tuesdays under the direction of construction supervisor Rhodana Fields. On Saturdays, group volunteers from area businesses, churches and community groups lent their time to the building process. In addition to working in construction, women volunteers raised over $96,000 to fund the purchase of materials as well as the installation of the roof and mechanical systems.

The home that the Velez family is buying meets Habitat Choptank’s construction standards in terms of quality, sustainability and energy efficiency. The combination of these features with an affordable mortgage produce housing that is more durable, healthier to live in and more affordable.

Habitat Choptank currently has six other homes in progress. These projects, located in Cambridge, Easton and Hurlock, are a mix of new construction and rehab houses. The nonprofit homebuilder has plans to begin at least six more home projects between the two counties over the coming year if the funds can be raised to support this revitalization work.

Since 1992, Habitat Choptank has provided affordable mortgage financing to give hardworking lower-income people who cannot qualify for conventional financing the chance to purchase a home. After completing “sweat equity” hours and pre-homeownership classes, these buyers will purchase homes that they helped construct and assume responsibility for repaying an affordable mortgage. Habitat accepts applications for its home ownership program throughout the year. For more information about Habitat, to volunteer or make a donation, call 410-476-3204 or visit www.HabitatChoptank.org.

Associates from Schauber Van Schaik Insurance were among the group volunteers who worked on the Women Build House. The company and staff members also contributed financially to the project.