Most weekends, putting up a house is a job for contractors. But this past weekend in Harvey, it was a job for about 50 neighbors — most of whom had never swung a framing hammer in their lives.
From May 28 through 30, Marquette County Habitat for Humanity held its annual Women Build: three days where anyone willing to learn could show up and help build real homes for local families. By Sunday, the crew had helped put up two duplexes.
A Volunteer Who Asks for Tools, Not Jewelry
One of those volunteers was Christina Patrick, back for her second year — and she came ready, custom hard hat and all. These days, when people ask what she wants as a gift, she skips the usual stuff. She’d rather have “tools and hard hats and things like that,” she told TV6, because she genuinely loves the work.
Here’s the part that gets you. Last year, Patrick says, she only knew how to paint. Now she’s helped build four homes for Marquette County families, and any free time she gets, she’s out there putting in hours.
No Skills? Doesn’t Matter.
That’s the whole point of the Marquette Women Build. According to TV6, Executive Director Deanna Johnson said plenty of women show up apprehensive — sure they’re coming with no useful skills — and it turns out that doesn’t matter even a little. The crew leaders teach you. You learn by doing. And by the end of the day, you’ve helped build something that’ll shelter a family for decades.
Construction has long been a male-dominated field, and the idea behind Women Build — themed “Give to Gain” this year, with the Zonta Club of the Marquette Area sponsoring — is to make sure everybody feels welcome to grab a hammer and pitch in.
Why It Matters Beyond the Warm Fuzzies
There’s a practical reason this works, too. Building a new home is expensive, and volunteer labor keeps the cost down — which is what keeps the finished homes affordable for the families who’ll actually live in them. So every person who shows up isn’t just picking up a skill or making friends, though there’s plenty of both happening. They’re helping make a home reachable for someone right there in their own community.
That’s about as Yooper as it gets: neighbors showing up, learning side by side, and leaving behind something that’ll outlast all of them.
For more stories about U.P. folks looking out for each other, check out our Heartwarming section on Yooper Hub.
Reporting from TV6 (WLUC) — watch their full story here.
Yoopers — would you grab a hard hat and spend a weekend building a home for a neighbor? Let us know 👇
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