The nonprofit Homes 4 Families hosted its 10th annual Women’s Empowerment Build (WE Build) with more than 300 women participating at its Veteran Enriched Neighborhood in Santa Clarita on Saturday.

The women from all over the San Fernando, Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys put on pink hard hats, rolled up their sleeves and helped finish the remaining 18 homes in the Veteran Enriched Neighborhood.

They included four women veterans – Gabby (Army), Terry (Navy, Navy Reserves), Josette (Army), and Karen (Army) – who will be moving into the homes currently under construction.

Homes 4 Families empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class by providing them with affordable housing and holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth.

“We’re always excited to bring these empowered women from the community together to collaborate on hard work and volunteer efforts to help complete our Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood,” said Donna Deutchman, president and CEO of Homes 4 Families. “In its 10th year, this build is always a special day and we were thrilled to see everyone join in.”

Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste and Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean were in attendance. Mayor Weste has served as Commissioner for the City Parks and Recreation Commission, Advisory Board Member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and Director of the Santa Clarita Valley Committee on Aging.

Mayor Pro Tem McLean joined the Santa Clarita City Council in 2002, and has served as mayor in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Sponsored by Lockheed Martin, Soroptimist Santa Clarita, Anheuser Busch, Andy Gump Temporary Site Services, Coldwell Banker, A-1 Party, Jersey Mike’s, Pacific Coast Civil, Mechanix Wear, PDC Healthcare, Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Meloni Hribal Tratner, Legacy, Burrtec, Williams Homes, Sam’s Club, Wam, LandCare, Boston Scientific, Syska Hennessy Group, Starbucks, DuctTesters, AirKing, Cedar Financial, Individual Food Services and Brinks Home Security, this year’s WE Build continues the tradition of bringing together, empowering and celebrating women and female veterans.

View a gallery of photos from Saturday’s build.

To donate or learn more, click here.

For more information on Homes 4 Families, click here.

About Homes 4 Families
Homes 4 Families empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class through affordable, full-equity homeownership and sustainable housing combined with holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth. Through its outcome-proven Enriched Neighborhood model, the nonprofit provides servicemen, servicewomen and their families with comprehensive wraparound services that equip them to succeed in civilian life, including financial education, therapeutic workshops, trauma-informed programs and veteran-to-veteran support. With more than 10 years of research-backed experience and success, Homes 4 Families works closely with
the California Department of Veterans Affairs and others to build permanent, thriving veteran communities.