In Focus

Whoever said that a woman's place is in the home, obviously had no idea that we could also build it. This past week, the Chicks Laying Nest Eggs Investment Club did just that. We built a home. Most of the articles in the Chick's Eye View are related to investing in the stock market, but today I'd like to touch on why your club should invest in the world.

When the Chicks started back in 1998 one of our goals was to give back to our community. We started with Random Acts of Kindness to get us in the mood (though Chick Jana counted not hanging up on a telemarketer as her random way of being kind). As a club we had already witnessed what can happen when ten women jointly work towards a common investment goal, but we had no idea what would happen if we changed our purpose. We decided to build a house for someone in need. (What were we thinking?)

Last Saturday the Chicks flew to Americus, Georgia to be part of the "Jimmy Carter Work Project 2000" for Habitat for Humanity. There were thirty-five homes being built in Sumter County, Georgia as part of their cross-country "Blitz" Build. The homes are completed in one week. (You heard me correctly; start to finish, one week.) One of these houses was being built by a team of women, thirty women to be exact. I was more than worried that the "Women Build" project was going to be a big flop if one-third of the women there were us "Chicks". I mean come on, we can talk America Online and Sun Microsystems, but what do we know about bull-nose pliers and coping saws? What happened was amazing.

Our start was a little slow. Let's just say our progress was behind the other 34 homes and I'll leave it at that. I am sure we were a sight for the male builders next door. Just looking at us is enough to make you giggle. My mother is over 60, so they must have wondered how was she going to survive 100-degree temperatures while carrying out hard labor? I'm sure they could see me shaking in my Doc Martens a couple of times while I was edging the shingles. (Literally slicing shingles and hammering them in at the EDGE of the roof.) And if you took a look at the other Chicks, it's laughable to think we could build a house in a week. Chick Cheryl is the size of twelve year old, so what good was she going to be? Chick Lynn has perfect nails, and Chick Megan is too cute to build. We don't even paint the trim on our own houses, so how did we think we could accomplish a building?

But, get this; some of the women on the site really knew what they were doing! All they had to do was teach us. Teaching us was the slow part, but once we got it down, our house started to come together. Chicks Julie and Megan headed up the drywall committee, Chick Lynn was the Trim Girl, Chick Cheryl was Mrs. Greenthumbs, Chick Lorene was the Cabinet Installer, Chick Jana was the Siding Queen, Chick Kristin was the Pretty Painter, and Chicks Jeanette, Susie and I were on the roof. Jobs were constantly being interchanged, and this was only the tip of the iceberg. If you really want more, you can check out our daily journal of the week at the Meeting Place message boards under Habitat for Humanity.

By Friday, our house was complete. Our female leaders had taken a team of thirty women and taught us how to build a house! Can you believe that? Thirty women! 70% of us were rookie builders, and WE BUILT A HOUSE! Chicks building a nest with other Chicks! Who woulda thunk it?

I don't have to tell you how this parallels being in an investment club, but I will anyway. Doing something together with other women offers (and I hate to say it because the word is WAY overused) empowerment. We feed off each other. We need each other when something seems insurmountable. If the other Chicks weren't at this build with me, first, I wouldn't have done it; secondly, it wouldn't have been that much fun; and thirdly, I probably wouldn't have worked as hard because I would have been alone. There's something exhilarating about doing something you've never done before, whether it be learning how to invest in the stock market, or building a house. The knowledge you learn and the confidence gained filters into your everyday life, but doing it as a group makes the experience that much better. (Can you tell I'm empowered? Ugh, I have to think of a new word. Pumped? Energized? Enthused? Chicked?)

The above is so typical of my world.. take, take, take. The whole week was about me. I wanted to learn how to use the Power Air Nail Gun. I wanted to learn how to shingle. I wanted to learn how to miter a corner. I wanted to learn how to use a Sawzall. I, I, I, and Me, Me, Me. I wanted to be a builder woman in addition to being an investor woman. Then it came time to dedicate the house.

In all my newfound knowledge the main purpose of the week had slipped my mind. It's about giving. It's about having a heart. It's about making our world a better place, and being human. Toshia and her daughter had been living in substandard housing and needed a home. A home with a yard and a neighborhood. Toshia got one, and we built it for her.

On our last day, Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Roslyn came so we could dedicate the house to Toshia. She had been very quiet the whole week as she worked alongside us. The dedication was too much for her. She couldn't believe all these women would work so hard for her. She broke down. So did everyone. She thanked us over and over between sobs, and also thanked the Lord for blessing her. It felt good.

As the saying goes, we are only rich through what we give, but giving alongside other women makes for a very wealthy Chick. It feels good to be wealthy that way.