“I really appreciate all my friends from Williams who have come out to help me build my house,” says Adriaune McIntosh, an employee of Unidine, the food service contractor for Williams cafes and catering services. Over two Saturdays in June, close to 70 employees and family members joined to hammer, saw, paint and plumb.
To secure the three-bedroom, one car garage home, the single mother of two is contributing sweat equity and has signed a 30-year, no interest mortgage loan. Her new house, which will be completed this summer, is located in Tulsa’s Kendall-Whittier area, a 10-minute commute to Williams headquarters tower in downtown Tulsa.
More than half the Williams volunteers have been women. That was the challenge provided by Habitat for Humanity as part of a Lowe’s national “Women’s Build” program to empower women to take part in Habitat building projects.
After the two organized work days, Williams employees continue to volunteer individually to help complete Adriaune’s house, while others are organizing a housewarming shower and landscaping.