The Women Build Committee of Montgomery County's Habitat for Humanity held a fundraising Tea on Sunday afternoon in Darnestown.

Amanda Fein, Habitat's Manager of Gifts, said that the Women Build Committee was formed at first to be a part of the National Habitat for Humanity's Annual Women Build week.

"That is a week each year where there is a national campaign to get women on all of the worksites," Fein said. "We took that idea one step further and formed a special committee of women specifically to do their own yearly project for women."

A large proportion of Habitat For Humanity's homes go to single mothers and so it seemed like a natural progression to create a committee of women volunteers, she said.

For their 2010 project, the Women Build commmittee renovated a vacant townhouse on Lester Street in Silver Spring. The homeowner, Evelyn -- who unfortunately could not attend the fundraiser -- and her family worked on the site with each group from the committee.

Fien said Habitat buys only vacant foreclosures in order to help revitalize the immediate neighborhoods that have been hit by the bad economy.

Women Build committee volunteer Mary Carlough, an interior designer and former clinical social worker, came up with the idea of holding a Tea as a fundraiser. She said that each of the eight members of the committee approached vendors to donate items for a silent auction. Vendors at the event included Sugarloaf Winery, Elizabeth Arden, Tara Tea, Edible Art (specializing in chocolates), Chocolate Cupcakery and Johnson's florist.

"Last year, we worked on the renovation of a vacant foreclosed townhouse," Carlough said. "Each of the committee members took a day to bring in their family to build. I brought my daughter and some of her friends and it was a great experience."

Nancy French-Gerlach, another member of the committee and a retired accountant, hosted the event at her home. French-Gerlach has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity as a bookkeeper for several years and she said the idea of women helping women resonated with her. She joined the Women Build Committee when they formed last year.

"The townhouse was only big enough for ten or fewer people to be inside to work," French-Gerlach said. "I used my build day with my family to celebrate my mother's 89^th birthday."

French-Gerlach's mother and sister's family came from upstate New York to participate. "It cracks me up," she said, pointing to a photo of her mother in the event brochure, "There is my mom, doing some tilling in Evelyn's yard."

Volunteers Gail Lazio-Xavier and Karen Rosen said that the project helped bring together the local community.

"The idea of women build really brings in people," Rosen said. "This year was unique in that we were revitalizing, not building from the ground up."

Lazio-Xavier agreed. "The neighbors were so happy to see us there working. They welcomed Evelyn and her daughter and were glad that the [town]house would not be empty anymore."

Together with Montgomery County's Habitat for Humanity, the Women Build Committee are working to raise funds for another renovation in 2011. Yesterday's event raised over $2,000 for the local Women Build Initiative.

The volunteers of the Women Build committee are Sarah Allen, Nancy French-Gerlach, Mary Carlough, Karen Rose, Rachael Rice, Caryn Siegel-Wetmore, Gail Lazio-Xavier, and Alex Chagouris.