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By Je’Don Holloway Talley birmingham times
Women Under Construction Network was founded in 2014 and became a 501c3 in March 2015. The organization supports women, their children and seniors living in underserved communities. It uses real-world tools combined with corresponding life parallels to teach basic home repairs and lifestyle repairs, and works with contractors to make minor repairs for low-income seniors. Let’s take a closer look at its leadership.
Shellie Layne, Founder/CEOLane was living the good life as a wife, mother, and corporate worker—until the 2008 recession. “When the market crashed, I crashed,” Lane said.
“In the midst of it all, I ended up going through a divorce, becoming a single parent for the first time, a foreclosure and bankruptcy…I went through some experiences that I never thought I would go through,” she said.
One such experience was purchasing a new air conditioner during the sweltering Alabama summer.
“I went to Walmart because I needed an air conditioner…I didn’t have the money or expertise to do the repairs I needed, but the heat was going down and I needed to take care of me and my son [Noah, now 27],” she says.
“I cried in Walmart because I didn’t know what I was going to do from there, but I picked myself up and decided ‘OK, Sherry, you can either wallow in this or you can do something about it.'”
At the time, Lane was writing a column in the Birmingham Times titled “At Home with Shirley,” which covered real estate and home repairs.
“…I wrote my story ‘I cried at Walmart,’ and people and women responded by saying ‘Shelly, I understand’ and ‘Shelly, I’ve been through this.'”
This experience led to the creation of Women Under Construction Network, which she founded in 2014 and became a 501c3 member in March 2015.
“I always tell people that sometimes it’s the tragedies and negative experiences you go through that push you toward your true destiny. Sometimes the things we think are bad are actually God using them for our good,” Lane said.
The Roxbury, Mass., native hosted her first women’s event in 2014, called “From Stuck to Unstoppable.” “I put together a team of volunteers, and we brought women together and showed them how to repair and unclog sinks and how to become, as women, unstoppable…” Lane said.
Since then, WUCN has launched more than 10 community projects, most in partnership with city government initiatives, organizations and businesses, mental health professionals, financial advisors, general contractors and volunteers who all believe in giving back and serving human needs .
Jacqueline French, 48A part of WUCN since 2017, she blends her leadership role in the organization with her position as Director of Workforce Development for the Birmingham Borough Housing Authority [HABD]primarily through the WILAH Project, which aims to develop self-esteem and self-sufficiency through the use of physical tools for home repairs and metaphorical tools for life repairs.
Having watched WUCN grow over the past seven years, French has witnessed significant evolution. “I’ve seen great partnerships grow. Over the years, more initiatives have sprung up and we are reaching more women and spreading the foundation’s name and mission across the country,” she said. “We started locally, but now we have national recognition, we have more of a reputation, we are able to go into schools and help not only children but single women, low-income women, married women, widowed women, young women , older women, women from all walks of life.”
Carissa Harris, 24Lane’s administrative assistant, overseeing logistics, social media marketing, website updates, and planning monthly newsletters.
Harris, who has been with the show since the fall of 2019 when he was just 19, said one of the network’s goals is to increase the participation of young women in the show.
“We aspire to give them the best footing and foundation to call a life, like it did for me and had a significant impact on my life,” Harris said. “When I joined the company Only 19 years old, of course, I am destined to continue to mature in my life journey, but tools [I’ve learned] Helping me navigate life with more confidence and bring a different kind of grace and patience to myself. “
The Fairfield native attended Miles College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer and information science with a concentration in graphic design, while also serving as the IT coordinator for the WUC network.
Harris said the challenge for WUCN as Gen Zers is getting them out of the house on Saturday mornings. “Many of our plans [are held] Early in the morning…”[And so], we have been considering organizing programs that are more attractive to them during special periods. But once they finally came to experience the show, I noticed they actually made a greater effort to attend because they saw the value of the show,” Harris said.
Harris also learned that other Gen Zers like herself were more interested in the volunteer opportunities offered by the WUC network.
“I’ve found that Gen Z is more interested in volunteering in our programs, and I believe it gives them a sense of purpose and involvement in the community in ways they might not otherwise,” Harris said.
When asked if she thinks today’s world or social media has impacted Gen Z’s mindset, Harris said WUCN teaches them ways to cope.
“We help them break free from past-life ideas or mindsets influenced by social media or pop culture by putting Christ at the center of everything we do. Ms. Lane has this to say: ‘I may not have all the answers. But I know a carpenter who does.” We encourage our ladies to look to our sources of help no matter what is going on in the world. Personally, it gives me a lot of peace and helps me sleep a little better at night,” Harris said.
Dr. Kimberly McCall, WUCN Board Chair Over the past two years, her responsibilities have included general operations, finance, project implementation, grant writing, growth and project development.
“Our partner support has increased tremendously. I watched the program starting with major programs like Building Hope: 21 Days of Kindness and wellness programs, [but] We evolved into a community-based program that benefits not only women and children but also older women.
McCall said community partnerships are critical to accelerating growth, with professionals and other organizations such as the Women’s Foundation of Alabama, Birmingham Housing Authority, UAB, general contractors and mental health professionals Collaboration helps WUCN maximize community impact.
McCall serves as an assistant professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Regulatory Affairs at UAB and established a partnership between UAB and WUCN.
“I represent UAB along with a number of other colleagues, and our partnership allows me to combine my passion for community programming and community building with my professional work [research, data, and development],” McCall said. “…UAB partnership helps WUCN measure effectiveness of its programming [and the] The project, called WILAH/BeFit, focuses on empowerment through fitness, while also focusing on self-efficacy and social cohesion. “
Winifred Patterson, 52A native of Brooklyn, New York, he has been engaged in education for 20 years. She serves as coordinator of the group’s YT4Life mission, which teaches life skills and builds young people’s self-esteem and confidence through the use of tools and activities like home repairs. This is a supervised after-school program for youth ages 5 and older, held every Monday and Wednesday at the Ensley and Central Park Recreation Centers.
“The after-school program is made up of [Layne WUC founder and McCall, WUC board chairman] …I brought education to [concept] and more structure. I use SEL [social and emotional learning]these soft skills teach children how to communicate with adults when they need help, and how to be friends… We blend these together [tools/principles] Same thing as what we do in our after-school program,” Patterson said.
“The tools vary from hammers and nails to electronics like paint brushes and caulking guns. [We teach them] There are little things they can do at home, they can learn something from, and then use those tools as metaphors for life. We try to draw analogies for each tool,” she said.
For example: “If you hit a nail with a hammer, in life you will [use your mind] Just give it your all, stay focused, and get it done,” Patterson said.
“We just [started] Outreach with female athletes at Miles College under I BUILD-U-university [WUNC program], in partnership with Trustmark Bank. “
She said the program includes “community service activities, team building, trust exercises, financial literacy, credit building, buying homes, cars, [the financial aspects are] As part of Trustmark, we [WUCN] Talk to them about life tools,” Patterson said.
For more information about WUCN, please visit www.wucnetwork.org
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