Portland-based Girls Build teaches construction basics and life lessons
written by James Sinks | photo illustration by 1859 Staff; photos from Bigstock
For more young girls and in more places, the buzzing saws, whirring drills and empowering vibes are back this summer.
A decade ago, Portland carpenter Katie Hughes gathered in her living room with a group of fellow tradeswomen, bowls of homemade soup and a question: What could they do about the next generation of young women and the gender disparity in the building trades?
The solution: teach, prepare and empower.
With a nudge from those dinner party guests, Girls Build was founded. And at the helm of the new nonprofit was Hughes, who’d previously run a construction-focused girls’ education program.
That first summer, in 2016, a group of eighty girls ages 8 to 15 attended the charity’s inaugural summer camp in Portland, where they learned how to safely use power tools, build projects and share curiosity, confidence and camaraderie.
Attendees loved it. Parents raved. Sponsors lined up. NBC News paid a visit in the early days. So did national television personality Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs fame, who brought cameras to a camp in 2017.
Those were heady times. Hughes even wrote a book and presented at a TEDx Talk.
“At the beginning it was easy to bring in money,” Hughes said. “Now that we are hitting the ten-year mark, instead of talking about we want to do, we are talking about what we have done and what’s next.”
Even after the newness wore off, demand hasn’t ebbed—nor has the need, Hughes said. “We are talking about changing the trajectory of lives,” she said.
Fast-forward to this year, and the nonprofit is expanding its footprint and will serve 480 campers in nine different camps, with three sessions in Portland and then six in smaller communities, from Grants Pass to Warrenton. For the first time, a camp will be offered in Washington state, in Morton in Lewis County.
The Portland camp sessions sold out in eighty seconds after registration opened in February.
This year, the program will include hands-on instruction in carpentry, solar, electrical, plumbing, bike repairs, concrete, firefighting and sheet metal work.
Hughes grew up on 10 acres in rural Josephine County, often fixing things like sheds and splitting wood for heat, before she left home to earn a social work degree. She found her way to professional carpentry to pay the bills—including a stint at Habitat for Humanity—and also didn’t forget her small-town roots. As such, the nonprofit is committed to camps in communities where rural girls can benefit.
The cost for girls to attend the full week differs based on each place, taking into account how well people are faring financially in each community. The most expensive week is in Portland, at $575 per camper. In Grants Pass, it’s $230, and many of the girls receive scholarships. In addition, kids from foster homes are able to attend for free.
Meanwhile, it costs about $1,300 per camper per week to stage the camps, so the nonprofit relies heavily on fundraising, and also donated materials, equipment and labor from local tradeswomen, Hughes said. The annual budget for the nonprofit is about $1 million.
Portland-based Hampton Lumber, a sponsor since 2018, has helped to stage the camps for years near its mills—including the new Washington camp this summer near its two Cowlitz mills, said communications director Kristin Rasmussen.
“Girls Build is important because it expands what girls see as possible,” she said. “It gives them confidence, practical skills and exposure to high-wage, in-demand careers. In many rural communities, there simply aren’t a lot of hands-on summer programs or camps available, so opportunities like Girls Build can be especially impactful.”
The attendees work together on a group project, like a playhouse, and also create an individual project they get to keep. In years past, those have been things like wooden game boards, handmade guitars, clocks and skateboards.
In addition to the summer camps, the nonprofit schedules occasional community projects and after-school programs at its 2,000-square-foot warehouse in north Portland.
In addition to building things, Hughes said it’s striking how the participants quickly gain confidence in themselves, and also how they support each other. Parents report back that school grades go up after the camps, she said.
Vivian Moo, who will be a senior at Central Catholic High School in Portland in the fall, first attended a Girls Build camp when she was between the fourth and fifth grades. Now, she’s joined the crew as a paid intern, and aims to make the experience as memorable as it was for her.
“I loved learning how to use the chop saw and all the power tools that kids don’t normally get to use,” she said. “I remember having so much fun, making friends and connections so fast, and it was so sweet.”
Now, when projects crop up at home, she often tries to take them on, she said.
“I feel like starting at a young age, this taught me so many more possibilities into where you can move your life, compared to what you hear when you are younger,” Moo said. “It is a community and a safe environment where we could all be women and find joy and success in these skills.”
To learn more or join a camp or program, visit www.girlsbuild.org.
