She Nailed It!

K.C. Lopez

• Published on May 7, 2019 • Last modified on May 9, 2019 • Comments

CENTER VALLEY, PA - This is not a drill...

it’s a hammer and these women are hammering away as part of the She Nailed It Competition by Habitat for Humanity.

Are you ready for some friendly competition? These ladies sure are, as the 2019 She Nailed It competition takes off at the Homewood Suites in Center Valley Pennsylvania. This all-women nail-hammering relay competition is one of Habitat for Humanity Lehigh Valley’s signature events.

Jessie Shapell from Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley says, “She Nailed It is a team nail hammering competition. It’s done relay style and it’s all women. So we have teams of four women each and they will all be hammering in one nail into a board and it’s a race against the clock.”

This year competitors from Hidden Gem Hammerers took home first place in the relay with the fastest time; all four women on the team hammered in a nail each in less than 26 seconds! Although the competition was close! Second place Isett a nail shortly followed with 27 seconds and a single second separated third place Butz Builders from 4th place Prayerful Pounders who have been practicing their hammering skills for weeks!
SOT: Stephanie Dilman, THE BARN HAMMERING TEAM
“We would do practices every Saturday at 9 o’clock and one of the girls actually went out and bought the same timers as the judges so we can practice with the timers,” says The Barn Hammering Team’s Stephanie Dilman, “so it’s a little hardcore but it’s fun, we have a great time every Saturday morning.”

This year, The Hammers of Justice team raised over 6 thousand dollars in complete grassroots fundraising, making them the highest earning charity team at the She Nailed It 2019 Competition.
That money, along with more than 44 thousand dollars other teams have raise, will help Habitat for Humanity build even more homes for families in our area. Since its launch in 1989, the local Lehigh Valley chapter has built over 120 homes across our area. Monday’s event helps the local chapter provide families in need with safe, decent and affordable housing. “Either a single mother or the mother is working full time and taking care of her children; that is currently, right now, the vast majority of homeowners in our homebuyer program,” explains Shapell, “and so events like this one the funds go directly into our homebuyer program to assist people like that getting into their new homes.

The She Nailed It! Competition showcases a fast-paced and fun relay race with four women on a team. Each team member must fully hammer a nail into a 2″x6″ and quickly pass the hammer off to the next team member. Stephanie Dilman’s team, The Barn, has been competing for the past 7 years and has a some advice for teams just starting out…”Swing the hammer. Don’t just tap tap tap, swing it!”

Awards are also presented to the rookie of the year with the fastest time and best team costumes! But the competition aims to hammer home a serious issue here at home. Women here help raise awareness surrounding housing inequality for women both globally and right in our local backyards. Every year women devote a day to building strength, stability and shelter across the Lehigh Valley.
Jessie Elliot, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley says, “Right now we are in the middle of an affordable housing crisis and while public assistance provides the bulk of affordable housing only one out of four that are eligible are able to receive those benefits as a result, a growing number of families are forced to choose between adequate housing, healthcare or food."

This year’s She Nailed It competition raised over 50 thousand dollars while donations are still being accepted and will be through Friday for anyone looking to join the cause and chip away at the affordable housing crisis in the Lehigh Valley. You can do so by visiting habitatlv.org.