Hope Renovations' roots go back to when I started doing my own home repairs.  I was a corporate HR professional who loved getting my hands dirty in my off-time.  And as a woman, something about doing it myself was particularly rewarding.  However, as I expanded my hobby and began working on small renovations alongside contractors and tradespeople I began to wonder...

where are all the women?

Fast forward ten years.  I decided to leave the corporate world to pursue a Master of Social Work from UNC.  While interning at a local homeless shelter, I met many women who were completely capable of doing this type of work.  But when I would mention the trades as a potential career path, the answer I often got was, "Nobody ever taught me how to do that stuff. I always figured it was a man's job."  The wheels started turning.

Finally, when I took a class in the business school that was focused on aging, things came together.  I learned many of the surprising statistics about Aging-in-Place; like that it's the fastest growing segment of the construction industry, but it's also the segment with the least capacity - in today's world, where big construction is booming (and small jobs take time away from big ones), there simply aren't enough people available to do the work.

So I figured it made a lot of sense to put them all together.  Help women get the skills to enter into construction careers and get out of low-wage jobs, narrowing the gender pay gap in the process.  Give seniors a dedicated workforce to complete the repairs and renovations they need to stay in their homes. And, as a bonus, develop a workforce that will help trades employers fill their jobs and get their work done, ultimately helping our economy.  It's a win-win-win.

-Nora Spencer