For the first time, Pilar Garcia and her two children have a place to call their own – thanks to the help of other women.

The Elgin family is planning to move into their new home at 355 Moseley St. as part of the Habitat for Humanity Women Build project – the first of its kind in the city. Unlike other Habitat homes, the Garcia house was rehabbed by a team of mostly female volunteers.

“This is more than lucky, it’s a blessing,” said Garcia, who was given the keys to the home Feb. 26. She said she plans to move in shortly after the March 8 closing, just in time for her daughter Angela’s 11th birthday the following week.

For Angela and her 9-year-old brother Matthew, it’s the first time they’ll have their own rooms. The family has been living in an apartment, either with friends or other family members as roommates, for the last several years, Garcia said.

“We are so excited about it,” she said. “I feel so special.”

As part of the Habitat program, Garcia helped rehab the once vacant, 1,500-square-foot home alongside almost 150 volunteers who were at the site twice a week.

(PHOTOS: Helping hand.)

The home, first built in 1863, received a makeover inside and out, and now sports modern cabinets, countertops, flooring, and many other features, as well as a brand new detached garage.

And all of it was completed by women.

Project Director Marlene Hensrud said the added benefit of the Women Build project is the confidence it gives the volunteers.

In many circumstances, women who volunteer for Habitat builds end up sweeping the floor, Hensrud said. For the Moseley project, they helped build a garage, she said.

“I’ve helped cut two-by-fours. I’ve helped build a wall,” said volunteer Joan Ahlman, of West Dundee. “The whole concept was more to allow us to learn how to do things as we worked. It was very empowering. It was a good, good feeling to learn skills.”

Ahlman said she rarely did home improvement work in the past because her husband is a carpenter. But now she said she can use a table saw, an electric nailer and many other tools.

Garcia also said she gained skills during the build. As a single mother, and now a homeowner, she said those skills will come in handy.

But, she said she’s most appreciative of the work of the volunteers.

“We became family,” Garcia said. The day she received the keys to her first home, “will stay in my memory,” she said. “It was so emotional.”