D-Mar General Contracting Supports Habitat for Humanity Projects through Hammers & Heels

CLEARWATER, Fla. — As the owner and president of D-Mar General Contracting and Development in Clearwater, Florida, Doreen DiPolito has long been a champion of women in construction and a dedicated supporter of the local community. Her involvement with the Hammers & Heels program and Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County provided an opportunity to combine both of those passions when DiPolito teamed with other female business leaders and philanthropists to build a new home for a single mother in St. Petersburg, Florida. The keys were handed over to the new owner during a dedication ceremony on Dec. 15, and DiPolito joined fellow Hammers & Heels members in celebrating their accomplishment.

Hammers & Heels was established in summer 2014, when honorary chair Judy A. Mitchell, former president and owner of Peter R. Brown Construction, reached out to female Habitat Pinellas supporters to take part in the women’s giving circle. Inaugural members were invited to participate in the group’s first project — the “Girl PowerHouse” — in which an all-female team worked together to build a new home for a working mother and her 2-year-old daughter.

“When I first learned of Hammers & Heels, there was no question that my company and I would participate,” said DiPolito. “As a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, D-Mar General Contracting and Development is committed to demonstrating the capability and potential of women in construction; the Girl PowerHouse provided an ideal opportunity to advance that mission. I”m honored to have been a part of this project, and I”m proud to show the construction and contracting industry what women can accomplish by working together.”

DiPolito transitioned from an engineering career into her field when asked to assist her former in-laws with their general contracting business. She went on to earn Florida certification as a General Contractor and subsequently assumed ownership of D-Mar, which has since earned certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, Women and Minority Business Enterprise and the Office of Supplier Diversity. Today, DiPolito balances her executive management responsibilities with community leadership, philanthropy and efforts to create more opportunities for women in construction.

In addition to becoming a founding member of Hammers & Heels, DiPolito sought out other ways to support the organization and its initiatives. D-Mar General Contracting and Development sponsored the Girl PowerHouse build and signed on as an All-in-One sponsor of the Golfing Fore Habitant fundraiser tournament in November. DiPolito also donated a large quantity of building supplies, bringing D-Mar’s 2014 contributions to Hammers & Heels and Pinellas Habitat to approximately $3,000.

DiPolito applied her expertise in residential development and commercial building during volunteer shifts on the Girl PowerHouse construction site. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of some 150 volunteers, the Hammer & Heels team was able to complete the build in two months. On Dec. 15, DiPolito was on hand to celebrate with fellow supporters as hospice worker Altamease Mack gratefully accepted the keys to her new house.