Albany Area Habitat for Humanity is a volunteer-driven organization. We welcome people from all walks of life to join us as we build simple, decent, affordable houses in partnership with God and families in need. Though the vast majority has no construction experience or building skills, volunteers are involved in most phases of construction. By working side-by-side with the family who will live in the house, our volunteers experience for themselves the joy created when a family is able to realize their dream of home ownership.
The sense of hope, joy and pride felt by both partner families and volunteers is very much alive at Albany Area Habitat for Humanity. Our volunteers are crucial to the success of our mission and we are blessed to have the best volunteers in the world with which to work everyday.
When most people think of volunteering with Habitat, they think of building homes. We'd like to expand that thought into the other areas of Habitat. It has been said that it takes 17 hours of volunteer effort behind the scenes to support one hour of construction on our job sites. If you have a few hours a week, or if you are looking for a regularly scheduled time to volunteer with us, please give us a call to explore all of our opportunities. We need you!
Habitat volunteers contribute more than muscle. Creativity, strategy and technical skills are among the many invaluable traits volunteers bring to our organization. With a minimal staff, Albany Habitat depends upon volunteer support with committees like Family Selection, Family Partner, Public Relations, Volunteer Coordination, Building, Finance, Site Selection and Fund Raising. Time commitments vary; some volunteers dedicate every day of the week and others spend just a few hours each month working on projects. You may choose to volunteer as little or as often as you would like by helping us build, serve on a committee or help with special projects. All volunteer positions directly or indirectly result in the construction of simple, decent homes.
WAYS TO VOLUNTEER
Home Building Construction Site: See the News page of our web site to view currently scheduled work days. On our scheduled Saturday build days, we provide a 'brown bag' lunch for our volunteers on our construction sites. To volunteer, please call our office at 541.967.4030 for information on our current building site, or write to us on the form located on the Contact Us page of this site.
Our ReStore: The profit from our ReStore helps support our building program. As the store grows, so do we. Volunteers are the foundation of our store and there are many different ways for you to help in our goal of growing. If hammering a nail is not what you prefer, we have several fun and rewarding opportunities at our store. Click on this link to the ReStore's web site or call 541.924.1450 to find out how you can help. If you'd like, we'll give you a tour!
Committees: For a nonprofit organization, our mission is multifaceted. Our Family Selection Committee starts one process by selecting a deserving family. The Family Partner Committee provides partnership to each selected family starting after selection and continuing even after the family purchases their home, becoming a Habitat Homeowner.
We also have committees that make things happen in Public Relations, Fundraising, Faith Relations, Site Selection, House Design, Finance, and Building.
Cookie Construction: A unique opportunity is our Cookie Construction Crew. Volunteers including individuals and groups, bake cookies or other treats for job site volunteers.
Administrative: Both our affiliate administrative office and our ReStore office have volunteer opportunities for those who have the desire to volunteer on a regular basis.
Our volunteer opportunities are available to individuals who need to complete court-ordered compensatory community service requirements. Please call the Habitat office at 541.967.4030 or send us a note using the form on the Contact Us page of this web site to make arrangements prior to beginning your volunteer service for this purpose.