By Rachel Horowitz, Volunteer Manager
What comes to mind when you think of Habitat for Humanity?
If it’s a group of smiling volunteers hammering away with smiling faces and matching hard hats, you’re not alone. A simple Google search shows dozens of these photos.
Yes, our volunteers build homes. But what about volunteers who want to help, and are unable or hesitant to participate in the building process?
To answer this, our board members, staff and volunteers have developed various volunteer programs over the years. These programs allow people of all skills and capabilities to participate every step of the way.
There is the landscaping crew, who arrive at the end of a build cycle to create unique landscape designs with the partner families’ visions. There is the Sewing Bee, a group of volunteers who sew handmade items to sell in our ReStores. There are our ReStore regulars, who price and organize items, decorate for special events, and run the cash registers six days a week.
There are outreach volunteers who represent Chatham Habitat across Chatham County, office volunteers who research community news, family services volunteers who tutor our homeowners’ children, and church volunteers who offer meals and housing to construction groups.
By thinking of Chatham Habitat for Humanity as a place where everyone can get involved, we open the door to elementary and middle schoolers, Girl and Boy Scouts, transitional employment participants, people with physical or mental disabilities, assisted living communities, and the future homeowners themselves. And all of these programs lead to the same end goal – creating affordable homes for Chatham County families in need, every single year.
When the hard hats come off, our volunteers don’t stop. They keep working tirelessly to spread the message that everyone in our community deserves a safe and decent place to live.
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Thank you for reading! Because of your support, we can continue to create meaningful programs and increase awareness in the community. Click here to find out more about our volunteer programs and how you can get involved.
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