All volunteers must register for available projects at our volunteer calendar, the Volunteer Hub. See the VOLUNTEER HERE button below to sign up today!

If there are no dates currently on the calendar, you may still register for an account and sign up for Volunteer Alerts. You will then be alerted when we start scheduling volunteers again.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Children under 16 years old are not permitted on the construction site, per law. Children age 16  to 17 years must provide a liability waiver signed by the child and a guardian. Liability waivers for all construction volunteers can be found here.

BECOME A GREEN HAT

Our Green Hats are a group of skilled women and men who commit 1-2 days a week, a couple weeks a month, on our construction work sites, assisting the site supervisors’ efforts to ensure construction safety, productivity and quality control. Our Green Hats occasionally help guide or lead volunteers. Our affiliate will provide you with all the tools you need. Join our team, meet other regular volunteers and give back to the community. Skills needed are general construction and carpentry. Sign up today on the Volunteer Hub.

VOLUNTEERS HAVE TO EAT

If you don’t want to break a sweat hammering nails or hanging shingles, consider providing lunch for the volunteers that do. Our construction teams welcome a refreshing lunch break!  Please email [email protected] or call 757-913-5652 if you would like to provide lunch.

VOLUNTEER WORK SITE GUIDELINES

Work Days: Work days start promptly at the time noted, lunch is usually around noon, and the day ends when that day’s task is done or at the scheduled time provided. Have fun and know that you have helped to change someone’s life. You will be able to see the fruits of your labor for many years to come! 

LIABILITY WAIVERS

You can download the volunteer waiver of liability from the web site here. Please fax (757-591-0455), email it to [email protected], mail or drop it off at 11011 Warwick Blvd in Newport News. Liability waivers are necessary every 12 months.

SAFETY

Safety is our most important concern at Habitat. All volunteers must take the online “Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity Job Site” course here. All volunteers are trained on that day’s task the morning of volunteering. If you own safety glasses and work gloves, bring them. Please pay close attention to your task and to those who are working around you. Ask for help if you are unsure of how to accomplish your task. Be extra careful around power tools and ladders. In the event of an emergency, our staff has cell phones. Though the occurrence of an accident is rare, it does happen and that is another important reason to be sure to fill out the liability waiver form.

AGE LIMITS

Habitat’s insurance limits our construction volunteers to age 16 years and older.

WHAT TO WEAR

Always dress for the weather (hot, cold or wet) in work clothes. If you own safety glasses and work gloves, bring them. It’s always a good idea to dress in layers due to the temperature changes that we experience. Do NOT wear jewelry; it can cause an accident or get lost. Wear sturdy closed-toed shoes to protect your feet. If you are installing insulation, bring a long sleeve shirt. If painting, wear something that you don’t care if you get paint on it.

TOOLS

If you own a nail apron, hammer or tape measure, feel free to bring them with you. If not, don’t worry, we generally have plenty or other tasks that need to be done that won’t require them. Be sure to label your tools and keep them in a safe place, as Habitat is not responsible for lost, stolen or damaged tools. Habitat will provide large tools and ladders needed for your job. Allow enough time at the end of the day to clean your work area and return Habitat’s tools before you leave the site. 

REFRESHMENTS

You are responsible for your lunch unless notified otherwise. If you are with a group, you may want to plan for lunch ahead of time. But please bring plenty of fluids to keep hydrated throughout the day because there will be no drinkable running water on the site.

CANCELLATIONS

Habitat will do everything possible to follow the volunteer schedule; however, work performed by subcontractors, inspections and inclement weather are factors that can cause a cancellation and are unavoidable. We will contact you as soon as we are aware of any conflict and/or cancellation. A little rain or snow in the early morning hours will not stop our construction team from continuing as planned!  If the house is not under roof and precipitation is expected throughout the work day, the work day will be canceled. If there is obvious precipitation in the forecast for a future volunteer day, an email will be sent to cancel ahead of time. If you need to cancel, please log back in to the Volunteer Hub and cancel your registration, so we may fill your slot with another volunteer in time.