Sunday, December 09, 2007

A Habitat Comment

Here is a comment I just posted to my Mother's blog, and seeing how my blog has been tending towards lately, I thought I would post that same post on my own blog. Her post, and her blog; aka alias, is also a very good blog, much better than my own.

It is quite simple to volunteer for Habitat, whether for just a day, or a day every week unto forever. Some of the most common questions I get asked as a Crew Leader for Habitat are "do I need previous building experience?" often asked with a mixture of hope and trepidation, and "how long of a commitment is required?"

You do not need any previous experience. Take it from a Crew Leader who had never previously picked up a hammer in her life, to becoming a Crew Leader in 11, arguably 9 months.

The other question, you can give one day, all the way up to every day, and there is every combination you can think of in between. Some people give two straight weeks one summer, some people give one day a week for one month, some people give 3 days a week for three years ... there really is no limit. It's a great place to be, and I would recommend spending some time there. Get to know the Block Leaders, the Site Supervisor, the Volunteer Co-ordinators, and the other volunteers on-site. You really can make some great connections.

There are so many ways to get involved, as well as those posted, you can volunteer at a Restore, you can also get involved in the gingerbread builds, or for hardcore builders and travelers, there is even Global Village, an affiliate of Habitat, that will allow volunteers (whether with Habitat or not) to raise some money, then go and travel to build homes. It's a great way to travel, especially if you don't really like the touristy thing.