Frequently Asked Questions

Volunteering: General Questions

Do I need to have any construction experience to volunteer on a Habitat site?
No! We love experienced volunteers, but the vast majority of our volunteers have never had more construction experience than painting a bedroom or hanging a picture on the wall. Our site supervisors will teach you everything you need to know on your build day.

How can I make a more sustained commitment with Habitat?
If you want to build with Habitat more than once per site per month, you have a few options. You could contact some other Habitat affiliates in our area (there are 20 Habitat affiliates in Massachusetts alone!) and build a few days a month with each of us. You could also take a trip to a place where Habitat has more projects going at once – consider a trip to Louisiana or Mississippi, or go on a Global Village trip to one of the 92 countries where Habitat builds around the world. If you really want to dig in and get to know the inner workings of Habitat Greater Boston, consider joining one of our volunteer committees.

Does Habitat have any opportunities for office volunteering?
We send out two appeal letters a year and we ask for volunteers to come in to help us stuff envelopes for about a week before each mailer goes out. If you’re interested in office volunteering, send an email to volunteers@habitatboston.org and we’ll send you an email the next time we need office volunteers.

How old do I have to be to volunteer?
All construction volunteers have to be at least 16 years old. Every two 16 or 17 year olds on a build site need to bring one adult chaperone. Volunteers 18 and older can sign up for build days on their own. If you’re younger than 16 and want to get involved, check out Habitat International’s Youth Programs page.

How do I get my school more involved?
Get involved with a campus chapter at your school. If your school doesn’t have a campus chapter, learn how to start one here. If you’d like to learn more about Habitat before you commit to starting a campus chapter, think about arranging a group build at your school.

Do I live in Habitat Greater Boston's service area?

We serve the following Greater Boston areas: Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham, Dover, Everett, Lexington, Lincoln, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Needham, Newton, Revere, Somerville, Stoneham, Waltham, Watertown, Wellesley, Weston, Winchester, Winthrop, and Woburn. If you live elsewhere, search for your local affiliate here.

How can I volunteer down in the Gulf Coast region?  Internationally?
If you’re interested in building with Habitat outside of the Greater Boston area, check out Habitat’s affiliate search engine. Habitat New Orleans’ website is here; you can sign up to build for weeks at a time; room and board runs about $25 a day through Camp Hope.

Habitat International runs Global Village trips to 92 countries internationally. Trips are usually a few weeks long, and volunteers work alongside the future homeowners to build homes, often completing the homes in just a few weeks.

Volunteering: Signing up for build days

What do blank days on the volunteer calendars mean?
We only build with volunteers on days that are marked on the calendars – if you see a day on the calendar that’s blank it means we don’t need volunteers. If you’re looking to volunteer by yourself or with a friend, look for days marked, “# Individuals Needed.” If you’re volunteering with a group, look for days marked, “1 Group of # Needed.”

I’m an individual volunteer – I see a day on the online calendar that says “Group Space Full.” Does that mean there’s room for individuals?
Nope. There’s only room for individual volunteers on days that are marked, “# Individuals Needed.”

I have a couple of friends who want to build together. Should we register as a group or as individuals?
That depends. At smaller sites like Newton, we need groups of 5-8. At bigger sites like Blue Hill Place, we typically ask for groups of 8-12. If you have a group this size, you might want to think about signing up as a group. The biggest difference between group volunteering and individual volunteering is that we ask groups for a minimum donation to help cover construction costs (corporate groups pay $3000 for a weekend build day and $2000 for a weekday; nonprofits, schools, friends, and faith community groups pay $750 for a build day). Also, volunteering as a group, only one group member needs to attend an orientation session, whereas every individual volunteer needs to attend an orientation session before they build. So if you think you can do a little grassroots fundraising for us, sign up as a group! If you think every member of your group can commit to attending an orientation, sign up as individuals.

How often can I volunteer?
We try to encourage as many people in the community to volunteer as possible. For that reason, we ask that individual volunteers sign up to build no more than once per site per month.

What is the minimum donation for groups?
We ask that corporate groups donate $3000 for a weekend build and $2000 for a weekday build, and we ask that nonprofits, schools, faith communities, and groups of friends donate $750 for a build day. This grassroots fundraising helps us cover construction supplies and supervision for the day.

Volunteering: Preparing for your build day

What should I bring with me on a build day?
Wear long pants and long sleeves and closed-toed shoes. Dress in weather-appropriate layers. Bring all the food and water that you’ll want over the course of the build day. If you have hand tools that you’d like to bring for the day, by all means bring them, but tools do occasionally get lost or damaged on site, so don’t bring anything too precious.

How long do build days last?
Volunteers build with us from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm. If you sign up for a build day you need to commit to being there all day.

How do I know if my build day is cancelled due to weather?
It’s rare that we cancel a build day due to weather, but if we have concerns about your safety, we’ll try to let you know as soon as possible. If you’re volunteering as a group, we’ll email or call your Group Captain; if you’re volunteering as an individual, we’ll email or call you as soon as we cancel the build.

How do I get to the build sites/office? Which sites are accessible by public transportation?
Directions to our office are listed here; directions to our build sites are listed here.

Is there insurance coverage for volunteers working on a Habitat site?
Yes, we have an insurance policy that covers injuries to volunteers working on our sites.

Applying for a Habitat home

I want to apply for a home. Am I eligible?
To qualify for a Habitat home, you need to demonstrate need, ability to pay back a 25-year, zero-interest mortgage, and willingness to partner with us and put in 300 hours of sweat equity building your own home. You can read more about income restrictions and eligibility requirements here.

Donating to Habitat

How do I make a donation?
Visit our donation page. You can donate securely online, by phone, or by mail. You can donate land, vehicles, or certain new building materials. You can also sign up for an employee matching gift program through your work.

Can I donate my car?
Sure! As long as we can tow it off your lot, we’ll take it. Details here.

Can I donate used building materials or used household items to Habitat? No (we don’t have a warehouse to store them), but another Boston-based nonprofit organization, called the Building Materials Resource Center (617-442-8917), will gladly accept your donation. If you have new building materials that you’d like to donate, call George O’Malley at 617-423-2223.

If you have a question that's not covered here, call our office at (617) 423-2223 or email our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteers@habitatboston.org .