How to become a Habitat Volunteer

Sumter Habitat for Humanity is a volunteer-driven organization. We welcome people from all walks of life to join us in our mission to end substandard housing throughout Sumter County. We have a variety of volunteer opportunities, with onsite construction work being the most popular form.

* Individual Volunteers
* Groups
* Youth Involvement
* Orientation Information

Individual Volunteers

Perhaps the most popular image of the Habitat supporter is that of a hard-hat wearing, hammer-wielding volunteer. Volunteer labor is extremely important to Habitat's work. No matter what your particular skills, Habitat can use your help.
Types of construction volunteers:

*Occasional Volunteers

Occasional volunteers show up on site to help build houses. An occasional volunteer may be new to Habitat or a long-time volunteer who schedules for builds at personal convenience. This is the "salt of the earth" volunteer who hammers, nails, and paints our plans into reality.

*Crew Leaders

A Crew Leader is someone who has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity long enough to know how Habitat builds houses and is willing to help our Occasional Volunteers learn the ropes. A Crew Leader may be someone with vast construction experience or someone who learned through volunteering with Habitat. We are always looking for potential Crew Leaders and invite new recruits to join the team. Crew Leaders are invited to contact our Construction Director, Robert Brown, for more information on becoming a Crew Leader.

*Professional Volunteers

While we welcome volunteers of all skill levels we are also in need of professional volunteers. If you have any professional skills and are interested in volunteering your time please contact Construction Director, Robert Brown via email so we can add you to our Professional Volunteers interest list.

Online Registration and Sign-up for Construction Volunteers

* We invite you to register online and sign-up for build dates at your convenience. (Printable Instruction Flyer) Our online registration provides individual volunteers with the opportunity to sign-up a group of up to 5 volunteers. If you are interested in signing up a group of 5 or more volunteers please fill out and submit a group registration form and our Construction Director will contact you to schedule a build day.

* If you are interested in something other than construction please refer to the Volunteer Committees page for committee contact information.

* Volunteers interested in working at Habitat construction sites can find A Job Site map, Volunteer Waiver forms plus a FAQ list.

Volunteer Groups

Onsite Construction is the most popular of Habitat's volunteer opportunities for groups. We welcome churches, businesses and student organizations to participate in most all of our volunteer opportunities.

Online Group Registration (COMING SOON)

If you are interested in getting a group involved please fill out and submit an online group registration form so we can contact you about upcoming build opportunities. (COMING SOON)

Youth Involvement

At Habitat we believe in our youth, and are continually seeking new ways to help get them involved in our organization. Youth are welcome to create gifts for our Habitat homeowners, prepare and serve lunch at a construction site, work in the ReStore or organize a variety of fundraising events. For liability reasons anyone under the age of 14 is not allowed on our construction sites. Volunteers ages 16 and 17 are welcome to build with us and are asked to bring a liability waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian on their first build day. You may download and print that Youth Liability waiver HERE. We require the young volunteer to be accompanied by an adult 25 years of age or older for the first 3 builds. If after the first three builds this young adult is confident and committed he/she is allowed to come on their own. Please contact Robert Brown, Construction Director if you are interested in getting involved.
*Habitat will allow workers age 14 to 16 on our worksite, but only at times where we are not doing heavy construction. Workers 14 to 16 are welcome to come and help landscape, clean up or generally help out with mild or non-construction related activities. For information on youth workers age 14 to 16, please contact Robert Brown, Construction Director.

Orientation - Habitat Night

We conduct a new volunteer orientation once every quarter. Attendance at an orientation is not mandatory, but we strongly recommend attending in order to establish a strong foundation of the history and mission of Sumter Habitat for Humanity. Please join us from 6:30 pm to 8:00pm at the Habitat ReStore, 30 Bridge Court, Sumter, 29150. If you are interested in attending our volunteer orientation, contact Derek Burress, Executive Director, and we will be glad to add you to the list for the next orientation.

Orientation Dates for 2008

March TBA
June TBA
Sept TBA
Dec TBA