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What is Habitat for Humanity?

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Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, non-government organization devoted to building decent homes for those in need. This international organization’s headquarters are located in Georgia, but they have several area offices around the world. You might have already seen their ads in direct tv and other media networks. These houses are built by volunteers and are sold at no profit.

Founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1967, they began the work to build houses for those in need. In 1976 Habitat for Humanity International was established. Since then, this organization has received several awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and they have built over 400,000 houses around the world, sheltering over 1,750,000 people.

Habitat for Humanity has many programs such as their Youth Program, where they try to find people ages 5 to 25 to become involved in the program. With their Colligiate Challenge, they attempt to get students involved during their school breaks such as spring break or summer break. During these programs, students spend a week working with the local Habitat affiliates. They are provided with housing and food for the week and are able to perform services for those in need.

Habitat for Humanity also has several annual events. Because former president, Jimmy Carter, became involved in Habitat for Humanity in 1984, the organization has named one even after him and his wife, The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, and they still attend these events. During this annual event in 2008, volunteers were able to build 60 houses in one week and frame 48 more, and in 2009 they were able to serve 166 families through this annual event.

Filed Under: Community Clean-Ups, Natural Disasters, Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Benefits of Volunteer Work

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The experience that most people have with volunteer work ends after their mandatory high school volunteer hours. However, by not volunteering, people are missing out on a great experience. There are many benefits to volunteering your time and effort.

First, doing something altruistic for other people makes you feel good. It makes you feel as if you are doing something worthy with your time and enrichening other’s lives as you do it. The impact you have as a volunteer is long-reaching. Building a home for Habitat for Humanity, for example, benefits people for decades. If you have self-esteem problems or feel like your personal growth is stagnant, volunteer work fixes that promptly.

Second, volunteering for a worthy cause puts your own problems in perspective. In today’s fast-paced world, it’s easy to get stressed about a late bill or fight with a family member. However, when you do volunteer work, you are often working with people who truly are experiencing some of life’s worst hardships. Helping people with their problems can make your seems more minor in comparison, which helps you enjoy life more fully.

Third, volunteering looks great on a CV. When unemployment is at a recent high, people worry about filling in the blank time slots on their CV. Volunteering is something you can put on your resume as work experience, and it shows that you keep yourself busy and work even when you are not getting paid for it. It shows that you are willing to go the extra mile for something that’s important to you, which makes you a valuable job candidate.

Filed Under: Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Are you ready to volunteer?

Community service can be a very rewarding experience. You get to do some really good work, interact with people from all walks of life and feel like a better person at the end of the day for having made a difference to other people’s lives. However, as noble as volunteer work is, it also requires you to take on a lot of responsibility. Several people enroll for volunteer work but end up quitting before they even start! Here are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you commit to volunteering for a good cause:

  1. Are you volunteering because you really want to help others or because it may seem cool to others? Your motive behind volunteering will go a long way in determining your dedication towards your work.
  2. What are you good at? Do you have good people skills? Can you handle children with special needs? Or are you good at physical labor, like building homes as part of Habitat for Humanity?
  3. Do you want to volunteer for on field work or administrative tasks? You could be distributing medicine and food at refugee camps or keeping stock records at the warehouses!
  4. If you have a full time job, do you think you would have the kind of time volunteering requires? Will you be able to manage the stress levels?
  5. How much time can you dedicate in a week to volunteer work? Are you pushing yourself not leaving time for socializing or distressing for yourself?
  6. Are you more concerned about the problems of your own community or do you want to travel abroad and help internationally?
  7. Do you feel strongly about community service and volunteering?
Filed Under: Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , ,

Donating Expertly

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If you are not an actual expert at donating things to charitable organizations, don’t worry about it. This is far from rocket science, and the not-for-profit organization is probably going to be happy to tell you what they need, if you only ask. Generally, since the economic downturn has hurt a lot of charitable groups, they can use all of the help that they can get. While 10 bucks may not seem like much (one or two fewer delivery pizzas), it might end up really making somebody’s day. Since most charities help a lot of people, giving what you can might not even require that you give them any money. Of course, it is a truly rare person or entity that declines such a gift, though.

Maybe you want to donate, but you are strapped down to your last dollar. Nobody ever said that you should feed the hungry while your own belly rumbles and your kitchen shelves gather dust. That would be downright foolish, if extremely generous of you. Maybe you have the skills to help Habitat for Humanity build some houses — they could probably use the help, especially if you are a skilled trades person. Even if all you can do is bring donuts, haul supplies and plant flowers, you can still help out and make somebody’s day a little bit brighter.

However, you might be in a good spot to provide some financial help to someone who is in need. If so, good for you! It’s nice to have enough that you can provide for your own family, and help out other people who have far less than you do. If so, you have got a lot of options for what you can actually give. Naturally, a check will always work, and cash will do in a pinch (especially if you can only give a small sum). And in some cases, a prepaid credit card might even be the best to give.

Filed Under: Housing Projects, Volunteer Organizations Tagged With: , , ,

Volunteer Work to End Suffering

When a natural disaster strikes in a community nothing will bring it back, except for hard work and volunteering. There are many people in need when disaster strikes, but it’s only through volunteering that those people get out of their situation. Volunteers can be found from all parts of the country from the safety of their own homes or in a house that was just destroyed. The fact is the work needs to be done and people will answer the call for help from any situation. Ask yourself if you’re the kind of person that would leave the warmth of your home to go to a disaster ridden state to help.

When people are in need it is up to those that were not affected to come together and organize a relief plan and rebuild communities that are destroyed. The area that was affected will not be able to pull itself out of the rubble; they need a little help and a hand up.  There are lots of programs that do this kind of work; Habitat for Humanity rebuilds homes for the people that once lost theirs. Habitat does a lot of other great works, like trying to provide a home for the homeless and food for the hungry, but without volunteers they wouldn’t survive.

It’s up to you if you want programs like Habitat to survive and to keep on working with society’s problems. They can rebuild, but only if you are there to volunteer your time and help. It’s people like you that allow such great programs to survive and not crumble into dust. Houses need to be built and people need help, they need help from people like you. The people who are going to help are the ones who care about that kind of suffering and want to relieve it. The people who care about their fellow man are the ones that volunteer to remove this kind of suffering from their nation, people like you.

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Habitat for Humanity

Habitat For Humanity volunteers constructing a...

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Habitat for Humanity has built hundreds of thousands of homes for people in need of shelter. They have made homelessness their enemy and they are winning the fight. They cannot do it alone they need your help they need you to donate building materials or your time. You can also donate other things like couches, chairs, and clothing to help the people that need them the most. Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit organization that utilizes volunteers to build affordable simple shelters. The program is christened based, but anyone from all walks of life and any race can join in the fight against homelessness.

The homes or shelters are not a hand out; they are not given out for free. The family and the charity pick a mortgage that has easy payments for the family to pay off. The family pays for the materials and not the labor, anything that is donated to a project will save a family money. If the family needs help with a mortgage then Habitat will step in and pay for that month. All cash that Habitat spends needs to come back in order to pay for more shelter for more families in need of it.

Habitat for Humanity also sells cheap furniture that was donated to pay for parts of their program. Anything from fake plants to washers and dryers can be donated to any of the retail Habitat for Humanity sites. Donate your unwanted clothing they always need clothes to help out the people that are really down and rely on clothes to keep them warm.  Building supplies from trusses to 2x4s and even gardening supplies are always taken in for the cause. The one resource that Habitat for Humanity needs the most is man power. Without your volunteering efforts this program cannot function and strive to help others. You are the most important tool to make any of these projects a reality and the people that are in need will be the most grateful for you.

Filed Under: Community Clean-Ups, Natural Disasters Tagged With: , , , ,

How to Get A Habitat for Humanity House

Habitat for Humanity is a Christian organization that provides affordable homes for people in need. They actually build a new home for the qualifying family. They build for all races, religions, and backgrounds. If you are interested in living in one of these homes, it is important to know how to get a Habitat for Humanity house.

Habitat for Humanity runs its organization on a local level, so you must first attend an orientation meeting with the group in your community. These meetings are held several times a year. Attendance at one of these meetings is a mandatory first step in receiving a home. Gather all financial information to take with you. Fill out the application and demonstrate your need for housing. The organization aims to help those who are truly in need.

Some of the things Habitat for Humanity looks for is whether your current home is substandard, located in an unsafe neighborhood, costs more than 35% of your income, or is temporary housing. Along with hardship information, you have to prove your ability to pay for the new house. That means you are responsible for the down payment before construction begins. It will be 1% of the projected mortgage. A small deposit is required when your application is accepted. You will then be expected to pay 25% of your income in mortgage, and the payment must be on time.

Recipients of Habitat for Humanity homes also have to put in hundreds of hours in volunteer time. That means sweat equity in your own home. You will help build it. You’ll also be expected to help build other homes. If you cannot meet these demands, then you will not qualify for a Habitat for Humanity House.

The organization is about helping people who want to help themselves, so hard work and financial integrity are expected regardless of your situation.

Filed Under: Natural Disasters Tagged With: , , ,