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http://www.avhfh.org
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Coverage: Local
Arkansas Valley Habitat for Humanity Charity Profile
All of the homes built by Arkansas Valley Habitat for Humanity since 1989 have been located either in Fort Smith in Sebastian County or Van Buren in Crawford County.
We will have plenty of volunteer opportunities when we kick off our 2009 building season with the Collegiate Challenge builders. This year we will have over 100 students arrive in Fort Smith to help build during the entire month of March.
Our plans for 2009 are ambitious; we intend to build 6 homes. We hope to increase our capacity over the next three years to 10 houses annually.
Arkansas Valley Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Information
Responsibilities: Habitat is looking for volunteers interested in working in the Habitat office. Administrative staff will provide any training needed to perform activities in the office. Neat and semiprofessional attire is requested. No previous experience is necessary; however, a positive attitude and a willingness to perform multiple tasks are essential. Primary volunteer responsibilities could include, but not be limited to, answering telephones, data base maintenance, assembling mailings, filing, etc. Days/Location: Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Volunteers can work any length of time between these hours on any given day. The “key” hours of the day are from 10:00 am until 1:00 pm and between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. AVHFH will make every effort to meet volunteer scheduling needs. AVHFH is located at 318 South 17th Street in Fort Smith, AR. Free parking is available behind the building.
Introduction: In an Apostle Build project, 12 churches, or coalitions of churches, come together to build a Habitat for Humanity house in the River Valley. They raise the money and provide the labor and prayer support to build a house in partnership with a local family. The idea of going out into the community to serve others, in the way that Jesus’ apostles served, has attracted individuals in many churches. With Habitat for Humanity, churches can share God’s love by building houses. Benefits for Churches: The benefits of working with Habitat for Humanity are numerous – especially for a faith community. Building a house gives people a concrete way to put their faith into action. An Apostle Build projects calls people to leave the halls of the church and to serve in the way that that the original apostles served. Working on this project allows people of faith to be the body of Christ in the world. Another positive feature of an Apostles Build project is that it has a definite beginning and a definite end. Busy people can schedule the time that they can give to this project, and churches can work the project into their calendars. Many churches report that when they become Habitat for Humanity partners, they experience revitalization throughout the congregation. Some note that membership grows and that giving increases because people want to be part of a vibrant church that reaches beyond itself.
Responsibilities: Arkansas Valley Habitat for Humanity utilizes the help of volunteers to build new homes. Habitat’s construction supervisor provides supervision and all training needed to perform specific activities on the job site. No previous construction experience is necessary but a positive attitude and a desire to learn are helpful. A waiver of liability form must be signed before coming onto a job site for the first time. For insurance reasons all volunteers must be 16 years of age or older. Volunteers ages 16 and 17 must be accompanied by an adult and are restricted to framing (excluding work on trusses), painting, landscaping, and general clean up activities. Individuals and groups must have a ratio of one adult per five youths aged 16 & 17. Days/Location: Our Habitat construction sites may operate from Tuesday through Saturday year-round: however, only certain weekdays and Saturdays are available for volunteer scheduling. Supervision and liability concerns make it necessary for all volunteers at construction sites to schedule in advance . Please call the Habitat office at 479-782-8255 to make a reservation for a building site workday. The workday at construction sites begins with a check in time and opening prayer at 8:00 a.m. and goes until 3:00 p.m. with an hour for lunch. During the hottest months of summer, for Saturdays ONLY, site operation hours may be from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with no lunch break. Water is provided at the site, but occasionally may be in short supply. Therefore, you are encouraged to bring your own water. All tools are provided by Habitat. If you desire to bring your own work gloves or tools, please make sure your name is on them and keep good track of them. Habitat cannot take responsibility for any personal items lost or left on the job site.
Food Volunteers provide a simple lunch of sandwiches or pizza, drinks, maybe dessert and/or fruit at around 11:30 am on a Saturday Work Day. The Building Volunteers work from 8:00 am ‘til 3:00 or so and are ready for a lunch break when you show up. The Work Day location and the number of Building Volunteers are known by the Thursday before the Saturday chosen. Please check our website calendar at www.avhfh.org for the date of interest. If the worksite is known it will be shown.
AVHFH acts as host to a large number of out-of-town Work Groups who actually choose to spend vacation and/or retirement time building homes for others. We are truly blessed that they do this and try to show our appreciation for their support by supporting them with nourishment. We are looking for simple lunches to be delivered to the Work Site on a daily basis; we need one Food Volunteer group for each of the days the Work Group is here.
Our Work Group Volunteers love to meet the citizens of Fort Smith and Van Buren, particularly in heated or air-conditioned rooms—their days spent outdoors help them appreciate HVAC systems. Food Volunteers have invited the Groups to their churches and given them delicious potluck suppers. Other arrangements are certainly possible. The goal of a Work Group dinner is to show the volunteers how Crawford and Sebastian Counties support the mission of AVHFH. We invite our homeowner partners to these events so that volunteers, both food and construction, can see how we change peoples’ lives.
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Arkansas Valley Habitat For Humanity
