Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity celebrates Volunteer Appreciation Week

Press release from Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity: 

With volunteers central to its business model, Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity is recognizing milestones and thanking volunteers with small gifts and treats daily during their Volunteer Appreciation Week (April 22-26).

Whether swinging a hammer at the construction site, fixing a floor on a home repair project, accepting donations at the ReStore, answering phones in the office, serving on a committee, or advocating for smart housing policies, volunteer action directly impact Habitat’s ability to serve more individuals and families in need of safe, stable, and affordable housing.

Last year, 2,350 volunteers contributed 70,721 hours of service – a value of nearly $1.75 million!* Another way to look at it: the hours contributed by volunteers equates to having an additional 35 full-time staff members!

Thanks to the dedication of volunteers (and donors and advocates), Asheville Habitat directly served 89 families in 2018 through homeownership, home repair, and global engagement.

Home is the key to unlocking opportunities for educational and employment advancement, better health, financial security, the ability to age in place, and so much more. “Every hand makes a difference and Habitat is grateful for the commitment of all volunteers, whether they help one time or once a week, for the first time or for many years,” said Andy Barnett, Executive Director.

Speaking of longevity, a number of core volunteers (those who make a weekly or bi-weekly commitment) reached noteworthy service milestones in 2018.

Construction volunteers Ken Clark and Mike Lang reached the 15 year service mark, as did ReStore volunteers Mae Score and Wayne Ruth.

Louis Dwarshuis (Construction) and Dick Manz (ReStore) have both been volunteering with Asheville Habitat for 20 years!

Some fun facts about Asheville Habitat’s volunteer program:

• It takes 1,650 hours of volunteer labor to build one Habitat house.
• Asheville Habitat utilizes about 120 volunteers in the ReStore each week.
• A team of staff and volunteers traveled to Indiana in 2018 to participate in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project.
• Core volunteers (those who volunteer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis) contributed 70% of total volunteer hours last year!

Together – as volunteers, donors, sponsors, and ReStore supporters – Asheville Habitat helps address the region’s affordable housing crisis and providing opportunities for families to build better futures. “The magic in what we do is the active part of our mission – bringing people together,” said Barnett during a volunteer appreciation event earlier this year. “For 36 years, Asheville Habitat has united people around a common vision, a world where everyone has a decent place to live. Together, we have helped more than 600 local families build strength, stability and self-reliance on the foundation of safe, decent homes.”