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Ways to Volunteer

• Individual Volunteer Opportunities
• Group Volunteer Opportunities
• Youth Volunteer Opportunities
• NEW: Office Volunteers Needed

Individual Volunteer Opportunities

DuPage Habitat has a range of volunteer opportunities available.

1. To get started, please review the descriptions of our individual volunteer options below and see what best suits your interest.
   • Volunteer on a Committee. DuPage Habitat has 10 volunteer committees, each led by one or more volunteer chairs, which carry out much of the organization’s operations. Committees meet 1-2 times per month, by phone or in person. Click on a Committee name below for a brief description of how they contribute to the success of DuPage Habitat and note our current specific needs.
     • Family Selection
       
       Conduct application sessions, review applications, and recommend families to the Board of Directors.
     • Family Support
       
       Provide guidance to help families satisfy requirements toward home ownership, track sweat equity hours, communicate and represent the family’s interest to DuPage Habitat, and assist with the move into the new community as needed.
     • Finance
       
       Assist the Business Manager with various accounting tasks.
     • Information Tech.
       
       Provide IT services to DHFH including network support, Web site work and SharePoint support.
     • Outreach
       
       Form and nurture partnerships, present volunteer opportunities, and guide the formation of sponsorships by faith-based communities, corporations, government and other civic groups in the community.
     • Public Relations
       
       Develop annual public relations plan and campaign for each project and event. Schedule and provide media coverage for events and activities, draft press releases, assist with the quarterly newsletters.
     • Site Selection
       
       Identify and recommend properties for the building program.
     • Special Events
       
       Develop and manage fundraisers and special events.
     • Volunteer Relations
       
       Recommend volunteer policies, draft handbook, develop training classes, welcome new volunteers, conduct orientations, manage and schedule volunteer opportunities.
     • Construction
       
       Work with the Site Selection & Development Committee to design residence and obtain permits, plan construction schedule, hire subcontractors, purchase materials, supervise building volunteers, and work with architect and local government.
     
     

     CURRENT COMMITTEE NEEDS

     COMMITTEE	# NEEDED	DESCRIPTION
     Construction	7	6 Volunteers with specific constructions skills, willing to head a small crew of volunteers as the crew leader. 1 Volunteer to work in the office 2 to 6 hours per week performing administrative support for the Construction Committee
     Family Support	1	Bilingual Spanish speaking volunteer for on-going translation assistance.
     Information Technology	1	Assistant webmaster to help in the maintenance of the website.  Knowledge of HTML, CSS and FTP required.
     Public Relations	3	People capable of interacting with the media and writing public relations articles.
     Special Events	4	3 Volunteers to organize this year's golf outing. This includes asking for donations for the event (monetary/raffle prizes) and networking to spread word about the event.
     Volunteer Relations	2	2 Volunteers to help plan appreciation events and conduct orientation.

     To express your interest in any of these opportunities, contact the Volunteer Committee.

   • Volunteer in the Office. Our office is located in downtown Wheaton at 213 S. Wheaton Avenue, and is open 9am-5pm, Monday through Friday. We are seeking volunteers who can provide consistent scheduled help for at least 4 hour time blocks to answer phones, respond to email, help with mailings and other office functions. Contact us.
   • Volunteer your Professional Skills. At any given time, we may have need of pro bono professional services – from accounting to graphic design to legal advice to real estate development and more. If you or your firm is interested in partnering with DuPage Habitat in a professional capacity, we would love to talk with you.
   • Volunteer on the Construction Site as a Crew Leader. We have a particular need for skilled construction volunteers who can serve as Supervisors on the construction sites. The skilled volunteers are comfortable with some or all construction tasks, such as siding, roofing, or hanging drywall. Supervisors demonstrate tasks, maintain standards, monitor safety and assure that the volunteers have enough meaningful work to have a satisfying experience. Skilled volunteers should complete the online skills assessment. You will be contacted by a Construction Committee Leader to discuss how you can get involved.
   • Volunteer on the Construction Site as an unskilled Volunteer. We have limited opportunities for unskilled individual volunteers. Typically, DuPage Habitat schedules organized corporate or faith-based teams of 10 at each construction location. Therefore, in the past, the fill-in volunteer list has been used infrequently. However, 2010 is projected to be an exceptionally productive year and fill-in volunteers will be contacted more often than in the past. Sign up now for our construction volunteer email list to be alerted regarding these opportunities on the build site.
2. After you have reviewed the volunteer options available, please complete our online volunteer application.
3. Attend a Volunteer Orientation meeting, held the second Tuesday of every month at 6:30 PM, at the BP Cantera II Conference Center, located on 28301 Ferry Rd. Warrenville, IL 60555-3018 Map and Directions. Please show a picture ID. During the meeting you will receive information about DuPage Habitat and will have the opportunity to get involved with a Committee immediately. Please remember that there are 10 Committees available to choose from, all of which are invaluable to the success of DuPage Habitat.
4. Start volunteering!

Group Volunteer Opportunities

1. If your church, business, civic group or other group is interested in partnering with DuPage Habitat on a build opportunity, the first step is for our outreach team to meet with you at your place of business or faith. Please contact our Scheduling Coordinator at 630-510-3737 or via email to schedule a meeting.
2. If you then decide to partner with DuPage Habitat, we will connect you with our Volunteer Coordinator to schedule your build date(s). The Volunteer Coordinator will provide your group with a group registration form, plus all the materials to prepare for the build, including waivers, what to wear, safety checklist and more.
3. Start volunteering!

Youth Volunteer Opportunities

1. There are many ways you, your school, church or youth group can get involved with DuPage Habitat.
   • Join our Youth United Council. It is a group of dedicated youth that plan and participate in various activities that seek to engage youth ages 5-25 and work towards sponsoring and building a youth sponsored house. A council member develops leadership ability and influences their peers toward community change. Youth United meets the fourth Sunday of every month (3rd Sunday in November and December) at 3 pm as a committee at our monthly volunteer meetings. The meetings take place at our office in Wheaton, which is located on 213 S. Wheaton Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187 Map and Directions.
   • Become a Campus Chapter. A Campus Chapter is a club that has an official partnership with DuPage Habitat. Chapters hold their own events and participate in education and advocacy to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness by building adequate and basic housing. They also raise funds towards building a youth sponsored house.
2. Check the schedule of events for upcoming youth meetings or projects.
3. If you have youth-related questions, please contact our Youth Coordinator for the answers.
4. Start Volunteering!