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5 Ways to Build a Habitat House

It takes more than a hammer to build a Habitat house. And tens of thousands of volunteers around the world demonstrate as much every day. Because of Habitat for Humanity's house-building mission, construction activity is, perhaps, the most tangible expression of volunteer participation. But before enthusiastic builders arrive on a Habitat construction site, others already have laid a solid foundation of preparation by handling awareness and fund raising, public relations, family selection, site selection and any number of prerequisites for a soon-to-be-created Habitat house.

What's needed from Habitat volunteers is not necessarily a particular skill or talent or vast experience. What is needed is compassion, a concern for people who endure substandard housing, and a willingness to help improve their plight through affordable housing.

Habitat affiliates operate in 89 countries, and their capacities to build are as diverse as the cultures in which they are building. One universal aspect, however, is that each needs volunteers to do more than pick up a hammer. Each needs supportive involvement on any number of behind-the-scenes committees well before the building begins. Though they vary in structure, most affiliates have several main committees that provide an essential framework: construction/site selection, communications/development, family selection/family support and church relations. Support of Habitat's international efforts is critical as well.

Saturday build site volunteers are needed, to be sure, but no less important is the underpinning of committee involvement that makes possible the hammers clanging and saws whirring.