Volunteering has a unique power to build team spirit, create shared memories, and fill people with a real sense of accomplishment. It pulls us away from screens and routines and places us into something deeply human, working side by side, learning from one another, and becoming a community.

This same power has been visible across Romania over the past three years. From 2023 to 2025, Habitat for Humanity Romania organized six Hope Builds, bringing people together from Romania and beyond. These volunteer construction events unite teams, strangers, colleagues, and friends to build homes for families facing difficult socioeconomic and family situations.

Across these builds, the scale of what the volunteers and families achieved together is remarkable. In 30 days of steady construction, we saw hundreds of hours of teamwork, many meals shared, and new homes built from the ground up.

What happens in these moments of shared effort goes far beyond construction. Volunteers discover strength they didn’t know they had, families feel seen and supported, and communities form in ways that are rare in our fast-paced world. It is in this spirit of unity and purpose that the words of Habitat for Humanity Romania’s CEO, Roberto Patrascoiu, ring especially true: 
“At Habitat, we say our volunteers are our hands, hearts, and voices.” 

Hope Builds prove this every year. Volunteers use their hands to lift boards and lay foundations. They bring their hearts to every moment of encouragement and kindness. And they become voices, sharing stories
 

What Hope Build gives to the volunteers

Listen to the sound of 100 hammers hitting nails all at the same time. See the misty eyes of the families as they take in the scene of their new home being built and of all the people who came to work alongside them. Smell the dust in the air, and the smell of hard work as a better future takes shape. 

The atmosphere of a Hope Build is like no other. Each volunteer came with their own reason for participating, but as the hours went on and they started to learn each other’s names and learned about the families they were working alongside, all their reasons blended into a shared purpose to help families build a better future. 

Many volunteers have come back year after year, just like Constantina, “The first time I joined Habitat was in 2017, to build 36 houses!” The pull for real-life experience with hard labor and a purposeful challenge is what brings many to the construction site. The time offline can be therapeutic, as it was for Larissa. Hope Builds is an amazing opportunity to break out of the online work, pick up materials, and feel the effects of hard work. A volunteer described his time on the site, saying, “Doing good makes you feel good inside.”

A family’s gratitude

For the families working alongside the volunteers, the experience is transformative. From the words of a mother who worked with our amazing volunteers to quite literally rebuild her life: “It’s a blessing beyond words. Thank you, Habitat for Humanity, from the bottom of my heart!”

When generosity meets action

Hope Builds do not happen alone. Behind every raised wall stood donors whose generosity made the projects possible. Many volunteers spoke about this partnership and how inspiring it was to see resources given by donors and partners turn into something tangible through the work of their own hands.

“With a small gesture, like this one,” says Ana, a volunteer, as she brushes her paint roller across the siding of the house, “you can really change someone’s life!”

None of this would be possible without their support. Their commitment fuels us. Thank you for your continued support of our Habitat for Humanity Europe and the Middle East Area Office.

Doka, Hilti Foundation, Hilti Group, Villum Fonden, Employee Foundation of the VKR Group, Umdasch Group AG, ArcelorMittal Building Solutions, Etex Gimmersta Wallpaper, GRAITEC GROUP, GRUNDFOS, Holcim, Laudes Foundation, VK architects+engineers, part of Sweco, Proman, Saint-Gobain Foundation, SCBF, SOMFY FOUNDATION, Summit International Flooring, SWISS KRONO Group, wienerberger, Xella Group.

Are you ready to build something that lasts?
Discover volunteer opportunities near you or abroad at: www.habitat.org/volunteer.

Why housing matters

A home is where you spend Christmas, where you sleep through the night without cold air slipping in through broken windows. A home is where homework happens at the kitchen table, where families can cook, rest, feel safe, and dream together.

Without decent housing, everything becomes harder. Health, education, stability, and even relationships suffer. That is why Hope Builds in Romania, unique volunteer house-building events, are so important.

When donations become real

One of the more surreal things about Hope Builds is how partner support turns into real, measurable change. The support of Habitat for Humanity comes in different shapes and forms. Our partners support us with their time, expertise, finances, products, volunteering, dedication of their employees, advice, and many other forms. When partners give, their support never stays on paper. It becomes something you can hear, touch, and see.

In the case of Hope Builds, it becomes thousands of nails all being hammered at once. It becomes safe walls and warm rooms. It becomes safety training, materials, tools, and supervision. It becomes hundreds of employees who put their time, effort and support into building better futures with families. All these donations become a place where families can finally…exhale, because they have a home.

The numbers from the build in Romania in the last three years speak clearly: over 1400 volunteers, 30 days of building, 9 duplexes, 18 families. Each number is proof that donations turn into hands that helped, hours worked, and homes built.

Support that builds

Support came to Romania from many directions. Corporate volunteer teams worked on several sites, bringing skills and energy. Local companies donated materials and labor, making sure nothing was missing when walls needed to go up or roofs and other parts of the house needed to be finished. International and local volunteers traveled to help families they had never met before.

Without our donors and partners, none of this would have been possible.

What changed because they gave

Families like the Ursu family now have a safe home with a solid roof that no longer lets in snow and rain. Children like Mihaela’s now have a safe place to grow, play, study, and rest. The Anghi family can think about long-term goals instead of surviving day by day with no electricity. And communities in Berceni, Tutora, Zemes, and Cumpana in Romania grew stronger as volunteers and families worked side by side.

A donation may seem small when it leaves someone’s hand, but through Hope Builds, it becomes house-sized.

The heart of the story is that because of our generous donors and hard-working volunteers, 18 families have a safe place to call home.

“For a family, this will be their home, their walls… so it’s a very good feeling.” – Andrey, volunteer

Thanks to all our donors and partners who support our Habitat for Humanity Europe and the Middle East Area Office. None of this would have been possible without your extraordinary efforts.

Doka, Hilti Foundation, Hilti Group, Villum Fonden, Employee Foundation of the VKR Group, Umdasch Group AG, ArcelorMittal Building Solutions, Etex Gimmersta Wallpaper, GRAITEC GROUP, GRUNDFOS, Holcim, Laudes Foundation, VK architects+engineers, part of Sweco, Proman, Saint-Gobain Foundation, SCBF, SOMFY FOUNDATION, Summit International Flooring, SWISS KRONO Group, wienerberger, Xella Group.

This year, Mihaela moved into her new house, a home that she helped build alongside volunteers during Habitat for Humanity Romania’s Hope Build, a unique volunteer house-building event. In just five days in June 2024, volunteers from companies and the community came together for a so-called Hope Build. This project changed the lives of two households forever. One of these families is the Albisteanu family, led by a mother whose strength and resilience have carried her family through years of hardship, Mihaela Albisteanu. “I can’t believe it! The children will have their own space, just for them.”

Mihaela’s excitement rings out as she shares her feelings in a video from the build.

Looking back

Flashback to 2017, Mihaela was already a single mother of three from a very young age. When Adrian came into her life, it seemed a new chapter of hope was opening. Together, they began to dream of rebuilding their lives and providing a better future for the children. 

Mihaela, her three children, and Adrian moved to Germany to work and save money for a fresh start.  Three months later, they came back to Romania, were the children welcomed a new sibling, Nectarie. 

But, instead of growing closer, the family began to struggle. Tension slowly grew in the house until there was no more room for Mihaela and her children. One day, she bravely packed her things, took her four children, and left with no destination in mind.

A small, rented house in a remote village in Neamt County, Romania, became their temporary home. There, Mihaela enrolled her children in school and tried to create for them the stability she never had. Coming from a large family of eleven siblings, Mihaela had to leave school after ninth grade to work. Her dream for her children was different; she wanted them to thrive. 

Still, the family dreamed of and longed to return to Tutora. A place filled with peace, safety, and familiarity. A place that felt like home.

Hope at last

In June 2024, hope came in the shape of hammers, paint brushes, and neighborly faces. An entourage of volunteers from a group of corporate volunteers, as well as local volunteers from the community surrounded the family with support and encouragement. For five days, over 100 volunteers gave their energy, time, and heart to help build a better future for and with the family.

Together with Mihaela, the volunteers raised the walls of her new beginning and covered them with a roof of gratitude.

One volunteer described the experience simply when reflecting on what Hope Build gives back to those who participate. The sense of purpose, connection, and joy that comes from helping a family step into a better future: “We get so much more back: the smile on the faces of the families for whom and with whom we are building the house – it’s just unbeatable!”

By July 2025, Mihaela was finally able to step over the threshold of her completed house. The house stood solid, safe, and hers. Overwhelmed with gratitude, she shared: “We are finally moving into our new home, and it feels like a dream. My children are smiling again, and for the first time in years, we feel safe, at peace. I still can’t believe so many people came just to help us. Thanks to them, we have a fresh start.” 

The volunteers generously came together as communities should, to build something that will last for a very grateful family. They prove that communities become stronger when people help one another.

Together, we build better futures.