Habitat Youth Program
Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County appreciates the willingness of community youths to get involved in our important work. We seek to provide everyone with a volunteer experience that is both meaningful and fun. Read on to discover how you can help us fulfill our mission of increasing the amount of simple, decent and affordable housing available for low income families in Montgomery County.
YOUth can plant the seeds to change housing!
Who Can Volunteer?
Act! Speak! Build! Week 2010
How Can I Get Involved?
How Can My Group Get Involved?
Student Service Learning(SSL) and Court Ordered Hours
Who Can Volunteer?
Anyone between the ages of 5 and 25 is considered a youth volunteer. Please note, however, that some of our volunteer opportunities have specific age restrictions. And volunteering for Habitat is a great way to earn Student Service Learning hours.
Act! Speak! Build! Week 2010
Act! Speak! Build! Week (ASBW) is Habitat’s international, student-initiated advocacy campaign. ASBW empowers young people to educate themselves and their communities in order to move people to social action. This year ASBW will be in conjunction with World Habitat Day on October 4th. The week will run from September 26th to October 4th and included activities such as the Building Block Blitz, Paper House Campaign, Welcome Home Housing Simulation, Poverty Awareness Dinner and Cookie Outreach Project. For more information about ASBW 2010 and for a list of the weeks events click here!
How Can I Get Involved?
Blueprints Junior
All youth are invited to attend this session to learn about Habitat for Humanity's exciting work and what we are doing in Montgomery County to help make simple, decent, affordable housing a reality for all people
- Find out what YOUth can do to help!
- Participate in a fun, Habitat-themed activity
- Held on the 4th Wednesday of every-other month from 7-8pm at our office in Gaithersburg
- Register online at Volunteer Hub
- MCPS SSL approved unless noted otherwise
ReStore
- Help Habitat raise funds to build more homes while making a positive impact on the environment and the community
- Price merchandise, help customers, stock shelves
- Volunteer in a low-key and informal environment
- Ages: Volunteers ages 14 and 15 are more than welcome to volunteer with the supervision of a parent or guardian, while volunteers 16+ can volunteer on their own
- MCPS SSL approved
- For more information on volunteering with the ReStore, click here!
Affiliate Office
- Help Habitat behind the scenes by working in the office
- File, copy, stuff envelopes, help with special projects
- Ages: Volunteers ages 14+ are more than welcome to volunteer
- MCPS SSL approved
Construction
- No experience necessary; just a willingness to learn and a desire to help!
- Ages: Because of U.S. labor laws, volunteers on the construction site must be 16+ years old. Sixteen and 17 year olds are able to participate in restricted activities
- MCPS SSL approved
- NOTE: Habitat for Humanity International offers construction opportunities for 16 and 17 year old volunteers through Youth Immersion Program
- Global Village Youth Program
Start a Campus Chapter and Get Involved at your School
Internships and Senior Projects
- Complete your internship or senior project with Habitat for Humanity and help make a difference in your community!
- Help out in our office or ReStore or come up with your own project; we are open to suggestions!
How Can My Group Get Involved?
Download the Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County, MD Youth Group Packet
Adopt-A-Day in the ReStore
- Commit to fill the same shift every month for an extended period of time (i.e. three months) with at least three members of your group
- Help Habitat raise funds to build more homes while making a positive impact on the environment and the community
- Price merchandise, help customers, stock shelves
- Volunteer in a low-key and informal environment
- Ages: Volunteers ages 14 and 15 are more than welcome to volunteer with the supervision of a parent or guardian, while volunteers 16+ can volunteer on their own
- For more information on volunteering with the ReStore, visit the ReStore Volunteer page by clicking here!
Lunch Team Program
- Provide much needed support to construction work crews by volunteering to prepare and deliver lunches to the work site
Hold a Fundraiser
- Car Wash
- Bake Sale
- Cardboard Village
- Hunger Banquet
- Candy, Flower or Bake Sale
- Build and raffle off a play house
- Tool Drive: Raise money to buy tools to be used in the construction of homes
Other Ideas
- Baby-sit partner families’ children during meetings and events
- Represent our affiliate at community events
- Tutor younger partner family children
- Make gifts for our partner families for Home Dedication
- Organize a letter writing campaign to show local lawmakers that youths in the community care about the lack of affordable housing available in Montgomery County
- Have another idea? Want to use your special talent or skill to help Habitat?
Student Service Learning and Court Ordered Hours
Habitat for Humanity of Montgomery County is a registered Student Service Learning Agency, and an approved Court Ordered Service Agency.
How to Certify Your Hours
If you need a letter to certify your hours, you must notify Habitat 48 hours in advance. If you have been provided paper work and need a signature on any other forms you must provide the form and fill in the hours worked and an authorized staff member will be more than happy to sign off on them. Habitat will not sign-off on hours that have not yet been completed and will not falsify information. We will, however provide documentation on the hours you are scheduled to work if you will be completing hours with us after your community service deadline.
