By Collin Quigley, AmeriCorps Member & Volunteer Coordinator
A question I am often asked is how to lend a hand to Habitat during this time of virtual engagement and social distancing. Here are seven ways you could help out safely from home.
Advocate to your federal, state, and local officials for fairer housing policies. From the hills of Appalachia to the streets of bigger metros, more families than ever are unable to make rent or their mortgage payment. In 2019, Habitat for Humanity launched its “Cost of a Home Campaign” to educate others about the complexities that promote structural housing inequities. A critical part of “Cost of a Home” to advocate to your federal, state, and local officials to get on Team Habitat. We need public servants of every level to support the development of affordable housing, provide assistance to families struggling to make payments, and stop policies that enable redlining.
Organize a goods drive to stock the pantry for one of our new homeowners. Habitat MontDelco works to complete at least one new construction project every year. At the close of construction, we hold a dedication ceremony to welcome the homeowner to their new home. Working to stock the pantry is a wonderful way to welcome your new neighbor in Montgomery or Delaware County.
Update your Amazon smile to benefit your local Habitat affiliate. In the last several months, I’m sure a lot of us have been relying on Amazon orders to cut down on trips out of the house. Something I did not know is that Amazon allows you to purchase all of your Amazon products at Amazon Smile. When you use Amazon Smile, 0.5% of your purchase is donated to a nonprofit or charity of your choosing (and yes, you can select Habitat MontDelco).
Serve as a financial coach in our Almost Home Program. This year, interest in our Almost Home program exploded. More families than ever are looking to learn skills and implement practices to empower their financial decision making. If you have a background as a financial planner or in a finance-adjacent background, we are looking for your help to teach these valuable skills to families looking to benefit from them.
Share Habitat social media posts. We always appreciate your help in getting the word out about the work Habitat is doing in the community. Share what we post on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn with your friends and followers on social media. Increasing our visibility increases awareness of the injustices we are working to rectify.
Educate your friends about the work Habitat does. Despite our long history of Habitat in our area and across the country, there are many misconceptions about Habitat’s work. Two to teach your friends about are, first, that those selected for a Habitat home buy the home; Habitat offers families a hand up, not a hand out. Second, Habitat does so much more than build homes; we run financial empowerment courses, conduct home repairs to help seniors age-in-place, and support the revitalization (not gentrification) of neighborhoods.
Clean out your home and set aside potential donations to our ReStore (or just shop there!). Do you have some nice furniture or household decorations you are thinking about donating? Let us know! Our ReStores are still accepting donations. Our ReStores are a critical part of our efforts to build homes, communities, and hope. Here is a full list of our donation criteria: http://ow.ly/L72Z50CZPLQ
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