volunteer with us

Volunteers are the heart of Habitat.

We have a variety of ways you can help as a volunteer to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter - and they don’t all involve hammers! When you volunteer with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity in Western Washington County, Oregon, you join hundreds of people from your community who believe in the cause of affordable housing. Everyone deserves a safe and decent place to live and volunteers help make it happen.
Most of volunteering opportunities are in Forest Grove, Oregon; some are also in Gaston, North Plains, Buxton, Cornelius, Banks and the surrounding area. Many of our volunteer roles require no construction or repair skills or previous experience. You can join us for a day, tackle a project until completion, or become an ongoing volunteer. See all the ways you can volunteer with us below. And note that you can earn the Presidential Service Award by volunteering with us!

ways to work with us

No matter who you are, there is a way for you to be involved in our cause to build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter.

West Tuality Habitat needs you! Here are ways you can help:

Home Construction

Construction begins soon on Countryman Estates in Forest Grove. It will have eight homes: two single-story fully-accessible units and six townhomes, each with three-four bedrooms and two full baths. Our “rapid homestead” projects are also about to begin. We need volunteers to work with our wonderful build crew, alongside the future owners of the homes. No construction experience is necessary to volunteer. Working on our new builds can include framing, siding, painting, flooring, fencing, trim work, landscaping, drainage, yard work and finish work. Our crew works 3 days a week, rain or shine and would welcome you as a volunteer for a day, for a week - or longer! We also welcome groups. Complete this form to express your volunteering interest!

Build Days: Tues, Thurs, Sat 9am-1pm

Repair Projects

We host Repair projects and yard cleanup projects for vulnerable homeowners in Western Washington County (Forest Grove, Cornelius, Gaston, Banks, North Plains, etc.) as opportunities come in, generally during the spring and summer months, and into early Fal. As a repair volunteer, you could find yourself doing yard work, exterior painting, helping with repairs, helping to build ramps, and more. This is a great opportunity for volunteers to serve the elderly, people with disabilities, people with low-incomes, and military veterans in our area of Western Washington County. No construction experience is necessary to volunteer. We also welcome groups. Individuals that want to volunteer should complete this form. If you represent a group of volunteers, contact volunteer@westtualityhabitat.org to tell us your group name and number and availability.

Committee Work

We have many different committees to help us in our mission to build and repair homes in our community and help people access what they need for permanent housing. We have event committees, a home application committee, a repair project committee, and more. These committees offer ideas, advice and feedback. They are essential in helping us with our messaging to the community and our work with our clients. Committees meet in Forest Grove, Oregon, and we welcome you to come and observe a committee meeting so you can see what it’s like. Complete this volunteering form and let us know what kind of committee you are interested in joining.

learn more

Office & Events

You can help in our office or at events: you can take photos, input info into a database, add alt text to photos on our web site, help with with event setups and tear downs, help with registration at events, assemble newsletters, distribute flyers, file paperwork, and more. These roles, at our office in Forest Grove, Oregon or at event sites, are as important as the volunteers than swing a hammer in helping us build strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. We welcome your ideas for volunteering as well! Complete this form and let us know what kind of volunteering you are interested in doing.

ReStore

Our Habitat ReStore is at 3731 Pacific Avenue in Forest Grove. It is a 14,000 sq. foot store that features donated new and used building materials, furniture, supplies and tools and other items that we resell to the general public to fund our activities. There is a need for volunteers from all walks of life in the ReStore: you could sort books or other donations, you could help make our displays more attractive, you could help take photos of items for online sales, you could research the value of items online and more! Here’s a very short video about volunteering at our ReStore.

ReStore Hours: Mon-Sat 9am-5pm

Volunteer at the ReStore

Get a Group

We are happy to host groups for builds, repairs, or special projects. You do not have to be from this area to volunteer, but please note that ALL of our projects are in in Western Washington County, Oregon (Forest Grove, Gaston, North Plains, Cornelius, etc.). West Tuality Habitat will work with you to find a project so that your group can help make a difference in our communities. Gather your faith group, sports group, book club, coworkers, class, civic club, or family to volunteer with us. Contact us at volunteer@westtualityhabitat.org and let us know more about your group and your availability.

preparing to volunteer with us

Becoming a Habitat volunteer comes with great rewards and responsibilities. Volunteers are representatives of Habitat for Humanity and our mission. In addition to complying with all laws, regulations and Habitat for Humanity policies, all volunteers are expected to follow Habitat’s Code of Conduct.

Details of our commitment to safeguarding can be found in our safeguarding policy, or you can view our safeguarding orientation video in English or with Spanish subtitles to learn more about what safeguarding is, how to recognize safeguarding violations and how to report them.

prefer online volunteering?

Habitat for Humanity International offers a range of ways that online volunteers can help advocate for housing affordability, via Habitat’s Cost of Home campaign. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, more than 17 million U.S. households were paying half or more of their income on a place to live. The number of families struggling to make ends meet is only growing. Every family deserves the chance to thrive. You can help us make that possible through undertaking these activities via Habitat for Humanity International.

President’s Volunteer Service Award

West Tuality Habitat for Humanity is a certifying organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award. That means that, if you volunteer with West Tuality Habitat and meet the eligibility requirements for a Presidential Service Award via the hours you volunteer with just us or in combination with another organization that is a certifying organization, you can receive the award. Read more about how you can qualify for the award through volunteering with West Tuality Habitat.