Every week we send out an email about our Saturday work trips. These are our construction trips where we go to a site in the area and work on building or refurbishing houses. Work trips are by and large the most popular part of Habitat at Cornell. This shouldn't come as a surprise; who wouldn't want to escape the books for a few hours and head out to a site where you can hammer out your stress AND learn how to build a house?! Work trips are a fun way to meet new people, a great change of pace from our daily grind and an opportunity to help someone get the home they have always dreamed of. Before you sign on, there are a few things that every volunteer should know...

We leave Saturday morning and usually arrive back to Cornell mid-afternoon (8am-3pm). We work in Ithaca whenever we can but often travel to Cortland, Owego, and Corning. Work includes: demolition, sheet rocking; painting; hanging walls; window installation, insulating, cabinet installation, sanding, occasional lanscaping, roof work, and much more. No experience necessary! Transportation and tools are provided.

If you're interested in attending a trip, just respond to the email that announces that trip. We try our best to include as many people as possible. To receive these emails, you must be on our listserve. If you are not already on our listserve, click here to find out how you can join.

Also you will need to sign a waiver before you leave campus. You can sign it in the parking lot the morning of the trip, but here is a copy if you would like to have it printed, signed, and ready to go when you arrive:

Waiver

If you still have questions, here are some frequently asked questions and answers...

How do I sign up for a worktrip?

We send out a solicitation email early in the week, usually Monday or Tuesday. This email will include the time and otherpertinent details regarding the trip. To sign up, just hit reply and respond to the email. Let us know that you are interested in attending and whether or not you are able to drive. It is best to respond as soon as possible since our trips fill up very quickly, and sign ups are on a first come, first serve basis. Do not assume you that we have reserved a space for you on the trip unless you receive a confirmation email that will also provide additional details. This confirmation will come as soon as possible, however, sometimes we get busy and it takes us a couple of days to get back to you.

I've never worked with Habitat before. Do I need experience?

Nope! From the campus to the international level. Habitat makes every effort to make sure that you learn the necessary skills while you are on the work site. We'll provide instruction, supervision, and tools.

What do I need to bring before I show up on Saturday?

For reasons of safety, closed toed shoes are required on Habitat work sites. Sneakers are fine, work or hiking boots are even better. Long pants are recommended but not mandatory. We'll usually warn you if you'll be getting particularly dirty or will be working outside however, don't wear your favorite jeans if they can't get a little paint or dust on them...construction is messy. Occasionally you will need to bring a lunch but we will tell you that in the original announcement, bringing a water bottle is usually a good idea. Also you will need to sign a waiver before you leave campus. You can sign it in the parking lot the morning of the trip, but here is a copy if you would like to have it printed, signed, and ready to go when you arrive:

Waiver

I don't have a car. Will I be able to get a ride?

Yes. We run carpools every weekend and not having a car should never stop you from volunteering. If you do happen to have a vehicle, offers drive are a tremendous help!!!

Can I sign up my friend too?

No. Although this sounds harsh, allowing people to sign up their friends creates ridiculous and unecessary havoc when it comes to volunteer coordination. It becomes very difficult to keep track of how many people are coming, who they are, whether or not they have a car, and how to contact them - all of this information is necessary to make volunteer coordination run smoothly and efficiently. If your friend, a member of Habitat or not, wants to come on the work trip, we are more then happy to have them! Just forward them the worktrip email and have them reply to us directly. Mentioning the name of a person who you're hoping to work with in your own reply to us is a great idea and does help us make sure that we don't separate the trips you're on. If does not, however, guarantee them a spot.

Can I show up late/leave early?

This is tough and usually, no. Simply out of consideration for the other forty people who want to attend the work trip and are willing to come for a full work day, we discourage people from doing this. We agree, 8 am, is incredibly early when you've been out the night before. We've all got other commitments Saturday afternoon, too. However, if everyone showed up at noon and left at one, we would never get anything done. If you have a regular commitment to another organization on Saturdays but still want to check out Habitat, let us know about your conflict and we wil do our best to make arrangements for you. Otherwise, in general, we ask that you wait for a better weekend if you can't make the entire trip.

I need volunteer hours!

Work trips can be used for Traditions, JA, and pretty much every other form of community service. If you need a form signed, bring it with you and talk to your trip leader, they'll take care of it for you.

Thanks for your interest in Habitat! Our work trip volunteers are some of our favorite people and helping on a Habitat site is a priceless experience...please join us!