vol•un•teer

–noun

1. a person who voluntarily offers himself or herself for a service or undertaking.
2. a person who performs a service willingly and without pay.

If anyone knows that the volunteer spirit is alive and well in Bend and Crook County, it would be us.

In the past year, Bend Area Habitat for Humanity has logged 27,771.53 volunteer hours and we know that is an understatement because by nature, many volunteers don’t feel it is necessary to log the time they’ve contributed.  After all, they are giving it free of charge and with no expectations.  If you see a person with a clipboard prowling around the job site like a stalker, it is probably an employee or volunteer charged with the task of logging the volunteers who didn’t sign in.  If you receive a third degree interrogation over a project you worked on or a meeting you attended it is most likely someone responsible for keeping track of volunteer hours.  But alas, many, many hours still remain unaccounted for and people don’t get recognized for all that they do. 

So, knowing that there are some hours unaccounted for, let’s round up our volunteer hours to 30,000.  What does this tell us?  If we were to assume that each volunteer put in an 8 hour day, we would have seen 3,750 volunteers over the last year.  However, we have a volunteer that puts in an hour or two per week at the office.  We have a group of volunteers who put in 18 hours a week, each, at the construction site.  Committee members put in a few hours each month. So we can’t divide the total hours by an average work day and have an accurate snap shot.  Luckily our fancy system tells us that 2,230 volunteers logged those 27,771.53 hours.  That is enough people to fill the Tower Theatre to capacity more than four times.

Volunteers come to us for many reasons and as you can tell from the numbers above, many of them continue to come again and again.  Their motivations are all a little different.  Their skills vary. Their interests fluctuate but there is one thing every one of them has in common.  Their value.  To BAHfH, each and every one of those hours, whether given at the construction site, the office, the ReStore or somewhere else, is beyond a monetary value.  Those hours equate to changed lives, a secure home and accomplishment. Those hours build more than homes they build self worth, achievement and sanctuary. Those hours build a better future for all of us and impact lives all around the community.

So next time you are standing in line at the grocery store, look around at those standing around you.  Is someone wearing a Habitat baseball cap or have a small hammer pinned to their collar? If so, you are likely standing next to one of our volunteers.  When you meet a Habitat volunteer, and you will, ask them how many of those 30,000 hours they graciously donated and then thank them for the impact they make on our community.