A safe, positive volunteer experience is the priority at PVHH job sites. We encourage new volunteers to review the safety FAQs below, review the safety basics videos, and access additional safety training materials from Habitat for Humanity International. New volunteers must attend a Volunteer Orientation Session – for more info on getting started as a volunteer, take a look at our volunteering info and volunteering FAQ.
Safety is everyone’s responsibility. We all need to be safety-conscious and follow the supervisor’s directions. We provide appropriate safety equipment and will ask anyone behaving in an unsafe manner to leave the work site. We maintain a drug-free work site. You will not be asked to do what is inherently unsafe or what you feel uncomfortable doing.u
Habitat requests that all volunteers come to the site with their own health insurance. Pioneer Valley Habitat for Humanity carries limited insurance coverage for on-site volunteers. You must sign in daily to be covered, however. It is your responsibility and that of the construction supervisor to make sure you sign in as soon as you arrive at the site.
Unless advised otherwise, please bring your own food and drink; groups sometimes cater their own lunch. There is an on-site lavatory. Feel free to bring your own tool belt or simple hand tools. Do not bring power tools. Habitat always has tools for volunteers’ use.
Please wear sensible clothing and footwear. Be sure to bring work gloves. We will supply hard hats where needed. Regardless of the season, you may be working outside, so please dress appropriately. Boots and warm, layered clothes are recommended in the winter. Shorts and tennis shoes are usually acceptable in the summer.
At your orientation you were told to do an online safety training. NOW is a great time to do this quick training! Click this link and enter employee access code W8NAEBTG (this is the code for all Habitat volunteers), then click submit. There are a bunch of great safety training videos on this site, we require Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity Job Site and encourage you to complete as many of the recommended courses as you can.
Children under 16 are not permitted on the site during construction. One member of a group, however, may elect to provide child care offsite for other members of a group. All youth must have a waiver signed by parents and have a responsible adult present.
To ensure a safe working environment for volunteers, future homeowners and staff, we have an outdoor work site safety plan in place that includes Covid-19 safety measures. For more information and the latest updates, please check our Covid-19 page.
