QUESTION: Do you have an age limit?

We’re often asked by retirees who want to volunteer, “Do you have an age limit?”

The short answer is, “Yes, you have to be at least 14.”

Habitat volunteers—including construction volunteers—come in all sizes, shapes, and ages.

Our youngest regular volunteer, Katie Segraves, just turned 10 last year. Her dad helps us build houses, and for the past two or three years, when a house is finished and ready for the final cleaning before the new owners move in, he brings Katie to help vacuum the new carpet. That is, if she’s not in school that day. Katie loves working alongside our more experienced house cleaners, and often tries her hand at washing windows or wiping out the tub.

We don’t know who our oldest volunteer is, but we know we have a number of construction volunteers—both men and women—who are in their 80s. They help us frame walls, install windows and doors, attach vinyl siding, and do the painting and interior finish work. We also have Home Store volunteers who run the cash register and help sort and price donated items for sale. Our volunteers also help us with office work, special events, and fundraisers.

We don’t place limitations on our older volunteers. We leave that up to the individual, their spouse, and their doctor.

All that said, we do have official policies that place limits on what our younger volunteers can do.

In general, a young person must be at least 14 to volunteer at the Habitat Home Store. This can be very satisfying for those who need community service hours for school or Scout projects. Teens can volunteer either as individuals or as a small group.

Young people who are 14 or 16 can do limited work on the construction site. They can paint or help with landscaping, or can help with construction-related projects, but should not be on site when heavy construction is going on.

Volunteers who are 16 or 17 can do general construction but cannot do excavation, demolition, use power tools, work at heights above six feet or do roofing. They can do general carpentry.

Anyone who is 18 or older can do any of the various construction jobs on the worksite.

Here are some specific tasks for young people:

Under Age 14

Landscape (spread grass seed and straw, create flower beds, plant trees and shrubs)

Prepare and serve food for volunteers

Raise money to purchase building materials (i.e., doors, windows, shingles, etc. We can supply ideas and prices.)

Collect gift basket items for Habitat family (i.e. cleaning supplies, yard tools)

Age 14 and 15

All of the above

Paint doors and trim

Paint walls

Paint storage sheds

Final house cleaning

Wall insulation

Crawl space insulation

Caulk and touch up paint

Help electricians pull wires through walls

Age 16 and 17

All of the above

Rough framing using only manual tools

Carry and place floor and roof trusses

Vinyl siding (no more than six feet above ground level)

Assemble kitchen cabinets

Electrical wiring (outlets and receptacles, light fixtures, etc)

Install doorknobs

Help set up scaffolding (first and second stories only)

Teens must always be supervised by an appropriate number of responsible, mature adults. Depending on the task, small groups or a one-on-one work team may be more effective than a large group project. Teens exhibiting careless, disrespectful, irresponsible, or dangerous behavior will be sent away from the worksite.

Please contact the construction coordinator if you have specific questions.