Purpose
Sweat Equity time should provide for the Partner Family:
- Meaningful interaction between families, the Habitat affiliate representatives and other volunteers.
- Pride in homeownership, helping families in the construction stage begin the transition into ownership.
- Development of skill and knowledge on the building site and getting an understanding of the construction process of their home and the meaintenance issues they will face.
- Active engagement in the work or tasks that need to be accomplished.
Sweat Equity Requirements
Partner family Mom learns to mud.
- Five hundred (500) hours of sweat equity is required for each homeowner family.
- Forty percent (200 hours) of the required sweat equity is to be completed before the construction/rehab begins.
- One hundred (100) percent of the required sweat equity is to be completed before occupancy.
- Volunteeers (friends, relatives, co-workers, church family members) can complete 40% of the required sweat equity. An adult partner family member must be working at the job site at the same time volunteers are working in order for the hours to count for the Partner Family.
- Partner family members are those family members who sign the partnership agreement and their dependent children who are and will be living in the same household with the parents.
Examples of Sweat Equity Opportunities
- Work on the construction site of the Partner family home. this could include several nights a week until 9 p.m. during the summer. This requires supervision by an Affiliate member.
- Work on the construction site of some other Partner family's home.
- Depending on distance, Partner Families can work on homes being built by another affiliate. there must be agreement from both Affiliates.
- Babysitter time may be done by older children of the Partner family while parents are on the job site. those hours count as family hours. If friends or other family members babysit, those hours are counted as volunteer hours. Those volunteers cannot be paid.
- Attend workshops on such topics as budgeting and home maintenance, etc. If the workshop is not given by the affiliate, prior approval must be obtained from the Family Support Committee.
- Volunteer work at non-profit organizations. Prior approval from the family support Committee must be obtained.
- Participate in speaking engagements as an HFH IWV representative. Prior approval from the family Support Committee must be obtained.
- Serve on Habitat committees, work in the Habitat office, homeowner association meetings, fundraisers, food preparation, clean-up at Habitat functions, etc. Can include allowing the Partner Family to send thank-you cards (provided by the Affiliate) to sponsors and volunteers.
- Work by friends, relatives, co-workers and church family members recruited by the Partner family (limited to 200 hours). Partner families may not solicit sweat equity hours on the job site. They must ask the person to volunteer before they come to the job site.
- College courses may be completed by the Partner Family while working on their sweat equity hours. Courses must be passed with a minimum of a "C" grade. Courses must be approved by the Family Support Committee before the class begins. Units must be in the pursuit of obtaining a degree or relevant personal development goals. An "A" will earn 5 hours, "B" will earn 4 hours, and "C" will earn 3 hours. P.E. classes will be counted only when they are required in the curriculum.
- Complete a high school diploma or GED. Each diploma or GED completed by family members will earn 26 hours per person.
- School grades of Partner Family children will earn hours as detailed in #10 above. Grades for handwriting, spelling, understanding material, reading and other non-basic grades will not be counted. Only history, English, science and mathematics will be counted. P.E. classes will be counted only when they are required in the curriculum.