Who We Are
We are Habitat for Humanity's presence at the University of Alabama
We work with the Tuscaloosa chapter of Habitat for Humanity and community partners to organize service opportunities and more for students at UA.
Link to Habitat for Humanity Tuscaloosa
We are also one of several service organizations organized through the Center for Service and Leadership (CSL) at UA.
What We Do
Making A Difference
Build Days
Get hands on experience and make a tangible difference by working on a Habitat build site. No experience required.
Re-Store
Habitat for Humanity Re-Store is a community asset that provides donated goods for affordable prices.
Fundraising
Habitat works hard to select candidates for houses to ensure they are financially viable for the homeowner and Habitat itself. However, there is no such thing as a free house.
Outreach
Spending large amounts of time on campus makes it harder to see issues that impact Tuscaloosa like food or housing insecurity. We organize workshops and give platforms to guest speakers to spread awareness of these issues and others.
FAQ
How does Habitat work?
Habitat builds and rehabilitates high quality, affordable houses working alongside our volunteers and homeowner partner families. In addition to a down payment and monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor into building their Habitat house and the houses of others. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and financed with a zero interest loan. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build even more Habitat houses.
Do I have to be skilled in construction to volunteer?
No construction skills are necessary. The only requirements are a willingness to serve and learn. All volunteers must be 16 or older.
How are partner families selected?
Families in need of affordable housing apply to local Habitat affiliates. The affiliate’s family selection committee chooses homeowners based on their level of need, their willingness to become partners in the program and their ability to repay the loan. Every affiliate follows a nondiscriminatory policy of family selection. Habitat Tuscaloosa does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, or handicap as factors when choosing the families who receive Habitat houses.
What if I'm not free on any scheduled build days?
UA Habitat works to plug UA student volunteers into Tuscaloosa Habitat Builds. If our days don't fit your schedule, you can try signing up through Tuscaloosa Habitat, participating in one of our organization's other service opportunities, or even check out some of the other service organizations in the CSL