USA Community Projects

The work we do on each team depends upon the immediate needs of the community, and can't always be predicted more than a month in advance. Most of our work in the USA is labor projects - such as painting, landscaping and repairing community buildings and homes, serving meals, organizing libraries, and assisting with youth and elder recreational activities. People of all ages can provide valuable assistance on a number of these projects, which require only generalist skills, recognizing that the community's foremost goal is to acquaint volunteers with day-to-day life in the host community.

On the Blackfeet Reservation of Montana, many team members work at the Eagle Shield assisted living, the Early Childhood Center, the Boys and Girls Club, Blackfeet Community College and Blackfeet Care Center. In West Virginia, you're needed to assist with labor and education projects, including repairing and renovating former coal-company houses, where low-income families can live affordably. You can also work alongside, and be a mentor to, participants in the local "Youth Build" program. Help teens and young adults study for their GED and work with them at construction sites.

"Take the stance of a learner and listener.  The young people at SALS are in a process of building their self-esteem, and if they can show you how to do something, it would be great. Most of all, enjoy the people and let them enjoy you. Relationships are the most important thing to most of us, and if you relax and fit in, you may just become 'kin.'”
~John David, director, Southern Appalachian Labor School (SALS)
Global Volunteers Host Representative