Habitat’s Response to COVID-19: 3/16/20

The circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak have evolved quickly, and we believe now is the time for us to do even more to protect you, our team, Habitat partner families, and the community we care deeply for.

This is an increasingly difficult time for people, businesses, and organizations all across the country and our community. As a nonprofit that relies entirely on the support of others, please know we are making these difficult decisions after thoughtful discussions —but we need your help.

Here are the protective measures we at Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver are enacting today:

• Volunteers – We are cancelling all volunteer shifts through April 30th.  We know how important our work is to the families we serve, and we hope to limit disruptions to our production schedules by allowing staff continue building while practicing social distancing.
  ReStores – We are closing our ReStores starting at 6pm today for the next three weeks, through April 6th.  Our tentative reopen date is April 7th.  This closure reflects all ReStore operations, including retail shopping, donation drop off and pick-ups, and volunteering.  Our staff will continue to work as appropriate to deep clean, disinfect and organize the stores.
  Main Office – Our main office, like our ReStores and construction sites are closed to the public effective March 17th – April 6th.
• Events
  • We are canceling our next two in-person Home Buyer Information sessions (March 26th and April 4th).  We hope to reschedule them as soon as it makes sense to do so.  Interested homebuyer applicants can still submit an online application through the end of the month by clicking here.
  • We have decided to postpone our Breakfast for Humanity to a later date, currently TBD.  We hope to follow up with all of our table hosts, sponsors and registered guests this week once new details are secured.

We recognize that these are uncharted waters and uncertain times, and appreciate your continued support, patience and trust as we navigate this together.  Habitat for Humanity has always been a community-based organization, and we will continue to need to lean on one another to ensure we can support the hardworking families across metro Denver who need it most.

Our partner families are already vulnerable; many of them in positions at the forefront of the crisis, including health care workers, civil servants, service sector employees; those to whom a missed paycheck can mean catastrophe. If you were planning on volunteering, shopping at a ReStore, or supporting Habitat in the next few weeks, I strongly encourage you to support our mission through an online donation today.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we will re-open our office, our sites and our ReStore as soon as it is safe to do so.

Thank you for your support!

If you can say “yes” to these three questions, we’re asking you to postpone your visit to any of our locations for the time being.

Friday, March 13, 2020

Thank you for your interest in volunteering, shopping or visiting with Habitat Metro Denver. Our team continues to monitor the COVID-19 outbreak closely, and has been working diligently to respond appropriately using guidelines and recommendations provided by OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At this time we are taking the following precautions to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19:

For Construction Sites

• Additional Cleaning: We are working toward performing additional daily disinfection of all personal protective equipment and tools used by volunteers and staff, as well as ensuring adequate hand sanitizer and hand-washing stations on sites.
• Social Distancing: The number of volunteers per project has been reduced to allow people to spread out, and volunteer assignments have been restructured to create social distancing.
• Bring your own: Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own personal protective equipment (including safety glasses and gloves).
• Prioritizing: We have prioritized certain sites and canceled projects that are non-essential at this time.

For ReStores

• Education: All employees have been familiarized with sanitizing practices, and healthy practices.
• Additional Cleaning: We have ordered a backup supply of all cleaning supplies, cleaning kits have been placed at every station throughout each store, and cleaning checklists are completed at the beginning and end of the day.
• Signage: Hand-washing signs have been hung in breakrooms and restrooms; “Attention” signs have been hung around the store for customers to view.
• Hand Sanitizer: Hand sanitizer stations have been set up around the stores for employees, volunteers, and customers.

Our intention is always to protect the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, partners, and the people we serve. Even in taking these actions, there is still risk involved, and we cannot guarantee that Habitat for Humanity will not be affected. If you are unsure about volunteering or are feeling ill, we encourage you to postpone your volunteer shift to a later date.

Friday, March 6th, 2020

Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver is closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the coronavirus. We want to be as proactive as possible to ensure the health and safety of our staff, volunteers, partners, and the people we serve. As a precaution, we are asking any volunteer who can answer “yes” to any of the questions below to postpone your volunteer shift with us for the time being.

The current Level 3 watch list countries represent locations where there is widespread, sustained (ongoing) transmission.

• Have you been exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19?
• Have you or someone in your household traveled to a country on the CDC’s Level 3 watch list in the last 30 days?
• Are you currently ill, or exhibiting any signs of illness?

We will continue to monitor the situation and update this message as the situation evolves. If you have questions, please contact nstanekscott@habitatmetrodenver.org. Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Habitat Metro Denver!