ReStore Volunteers: A ‘Hand Up’ for the Worcester Community

Communities around America are afflicted with homelessness, which threatens the livelihood of those communities. Habitat for Humanity, a global nonprofit organization, has made it their mission to help those communities by building homes and instilling hope. To aid in such a challenge issue, Habitat’s founded local ReStores around the country. These ReStores generate funds to help build affordable homes in their respective communities. Worcester, not only, has a ReStore, but is one of largest with service to over 42 towns and cities within Massachusetts. This ReStore, however, has a big problem: lack of volunteers!

Throughout the term, we collaborated with the Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester ReStore to help build the current strategies to increase the ReStore’s volunteering team by interviewing and conducting focus groups with potential and current volunteers. We want to know what influences the current volunteers to donate their time and energy to ReStore as well as ways to improve their experience at ReStore. We also want to know how ReStore can attract and invite new volunteers to help their cause.

ReStore is looking to utilize our research and findings to understand what components of recruitment and retention they should add to their current strategies that would increase the total number of volunteers. ReStore has grown a lot since its inception in the Worcester community and are looking for ways to help accommodate that growth!

Student Researchers

Our team consists of Steven Dang, Robotics Engineering; Chad LaBove, Management Engineering; Domenick Mastascusa, Biology; and Edward Milazzo, Civil Engineering.