All Hands Volunteers
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Looking for a change, I found All Hands (then HODR) working on projects in Pisco, Peru in 2007 after a massive earthquake there. I had practically no experience of disaster relief work, although had volunteered before in Europe, and upon arriving I was reassured and made to feel welcome. HODR became an extended family to me. I started doing work I never thought that I would be able to do. And the most important thing - the most rewarding thing - was seeing how small changes really affect and improve the lives of the people around you who had lost so much. All it needed was some organisation, some direction, lots of elbow grease and lots of dedication. The 4 months volunteering with HODR in Peru convinced me to return to studying architecture after a long break, and to shape my future career around humanitarian and relief work. I have now been living and working in Kosovo for almost 2 years, working with the resettlement of refugees after the wars of the 1990s, and am looking forward to my next posting. None of this would have happened without HODR showing me that hard work pays off. And the friends I made in Peru - well, they've been the closest every since. The best part is visiting them in far-flung places across the world and learning about the work they are all doing there.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2008
I signed up to volunteer for two months with All Hands on Project Leogane, Haiti. I stayed for five. My time there was amazing, life changing. It was not just the hands on work we were doing to help the Haitian community, but the friendships that will last a life time. All Hands volunteers are some of the most inspiring people you could ever come across. They drop their lives to help others, travel around the world to work tirelessly in the hot sun, sweating and exhausted by day's end. Then the next morning, they get up and do it again.
Besides the amazing people that sign up to volunteer, the greatest thing about All Hands is that their projects revolve around the affected community's needs. They talk with the community, find out how they can help, then they enable people to come in and respond.
I would recommend All Hands to anyone thinking of embarking on a volunteer experience. As I said, it changed my life...I wouldn't trade my experience in Haiti for the world.
Thank you, All Hands.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
every way. It was not just time in Haiti that changed my outlook on life. I definitely view things in a new light since submerging myself in a third world country. But, my experience with All Hands has impacted my life in huge ways as well. I have now been exposed to a fantastic group of giving people. The staff, the volunteers, everyone involved is full of a contagious passion that I look forward to passing on.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Find a way for the staff and volunteers to really connect. They are all so passionate for the same thing. They all want to do the greatest amount of good and sometimes get caught up with the work and forget to connect with one another. Other than that, more projects so more people can volunteer!
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
Did your volunteer experience have an effect on you? (teaching you a new skill, or introducing new friends, etc.)
Taught me many new skills. I can now render a wall, build a roof, shovel shovel shovel. I'm handier than I ever thought possible! I also had an opportunity to challenge my leadership skills in new ways.
How did this volunteer experience make you feel?
:)
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
HODR is unique and unparalleled. It's volunteer-driven: the volunteers find what's needed in a community and propose the projects. HODR provides the infrastructure to support the volunteers and doesn't charge a fee for this.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Haiti (twice), Bangladesh, Philippines, Peru, Indonesia (twice), Mississippi (Katrina), Missouri (tornado)
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What I've enjoyed the most about my experience with this nonprofit is...
Being embedded in the local culture and working with some super volunteers.
The kinds of staff and volunteers that I met were...
Exceptional, hardworking.
If this organization had 10 million bucks, it could...
Do a lot more rebuilding and provide a life-changing experience for even more volunteers.
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2009
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