Court-Ordered Community Service Form

Court-Ordered Community Service

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne welcomes volunteers who are required by a court to do community service. HFHGFW reserves the right to deny ANY individual in need of court ordered community service hours the ability to volunteer with the organization based on the nature, type and/or specifics of their offense. HFHGFW will not be a party before the specific Court which orders the service, there is no jurisdiction over the organization and the Courts cannot order Habitat to allow an individual to volunteer with our organization. Individuals will be judged solely by their offense(s) and not by any other means, including, but not limited to: age, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne will not accept a volunteer for community service credit who is being charged, pleading guilty to or having been found guilty of certain serious offenses including but not limited to:

Acceptable Offenses:

• Contempt of Court
• Perjury
• Child Support
• Minor Traffic Violations
• License, Tag, and Registration Violations
• Minor Drug and Alcohol Violations
• Truancy

Unacceptable Offenses

• Armed Robbery
• Assault
• Aggravated Assault
• Battery
• Kidnapping
• Arson
• Robbery
• Sexual Abuse
• Sexual Assault
• Rape

Certain offenses will be considered on a case-by-case basis as to whether or not an individual will be allowed to volunteer with the ReStore. Such offenses include but are not limited to: (Drug Possession, Drug Sale Offenses, Violation of Probation, Disorderly Conduct, Burglary and Theft).

To apply to complete your court-ordered community service at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne please submit the following documentation to Andrea Colley via the form below or email at acolley@habitatgfw.com or mail to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne: 2020 E Washington Blvd Ste 500 Fort Wayne, IN 46803

• Written documentation from the courts, probation officers and/or lawyer stating that you are required to complete court ordered community service hours, as well as the specifics of the offense.
• Court-Ordered Community Service Volunteer Application

NOTE: At minimum it can take up to 3-4 business days for the approval process to be completed once all documentation has been received.

After receiving approval from Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne to complete your hours with us, you will be required to do the following:

• Sign Waiver: You must complete and sign a liability waiver. If you are under the age of 18, you must complete the Minor Liability Waiver and have it signed by a parent or guardian before you begin volunteering.
• Schedule Volunteer Opportunities: All volunteer opportunities can be found on our volunteer portal, habitatgfw.galaxydigital.com. You must sign up in advance for the days you would like to volunteer. As volunteer opportunities may vary, please allow yourself plenty of time to complete your required hours before your due date. We will not accept any application that has a due date within two weeks of the application submission date. We have limited space and want all of our volunteers to have meaningful work when they volunteer with us. With this in mind, if you show up unannounced without scheduling in advance, you will be asked to leave.
• Sign In: Aside from tracking your hours personally and having them signed by a staff member, we ask that all of our volunteers sign in & out with a manager.
• Work Registered Hours: If you are unable to work a scheduled shift, you will be able to remove yourself from the schedule by cancelling your events up to 24 hours prior to that event. This can be done through Galaxy Digital (habitatgfw.galaxydigital.com) or by calling the Volunteer Coordinator. After the third date you are scheduled and do not show up without notice, you will be removed from future volunteer dates and no longer able to complete your hours with HFHGFW.
• Record Your Hours: You are responsible for tracking your hours. If the organization you are doing community service for does not provide you with a sheet to record your hours, you will be required to use an HFHGFW tracking sheet to record the date, the time you arrive, the time you leave, and a staff signature.

Once you have acquired the needed hours, please notify the Volunteer Coordinator and submit your Community Service Hours tracking sheet. The Volunteer Coordinator will sign any documents needed and submit them to you and/or the court. If a letter of verification needs to be written on Habitat letterhead, it must be requested at least 24 hours in advance of when it is needed. *Note: Validation letters will not be prepared without a validated time sheet. No Exceptions. For any questions about the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne Community Service Policy and Procedures, please contact Andrea Colley, Development Manager, at acolley@habitatgfw.com or (260) 205-5029.

Guidelines:

• Work Ethic: We expect that all of our volunteers show up to work on time, respect staff members, and do the work that is needed to be done. We appreciate our volunteers being flexible in this regard. If you are found to be unproductive on the construction site or at the ReStore, you will not earn any volunteer hours for that day. If you have completed a task and need something to do, you are required to seek out Habitat staff to be assigned your next task. The use of cell phones or other electronic devices is not permitted while you are completing hours.
• Breaks: A 30 minute lunch break will be given if you are working 6 or more hours. Volunteers are responsible for bringing their own lunch if working at the ReStore.
• Dress Code: Please wear closed-toe shoes, long pants, and a shirt with sleeves (sleeveless shirts are not permitted). Please do not wear any loose hanging jewelry. Any clothing with disturbing messages or is provocative in nature, which could be viewed by others as offensive or suggestive, is prohibited.
• Code of Conduct: We do not permit the use of foul language, drugs or alcohol, or any kind of physical or verbal abuse. If you are caught doing any of the above you will be asked to leave and will not have the opportunity to finish your hours with us.

HFHGFW reserves the right to terminate the agreement for community service if the participant is unproductive, fails to adhere to the guidelines, is disruptive or in any way negatively impacts the accomplishments of the organization’s mission. By signing below you agree that you have read the above guidelines, that you understand them, and that you agree to abide by them while volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Fort Wayne.