Sweat equity is designed to meet three important goals:

1. Sweat Equity Builds Partnership. The goal of sweat equity is to provide opportunities for meaningful interaction between partner families, affiliate representatives, and Habitat volunteers. Habitat for Humanity is not only about building houses; our mission extends to uplifting families and building community. The best way for partner family and volunteers to get to know one another is to work alongside each other.

2. Sweat Equity Builds a Sense of Pride. Habitat for Humanity is not a charity or a give-away program. We offer a hand up rather than a handout. Habitat for Humanity works with, rather than for, families in need to build their own homes and a brighter future.

3. Sweat Equity Builds Skills and Knowledge. The sweat-equity program is designed to offer new homeowners a wide variety of opportunities to gain skills and knowledge that will help them successfully adapt to their new home. On the building site, partner family members will gain a real understanding of the construction of their home and maintenance issues they will face after occupancy.

SWEAT EQUITY POLICY STATEMENT

Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity has adopted the following policy for Sweat Equity credit hours.

1. We require 500 hours of hands-on work. Friends and extended family members may contribute up to 250 of those hours.

2. Hours will be tracked through the use of the time slips, which must be signed by the appropriate supervisor and delivered to the Habitat office at the end of each month. After receiving the white work slips, the Family Partnership Committee will enter the information into the office database and send an update to the family.

3. In most cases, applicant families will be helping to build other families homes before working on their own home.

4. If the family has completed its 500 sweat-equity hours, but their home has not yet been completed, at least one member of the applicant family is encouraged to continue to work at their home until it has been completed.