Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity COVID-10 (Coronavirus) Update 4/2/2020

4/2/20 | Message from the Executive Director

I wanted to reach out to all of our volunteers, partner families, customer and donors to update you all as to what we are doing during this “new normal” time we live in today.

Administrative Office – The physical office continues to be closed to all visitors. I come to the office daily to handle all administrative work. Our administrative and resource staff are working remotely to continue to answer all calls and emails so that the “business” of Gloucester County Habitat can continue.

ReStore – Our Restore continues to be closed until further notice. We are accepting donations from businesses which are picked up curbside and brought to the store. Once day a week, a ReStore employee comes to the store to sanitize and stage the donations.

Construction – All construction sites, including our warehouse, are closed to Volunteers. All sub-contractors and contractors will continue their work on our sites depending on their Covid-19 restrictions and precautions.

People have been inquiring as to our upcoming events such as the Annual Golf outing, our family orientation and required partner family meeting and classes. We will make the proper decisions on these as new information is available. As we have stated from the very beginning, the safety of our Habitat family is our primary concern so we will continue to monitor the situation and keep you all informed.

For now… Stay home and Stay safe.

Tony Isabella
Executive Director
Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity

3/23/20 | Based on the governor’s proclamation of March 21, 2020 Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity will be closed to all employees, partner families, volunteers, customers and donors. The affiliate will cease operations in compliance with state law. We will continue to monitor the situation and update our status as new information is obtained. Thank you all for your continued support of our mission and stay home, stay safe.

3/18/20 | At Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity our greatest priority is for the safety of our homeowners, volunteers, staff, customers, visitors and the greater community as we take proactive steps to minimize the health impacts of Coronavirus (COVID-19). As circumstances have evolve our affiliate’s actions have changed.

Effective Immediately & until Further Notice:

• The ReStore will be closed 
•  All volunteer activities including construction are postponed
  • All volunteers are asked to stay home and observe the directives issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Found here.
• All events/fundraisers are canceled through April 15 

In order to protect the health and safety of our community and staff, our office will be closed to walk-ins until further notice. We will be available to answer all inquiries including scheduling a time for a pick up if a donation to our ReStore at 856-256-9400. 

3/16/20 | We are writing to provide an update about the measures Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity is taking to protect our staff, volunteers, customers/donors and the people we serve during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Please realize that your safety is our top priority.

These measures are based on guidance from Habitat for Humanity International and national, state and local public health authorities.  We are continually monitoring the situation and our approach may change as new guidance is provided.

What we are doing at the affiliate office.

1. The affiliate office will remain open until further notice.
2. All partner family activities, including financial counselling classes and quarterly meetings are suspended until further notice.
3. We are encouraging our employees to stay home if they are symptomatic (cough, fever, aching joints).  Our Resource Development and volunteer coordinator offices will be working remotely until further notice.

What we are doing now regarding our construction activity.

1. Our construction activity (including home and ramp builds) will continue.
2. All group builds are cancelled until further notice.
3. All volunteers are urged to follow the following steps before coming out to the job-site.
4.   If you are symptomatic (cough, fever, aching joints) please do not come to the site and consult your physician immediately.
5. Only come to the site if you are comfortable doing so.
6. We will provide N95 masks, 9ML nitrile gloves and hand sanitizer at all job sites for your use.
7. The use of nitrile gloves will be mandatory for all volunteers and staff.

What we are doing at our ReStore.

1. Our Restore will remain open until further notice.
2. All in home/apartment donation pickups will be suspended until further notice.  We will continue to pick up donations curbside and from businesses.  If you have a donation that you want us to pick up, please make every effort to move it outside where we can get to it.  This is done so we can limit social interaction.  If you cannot move the donation then we will pick it up after the crisis is over.
3. All Restore staff will now be required to wear 9ML nitrile gloves at all times.
4. All items in the ReStore will be sprayed with disinfectant.  Donations coming in to the ReStore will be sprayed with a disinfectant prior to being moved in to our store.  These measures are to insure a safe atmosphere where you can shop.

The Board of Directors will continue to review the COVID-19 situation daily and communicate any additional changes.  We recognize that these measures may be disruptive to your plans but given the current atmosphere, we feel that they are prudent. 

If you should have any questions about these procedures and preparations, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thank you for your support in our mission and our efforts to stem this pandemic.

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