Habitat Charlotte Region Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19)

(Update 06/08/2021)

Effective immediately – Habitat Charlotte Region is adopting a “Mask Friendly Environment”. We are replacing our mask requirements with an invitation to wear protective face masks as outlined below.

We take the health risks of COVID-19 seriously and are pleased to see evolving medical guidance from the CDC, and plan to follow all future CDC health and safety guidance.

All Habitat associates, Habitat volunteers, Habitat homeowners, ReStore associates, ReStore volunteers and ReStore customers are invited to wear masks if any of the following situations apply:

  • You are unvaccinated (the CDC recommends all unvaccinated individuals wear face coverings – it is an honor system and we trust you to do what is needed to protect others) – we encourage everyone to get vaccinated
  • You are vaccinated but want to show support for those that are not – think of this as being a “mask ally”. This is particularly beneficial if you are in a large, indoor group with people you routinely do not associate with and want to encourage unvaccinated people to be comfortable wearing their masks.
  • You are vaccinated but have children in your home that are not
  • You are vaccinated but have an auto-immune diagnosis
  • You are vaccinated but have a family member or friend that is high risk
  • You are vaccinated but have a lot of masks now and like them as a wardrobe accessory
  • You are vaccinated but you feel more comfortable wearing a mask
  • You are vaccinated but are not able to social distance

We continue to encourage regular hand washing/sanitizing and social distancing, and ask that you do not enter Habitat offices, job sites or ReStores if you are experiencing any COVID-related symptoms.

This adjustment in our COVID protocols goes into effect immediately, but could change due to further clarifications from OSHA or changes in the current levels of infection within the organization or community.

(Update 03/01/2021)

Habitat Charlotte Region is gradually expanding our volunteer activity starting in March. COVID-19 case trends in our communities have modestly improved, and we hope that trend continues with warmer weather and increased vaccinations.

Habitat Charlotte Region is taking several precautions to protect volunteers, staff and homeowners from Coronavirus (COVID-19). Volunteers are asked to serve when they are free of symptoms and have not been recently exposed to anyone with COVID-19. Masks are required at all build sites and ReStores. Sanitation has increased at all sites, and cleaning supplies are available. Distancing is expected. At ReStores, volunteer stations are spread out and group sizes are reduced to 3-5 volunteers depending on the store location. On build sites, 6-8 volunteers will be scheduled with a total of 13 individuals on site including staff and homeowners in progress.

The Cornelius, Mooresville, Wendover and Wilkinson ReStores, as well as Julia’s Café & Books, are now open Monday – Saturday with operating hours of 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. for ReStore and 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for Julia’s. Community service for school and court and groups may be scheduled by contacting 704.249.7197 or volunteerrestore@habitatCLTregion.org. Individual volunteers are needed to serve in long term roles such as donation dock, salesfloor, repairs and cashiers. To apply, please visit www.CLTRegionReStore.org.

Our Build schedule will be gradually expanding in March. Monthly group, faith partners, sponsors and recurring individuals (weekly/monthly regulars) have been scheduled for March. There will be limited spots for new individuals and groups. Starting in April, more slots will be available for all volunteers.

(Update 01/08/2021)

As we monitored COVID case trends in mid-December, Habitat Charlotte Region weighed the difficult decision to delay reactivation of new one-time construction volunteers and construction volunteer groups until early March. Unfortunately, the rise of cases over the holidays has confirmed that this is the right decision. We will continue to monitor the situation, and will update this page and our Volunteer pages when new volunteer opportunities become available.

At Charlotte Region ReStores, we are currently in need of individual long-term volunteers, and continue to accept community service volunteers and small volunteer groups (3-5 per team) as well. The addition of long-term ReStore volunteers will help us to start expanding the operating hours of Charlotte Region ReStores. Learn more about volunteering at Charlotte Region ReStores here.

Our Wendover ReStore and Julia’s Café & Books are currently scheduled to expand their days of operations to Monday – Saturday starting Monday, January 18, with operating hours of 9am – 4pm for ReStore, and 8am – 4pm for Julia’s.

(Update 08/20/2020)

Habitat Charlotte Region announces the following COVID updates:

  • Pineville ReStore has been reopened under a condensed schedule; hours are Thursday – Saturday, 9am – 4pm
  • We are now accepting ReStore volunteers for recurring roles – cashier, salesfloor associate, donation docks assistant and skilled specialist – visit cltregionrestore.org/volunteer for more information and to apply
  • After Labor Day, Community Service volunteers will be reinstated at all open ReStores
  • Construction site volunteer opportunities remain paused until January 2021; this includes large-scale corporate volunteer teams
  • Our offices in Charlotte and Cornelius have reopened on a limited, voluntary basis; maximum capacity is 10 people per shift; most of our office staff continues to work remotely

(Update 06/18/2020)

Habitat Charlotte Region continues to monitor COVID-19 and make strategic actions to continue ramping up our operations. To date we’ve implemented the following changes:

  • Reopened Cornelius and Wilkinson ReStores in addition to Wendover and Mooresville locations opened earlier; store hours and days of operation are still limited to 10am – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday with enhanced safety and cleaning protocols in place
  • ReStore Donations Pick Up service is rolling out slowly; our team is currently working through a backlog of previously placed pre-COVID pick up orders; in the interim, if possible, we recommend donors drop off donations at one of the four opened ReStore locations to allow our logistics staff to catch up
  • Julia’s Books & Café hours have been revised to 8am – 4pm, Tuesday – Saturday
  • We have restarted our Critical Home Repair program, with a complete ramp up of operations by the end of the month; staff has undergone COVID training for the safety of workers and homeowners; to aid in social distancing, while reconstruction work is taking place in their home homeowners will vacate the premises
  • We are currently evaluating the limited return of long term volunteers; new and short term volunteer opportunities are still paused
  • Our internal COVID task force is developing plans for partial re-opening of our 3815 Latrobe, 3816 Latrobe and Cornelius offices

(Update 05/11/2020)

Following the release of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s Phase 1 Reopening which eases certain restrictions of current stay-at-home orders, Habitat Charlotte Region plans to implement the following changes:

  • Reopen our Wendover and Mooresville ReStores beginning 5/19
  • In the two stores, implement enhanced safety and cleaning protocols, including a 15-customer store limit and adherence of social distancing guidelines
  • Operating hours will be modified to 10AM-4PM Tuesday through Saturday to allow enhanced store cleaning between days of operation
  • Resume our ReStore Deconstruction program upon opening of the two stores
  • Slowly ramp up our Critical Home Repair program beginning 5/25, implementing strict safety protocols for both workers and program families

At this time all other ReStores will remain closed. In addition, we continue to pause all volunteer activity for the safety of our staff, families and volunteers.

(Update 04/02/2020)

Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region has been communicating over the last several weeks about COVID-19; our concerns for the safety of our team, the families we serve and the general public that support our mission.

In response, we have closed all seven ReStore locations, eliminated Critical Home Repairs and reduced our new home builds due to COVID-19 implications. We have seen the elimination of retail revenue, a reduction in donations, and anticipate a decline in mortgage payments in the coming days.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts to keep every teammate actively working through this time of uncertainty, following Governor Cooper’s state-wide mandate to Stay-At-Home, we had to make the difficult decision to enact a COVID-19 temporary layoff and a reduction of hours for certain positions, which affected many members of the Habitat Family.

When our world returns to normal, Habitat Charlotte Region stands ready to welcome back our friends, associates and partners who’ve been impacted by COVID-19 and relaunch our operations aggressively.

Thank you for your support and faithful partnership during this challenging time.

(Update 03/27/2020)

During a company-wide virtual Town Hall meeting this morning, Laura Belcher, President & CEO of Habitat Charlotte Region, announced the April 1, 2020 layoff of retail employees who work in our seven Charlotte and Lake Norman/Iredell Habitat ReStores. With stores closed, and the inability of our staff to run retail operations from home, we were forced to make this difficult choice. Habitat Charlotte Region will pay affected employees through April 14. On April 15 affected employees are eligible to receive NC unemployment benefits to help cover a portion of their lost wages. Habitat will continue to cover employees’ medical, dental and vision insurance through May 31. This layoff is temporary, and Habitat Charlotte Region fully intends to bring our retail associates back to work in their current positions as soon as we can resume normal operations in their areas of responsibility.

(Update 03/17/2020)

At Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region 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 evolve we will update this page with the latest information and our affiliate’s actions.

Leading health experts recommend that we all practice “safe-distancing” to minimize contact and prevent the spread of the virus. As of now, Habitat Charlotte Region has eliminated large group meetings, is currently cleaning and sanitizing our work and retail spaces, and putting in place work practices to minimize health risks.

This unprecedented pandemic hinders our ability to serve the community through cancelled construction shifts and closed ReStores. We are all impacted by this crisis, but if you can, please help Habitat for Humanity of the Charlotte Region – and our community – weather this storm with your financial support.

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For more information on the various aspects of the organization, please click to expand a section below.

We have proactively communicated to Homeowners-in-Process (HIP) about the potential impact to home construction timelines. We have also moved HIP classes for our current cohort online and have temporarily postponed future HIP classes until further notice. Additionally, Homeowners-in-Process will not be penalized for missing sweat equity hours due to impacts of the virus but must inform the Family Services team.

Current homeowners will be receiving communication from our Family Services team about mortgage payments and other items.

We will suspend all Construction, ReStore and Office volunteer activities starting on Wednesday, March 18th to maximize the safety of our volunteer work force and staff.

We will close all Habitat Charlotte Region ReStores, including Julia’s Café & Books, starting Wednesday, March 18 through March 31. Employees will continue to work to clean, sanitize and organize the stores as well as address special projects during the time the stores are closed. ReStore associates may be deployed to other locations from time to time where they are needed most.

We will suspend the acceptance of product donations while ReStores are temporarily closed.

For the safety of our teams, we will immediately implement a remote work practice for office associates where the nature of their job lends itself to working remotely.

Starting Wednesday, March 18 office associates who are unable to work remotely will begin to use a split shift office work system or distance themselves within the building to minimize contact with fellow employees. Supervisors with team members who must work in the office will divide their teams and assign an even/odd work day cadence. This will minimize the number of people working in the office at one time.

We will pause Critical Home Repair projects effectively immediately through April 20. For the rest of this week (March 16-20), our Critical Home Repair team will prioritize the completion of home repairs currently under way.

New construction projects will continue, utilizing staff and construction trades professionals (such as plumbing, electrical and HVAC) to keep projects moving. The construction team is currently evaluating staffing needs, and employees from other departments may be deployed to assist with construction work as appropriate.

All Habitat Charlotte Region events scheduled during March and April will be cancelled without exception.