Visitors and New Volunteers
As a visitor to our website, you are free to browse our project calendar, and look at anything on the website.  In order to sign-up for any of our projects you will need to register on the site.

After completing the on-line registration form, you will be sent an email to "activate" your account.  Until you click on the activating link in this email, you will be unable to sign up for any projects other than volunteer orientation.

If for some reason you do not receive the email with your activation link, call us at (205) 251-5849 and we can activate your account over the phone. Also be sure a spam filter isn't preventing you from receiving email from @handsonbirmingham.org addresses.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do I change my password or update my email address?

2. What if I've forgotten my password?

3. How Do I remove myself from a project I don't wish to or cannot attend?

4. How do I create a volunteer team for my friends or family so we can volunteer together as a group?

5. How do I sign my team up for a project?  

6. How do I update which team members will participate on individual projects my team is signed up for?

7. How do I update my team information and invite new team members?

8. Is there an easy way to just bring along a friend or a child without forming a team?

9. How do I find projects suitable for volunteers of different ages?

10. What if a project I want to sign-up for is full? Can I get on a wait-list?

11. How can my non-profit, school, or group list our volunteer needs on your site?

How do I change my password or update my email address?
After you login with the system-generated password you received via email, click "Personal Information" in the upper right-hand corner and then click "Email & Password."  Make your changes and then click the "Update information" button at the bottom of the screen.  Always keep your email address up to date. You may add as many email addresses as you wish.

What if I've forgotten my password?
When you first created your account you were asked to pick a password.  If you've forgotten yours, go to the log-in page and look for the "Forget your password" section in the gray area.  Enter the email address associated with your account, and then click  "Email Me My Password Now" (your password will be emailed immediately to you).   

How Do I remove myself from a project I don't wish to or cannot attend?
Go to the Member Center, click on "My Projects" and then click "Remove Me" from any projects you are unable to attend.  Please do this as early as possible so that your volunteer slot becomes available for other volunteers to fill.

How do I create a volunteer team for my friends or family so we can volunteer together as a group?
If you have a group of people who want to volunteer together for projects, then you should create a team.  A team can be as small as two people (i.e., parent and child) or can be larger for corporations, civic groups, places of worship or Girl Scout/Boy Scout troops.  All teams have a designated team leader who "invites" team members to become part of the team, and takes the responsibility for signing interested team members up for different project.

To create a team, click on Member Center on the left menu, and log-in using your email address and password. (If you're not already registered, you will need to go through the registration process to sign yourself up on the website.) Once logged in, click on the "Create a Volunteering Team" button on the member center page.

You will be prompted to give your team a name, a brief description, and decide whether the team is open for the general public to join. If you want to make it easy for others to join your team, keep it open. Alternatively, you can choose to only allow team members you invite.

When you create a team, you will need to provide the full names and either an email address or phone number of every person you would like to invite to be on your team.  (The system does not allow the use of duplicate email addresses, so if you are a family team and share the same email address, just put your family phone number for each member of your family team). After you create a team, the system will automatically send an invitation to join your team via e-mail to all the people you have invited. To join the team, individual team members simply need to click the link provided in the e-mail to confirm their team membership. Be sure to go through the entire process and click the FINISH button at the end. If you do not click FINISH, your invitations will not be sent and all the information will be lost.

How do I sign my team up for a project? 
After you login and locate the project you are interested in, click "Sign My Team Up."  When you sign up your team for a project, you will be able to select which individual team members will be participating on that project.  All team members you select that have confirmed their participation on your team will receive a confirmation e-mail with details about the project including directions.  The e-mail will also give a link to cancel if team members are unable to participate. If team members are invited, but not yet confirmed, they will not be able to receive email from the system yet. Therefore, you must take the responsibility that any invited, but not yet confirmed, team members know you've signed them up for the project. Be sure to call or email them personally, and if they are unable to attend, you must take the responsibility of removing them from the project you signed them up for.

How do I update which team members will participate on individual projects my team is signed up for?
Click "My Projects" in the Member Center and then click "Manage Team."  Make your updates (marking who will and will not participate in the project) and then click "Update Team Signup" at the bottom of the page. 

How do I update my team information and invite new team members?
Go to the "My Teams" section in the Member Center and click on your team name to modify the team information and invite new members.  When you are done, click "Finish" to save your changes. 

Is there an easy way to just bring along a friend or a child without forming a team?
Yes, if you don't want to form a team and this is a one-shot thing, you can just contact the Project Leader and let them know you're bringing a friend or child along. Just click on the link next to a Project Leader's name to send them an email and tell them you are bringing a friend or a child. They will reserve an "anonymous" slot for you to ensure there is room for your guest/s. 

How do I find projects suitable for volunteers of a specific age?
It's easy to SEARCH for projects based on a specific age.

Click on Project Calendar in the left menu, and then the Search Project tab on that page. This will take you to the Search page.

On the Search page click on Display more Options. Click here to go directly to the advanced search. The last item on that page is Search for projects where a volunteer is ___ years old can volunteer. Then click Search and you'll get a complete list of only those volunteer opportunities that are age appropriate.

What if a project I want to sign-up for is full? Can I get on a wait-list?
If a project occurrence is full and you'd like to be added to a wait list -  Please click on the "send email" link next to the Project Leader's name and let them know you'd like to attend if space opens up.  They'll email you if there are last-minute cancellations.

How can my non-profit, school, or group list our volunteer needs on your site?
If you agency is not registered with Hands On Birmingham, click here to partner with us and make a request for volunteer support.

Questions? 
We'll be happy to help. Call us at (205) 251-5849.