Looking for a fun hands-on volunteer opportunity in Asheville and Buncombe County to make a real impact in your community? Help us lower the energy cost burden of limited-income families while reducing energy consumption countywide in the fight against climate change. You can learn new skills and enjoy meeting new people while increasing your “happiness” factor by doing some good hands-on work.
Our primary volunteer opportunity is to train volunteers to weatherize small or mobile homes with simple energy-efficiency upgrades, but we also canvas low-income neighborhoods to seek more clients, and host monthly window workshops to build storm window inserts for single pane window households. Scroll down to watch our Volunteer Training Video or click on any image below to learn more.
Any questions, please contact Steffi, our ESN Operations Coordinator, at volunteer@energysaversnetwork.org or call 828-585-4492 x2. To start volunteering please follow the two steps below:
Step 1: Sign Up as a Volunteer
Click the button below to fill in your volunteer contact info so that we can send you volunteer opportunity emails. You can denote which type of volunteer opportunity you wish to participate in as well as what days work best for you.
Step 2: Schedule a Workday
Click the button below to access our volunteer opportunities calendar in Month, List, or Map view. You can also search by city to see if there is a job nearby you. Just select a day that works best for you, RSVP to it if seats are still available, and export to your calendar. We will be in touch to confirm with details the day before.
Before you begin work:
The Operations Coordinator will send you a waiver form online so that you sign it easily from your computer or smart mobile device. You should also read our Preparation & Client Communication page on what to expect, what to bring and wear, and communication protocols.
Please Note: In response to COVID-19, our Clients and our Volunteers/Staff are all required to wear N95 masks, wash hands often, and try to keep social distance from one another. If you do not feel comfortable on the work site, you can leave at any time, no excuses needed.
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Weatherize Client Homes
Worksite volunteers perform energy-saving upgrades in groups Tuesday-Friday for clients in and around Buncombe County. In addition to connecting with great people and helping to restore the climate you will learn helpful energy-saving measures like changing lightbulbs, weatherstripping doors, and insulating water heaters. And most importantly, you will be helping to alleviate the energy cost burden of our most vulnerable populations in WNC, your very own neighbors who typically have much higher energy costs in relation to their income (typically 10x greater).
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Window Workshops
One of the measures we provide our clients is custom measured and built interior storm windows. Many clients, especially in mobile homes, have leaky single-pane windows without a storm window. Our solution fits in the window frame next to the existing window can cut drafts and reduce heat loss out of a window by more than 50%. Our on-site teams identify opportunities for this solution and then we schedule window workdays where a separate group of people get together and build the windows. It’s a lot of fun! Look for window workshops email announcements on our online calendar. This event happens only one-time monthly from 7-9pm usually on a Thursday.
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Canvassing
There are thousands of families in WNC in need of energy assistance. Our client recruitment volunteers help us connect with area residents by canvassing neighborhoods. We will provide you with a canvassing map, fliers, light bulbs, and signup sheet. We especially need Spanish-speaking volunteers who can assist with reaching out to spanish speaking neighborhoods. You can work on your own time in the evenings (preferred) or weekends for 1-2 hrs weekly/monthly.
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Group/Corporate Volunteers
We are always interested in small groups of volunteers (4-10) who want to work together as a team. This is a great team-building experience that helps bridge the gap between socioeconomic lines while teaching you new skills in energy-efficiency, helps to restore the climate, AND helps the most vulnerable of society save money on their energy bills. Teams require planning, so if your school, church, business, or other organization wants to volunteer for a workday project just contact us at volunteer@energysaversnetwork.org or call (828) 585-4492 x2.We are delighted for you to join our network of dedicated like-minded volunteers leading the movement addressing climate change, justice, equity and energy burden problems, by providing hands-on solutions to low-income households in Buncombe County and installing free energy-efficiency upgrades in their homes.Â