All Hands Volunteers is a US-based, non-profit organization, that addresses the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters by engaging volunteers, partner organizations and local communities. The organisation aims to demonstrate the power and value of volunteering through the tangible work done, the hope it brings to suffering communities, and the transformative experiences it provides for volunteers.

The story of the organization began after the devastating Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in December 2004. Business professional David Campbell spontaneously headed to Thailand to see how he could help. His intended one-week volunteer visit turned into a month, during which he co-founded HandsOnThailand and worked with more than 200 other spontaneous volunteers to rebuild five fishing villages in Phuket.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the U.S. in just eight months later, Mr Campbell and several other HandsOn volunteers established HandsOnUSA, coordinating 1,500 volunteers to help the survivors of the storm. In 2010, HandsOnUSA became All Hands Volunteers.

Dedicated to connecting those who need help with those who want to help, in the past 10 years All Hands Volunteers has mobilized more than 28,000 volunteers from over 70 different countries on 50 disaster response and rebuild projects in 9 countries around the world.

Through collaboration with corporations, other non-profits and strategic alliances, All Hands continues to be well positioned, prepared, and able to respond quickly to help “where needed and when needed.” Partnerships start with collaboration and are viewed individually in order to provide custom, multifaceted, value-driven relationships including various volunteer engagement events, visibility and alignment, and delivering a motivating purpose to all who partake. 

Disaster Response Model
All Hands Volunteers’ disaster model is simple, yet effective – they look to fill unmet needs. After a major disaster, the organisation first conducts a thorough assessment to identify a community in need. Following this All Hands Volunteers communicates with the local community and leaderships, establishes a base and then mobilizes to invite a set of volunteers to join the project. The volunteers perform mainly unskilled work, which means they can immediately take part in the recovery efforts with little or no training.

Collaborating with volunteers and partners, All Hands Volunteers operates in disaster-impacted communities where work is often limited to physical labour, such as cleaning debris or demolishing damaged structures to building schools and permanent homes. With this model, the organisation addresses the needs of communities through aid, rebuild and recovery.

Where All Hands Volunteers works
All Hands Volunteers has engaged volunteers from more than 70 countries. They provide positive and productive volunteer opportunities assisting communities affected by natural disasters. Through the mobilization of volunteers and staff, All Hands Volunteers constructs, sanitizes, demolishes and rebuilds homes, schools and hospitals around the world.   

Current All Hands Volunteers projects:
Texas Floods Response
Over Memorial Day Weekend 2015, central Texas and the areas around Houston were hit with over 11 inches of rain causing widespread floods. Over 4,000 homes were damaged and a state of emergency was declared in 37 counties. All Hands Volunteers has teams on the ground helping local residents clean up and clear out debris and damaged property from their homes and yards as quickly as possible.

Nepal Earthquake Response
In response to the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent aftershocks that hit Nepal on April 25, 2015, All Hands Volunteers’ team of experienced disaster relief professionals were on the ground within days. The organization’s response strategy is to continue to support local and international organizations by mobilizing local volunteers in distribution, rubble removal and deconstruction. Noticing how many school children have been left without the chance to gain an education, All Hands Volunteers has already begun constructing Temporary Learning Centers to combat this issue. 

Leyte Typhoon Rebuild
In response to Super Typhoon Haiyan on November 8, 2013, which killed more than 6,000 people and left millions homeless, All Hands Volunteers began working in Leyte province and its neighboring islands in the eastern Visayas region of the Philippines.

Beginning as an initial response project in providing community support, removing rubble and deconstructing unsafe buildings, the organisation is now firmly in its rebuild stage.

Currently All Hands Volunteers has three building programs running in Tacloban, Leyte, including the construction of 40 Disaster Resilient Core Homes in a community known as Barangay 83-C, the improvement of six communities as part of a disaster risk reduction program in Magallanes, and constructing four new buildings to help fellow NGO Streetlight expand. 

Typhoon Hagupit Response
Typhoon Hagupit caused widespread damage in Samar in December 2014, little more than a year after Super Typhoon Haiyan had wreaked havoc. Given All Hands Volunteers’ close proximity to the natural disaster from working in Leyte, the organisation immediately deployed an assessment team.

The initial focus was upon Samar’s eastern coast, which bore the brunt of the storm, however All Hands Volunteers discovered the region to be congested with multiple aid agencies and instead switched their attentions to the west coast.

Here the organisation discovered two smaller fishing communities in dire need of support. All Hands Volunteers dedicated its time to traditional response work in Calampong, clearing trees, deconstructing unsafe and damaged homes, before switching its attentions to rebuilding and repairing boats.

Recently the project moved to another nearby community, Poblacion, where it is building plywood boats, a design thought up by a volunteer, who eventually staff as a program coordinator.

Malawi Flood Rebuild
In early January 2015, Malawi experienced heavy rains accompanied by storms and high winds, all of which resulted in massive flooding mainly affecting the southern part of the country. Of the affected areas, Nsanje, Chikwawa and Phalombe are the worst hit, with Zomba and Blantyre also being badly affected. 1.15m people have been affected altogether, with an estimated 336,000 people displaced. Up to 100,000 people are still taking refuge in campsites, with an estimated 106,000 more staying with host families. All Hands Volunteers’ Disaster Assessment Response Team (DART) arrived in the country on January 25th  and have been liaising with the Malawian government, UN coordinating groups and carrying out direct assessments in the affected regions. Since then All Hands Volunteers has begun constructing temporary shelters to help those displaced by the floods.

Superstorm Sandy Rebuild
On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck the eastern side of the United States, bringing wide spread damage from Delaware to Rhode Island. With one of the worst storms the US has seen this decade, thousands of homeowners were left completely overwhelmed by their heavily damaged properties. Two years after Sandy, All Hands Volunteers are still in New York continuing to help those in need. After receiving a generous grant from the Red Cross, they are able to repair and rebuild homes still damaged from the storm.