Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey (HFHSCNJ) is transforming communities by making homeownership possible for families across New Jersey. With a mission to create a world where everyone has a decent place to live, the organization serves Mercer, Burlington, Camden, and Atlantic counties, plus Cranberry and Plainsboro townships in Middlesex County. Our Director of Marketing, Eric Burger, chatted with Laura Van Booven, Director of Community Engagement, to learn how volunteers drive the mission forward—and how switching to VolunteerHub helped them scale their impact across multiple counties with thousands of volunteers.
Can you tell me about your role and the mission of Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey?
Laura: Our mission is to put faith into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities, and hope. As Director of Community Engagement, I oversee community partnerships, public events, and nonprofit outreach, and I also manage the entire volunteer department. My job is all about connecting people to purpose.
What kind of impact is your affiliate having in the community?
Laura: This year, we closed on 10 new homes and completed 75 repairs through our Neighborhood Revitalization Program. Those numbers align with our strategic plan, but they’re only possible because of volunteers. Whether they’re on build sites, in our ReStores, or helping behind the scenes at events, volunteers are the reason we can continue serving more people year after year.
How many volunteers do you work with each year?
Laura: We welcomed about 1,800 individual volunteers last year, and that number doesn’t even include repeat visits. From youth groups to corporate teams, people come out again and again to support our mission.
What kinds of roles do your volunteers fill?
Laura: The majority of our volunteers serve on build or repair sites, where they help build and fix homes. We also rely heavily on volunteers in our ReStores, where they assemble furniture, organize merchandise, and support our retail operations. That work helps drive funding for our builds. We also have office and event volunteers who assist with administrative tasks and help our fundraisers run smoothly. And for youth volunteers who aren’t old enough for construction or retail roles, we offer off-site projects like building bee houses and birdhouses for our future homeowners.
What were some of the challenges you faced with your previous volunteer management system, Galaxy Digital?
Laura: Before implementing a volunteer management solution, we didn’t have a system—we were just using Outlook calendars. That worked briefly, but once we started to grow, it just couldn’t keep up.
The software we ended up implementing wasn’t the solution we hoped for. It wasn’t user-friendly. From the admin side and the volunteer side, it was confusing to navigate. Volunteers often struggled to register for opportunities, and tracking data—like attendance or hours—was a challenge. Even when I revisited the system at another affiliate to refresh my memory, I still found it disorganized and hard to use.
One of the biggest disappointments was the Salesforce integration. We were told our solution before VolunteerHub would integrate with Salesforce, which was a major selling point for us. But it kept getting delayed, and ultimately it never materialized.
As a larger affiliate with a lot of roles to fill, we needed something clear, scalable, and easy for everyone to use. Our previous solution just didn’t meet those needs.
What were you hoping to gain by switching to VolunteerHub?
Laura: Ease of use, first and foremost. We wanted a platform that both volunteers and staff could navigate with minimal friction. We also needed strong reporting tools to track hours, attendance, and group activity, and the ability to integrate smoothly with our existing systems.
Has VolunteerHub met your expectations?
Laura: It’s exceeded them. The difference between VolunteerHub and the solution we had before it is night and day.
What VolunteerHub features are most valuable to your program?
Laura: So many! Reporting is huge. Every month and quarter, I generate reports to share with leadership. I used to spend hours pulling that data, and now I can get what I need in five minutes. I don’t even need Salesforce anymore because VolunteerHub handles it.
We also love how easy it is to verify hours for volunteers fulfilling school or court requirements. I can pull their full history and email a summary in minutes.
Setting up opportunities is also easy, whether recurring or one-time, and advertising those roles has helped us build a large, engaged volunteer network. I send monthly emails through VolunteerHub to share new roles and events, and that communication has significantly increased engagement.
We also recently started using the kiosk feature in our ReStores for volunteer check-ins, which is making hour tracking even easier.
What was the implementation and support process like?
Laura: The VolunteerHub team has been amazing. They answered every question and followed up with videos, documentation, and next steps. Even today, if we have questions or feedback, the team is quick to respond and always supportive. The implementation process was seamless.
How have your volunteers responded to the new system?
Laura: Really well. Even the few who were hesitant about technology didn’t have any major issues. VolunteerHub is just that user-friendly. And because I spend less time on scheduling now, I have more time to build personal connections with our volunteers, something that wasn’t possible before.
Are you getting a return on investment?
Laura: 100%. VolunteerHub has saved us time, improved our data accuracy, and enhanced the volunteer experience. I now have time to focus on building relationships and community connections instead of being buried in administrative tasks. The ROI has been huge.
How can someone get involved with Habitat for Humanity of South Central New Jersey?
Laura: Visit our website and click through to our VolunteerHub landing page. We’ve created separate pages for construction, ReStore, youth, and other roles. Volunteers can browse opportunities by interest and location, and sign up directly online. It’s easy, intuitive, and a great way to make a difference.
