FAQ's

The catastrophic floods that struck Louisiana in August of 2016 will go down in the history books. They brought destruction to over 140,000 homes in the state with over 25 inches of rain in the first week. Many of these families did not have flood insurance because they did not live in a flood zone leaving them little resources with which to rebuild. This is where we come in! Eight Days of Hope is serving the Lafayette area through Love Acadiana. Our goal is to use the gifts that God has given us to bless others and share the love of Jesus!

It is free! We provide the food and the lodging! You just have to show up with a willing heart to serve! We rely on churches, businesses, individuals and our volunteers for donations. A typical budget for an Eight Days of Hope event can be anywhere between $450,000 and $500,000. Please consider donating to help these families rebuild!

We will provide accommodations that will be very unique. Our headquarters and lodging will be based out at the Cajundome. All of the volunteers will be lodged in two complexes. Similar to our previous trips, we will segregate by gender. You will have the space to set up your own air mattresses, cots or foam pads that you bring from home. (Please keep the size of the air mattresses to queen size or less.) You may also bring a tent and camp outside if you prefer. There will be gender segregated showers and restrooms available. If you are coming as a family and desire to be housed together, we suggest you bring a tent, RV or pursue hotel accommodations. We have plenty of free RV spots to offer that are adjacent to our lodging facilities and headquarters.

Our headquarters will be based at the Cajundome which is located at 444 Cajundome Blvd, Lafayette, LA, 70506. We have partnered with the Hilton Garden Inn/Lafayette Cajundome. It is located across the street at 2350 West Congress Street, Lafayette, Louisiana 70506. When you book please use the group code of 8DAYS and you will receive a 20% discount off the published rates. Please book your room at Hilton.com. If you book rooms using the 8DAYS rate you will not be able to earn points if you are a member of the Hilton program.

No. We will provide food for all of our volunteers. We are looking for churches and businesses willing to underwrite this cost. With a donation of $3,000, a church or a business can supply the food necessary for one meal. Please email us at info@eightdaysofhope.com for more information. You can also elect to sponsor food for one entire day. Please consider doing either of these as the food costs for 2,500 volunteers will exceed $80,000!

The primary work will be the rebuilding of damaged homes due to flooding. This includes electrical wiring, insulation, flooring, drywall, carpentry and painting. There are some roofs that need to be totally replaced before we start the interior. We are also in need of people who have mechanical and plumbing skills. Beyond home restoration there are many support jobs which include data entry, transportation, laundry, cleaning, and lunch delivery service. There is definitely something for everyone’s skill set!

Yes! Please bring any tools that you can, especially those that you would anticipate using. Air compressors, ladders, drills, drywall tools, paintbrushes…etc. are all needed. Eight Days of Hope has outfitted a tool trailer and will be bringing it to supplement any tools you may not own or bring.

Yes, Eight Days of Hope is very family friendly! Every youth volunteer (under the age of 18) that comes with an adult that is not their parent MUST bring a notarized Parental Consent form signed by one of his/her parents. We are asking for one adult chaperon for every four youth. Please remember that there will be unique sleeping arrangements separated by gender.

Families bringing their children will work side by side at the jobsites. If families wish to sleep together, there are local hotels, campgrounds and RV sites available.

No. For this event we are asking each volunteer to come for at least two full days. Please honor this request.

Yes. We will provide transportation from two airports, Lafayette and Baton Rouge. The airport codes are LFT and BTR. Please email waynev@eightdaysofhope.com if you need transportation to or from the airports. We will provide shuttle service starting Saturday, June 3rd , through Sunday, June 11th . Lafayette, LFT, is only 15 minutes from the Cajundome. Baton Rouge is an hour away. Because the check-in desk for lodging closes at 8:00pm, please note that if you arrive in Baton Rouge after 6:30 pm in the evening you will need to book a hotel for the night and we will shuttle you to headquarters the following morning. Also, if your flight departs from Baton Rouge prior to 8:00am, we can take you to the airport area the night before.

No. We are sorry, but bringing pets is not allowed for health and safety reasons. Please respect this rule. It will be strictly enforced. Our host facility has a strict rule in regards to pets.

No, each volunteer needs to fill out a volunteer form at www.eightdaysofhope.com and include an email address. In the comments section of the volunteer form please make note that you are coming with a group and include the name of the group, so we can try to lodge you at one site. All of the members of this group can use one email address for communication purposes. Every member of a family needs to register separately unless they are under the age of 18. A parent that registers, can register his/her children under the age of 18 on their volunteer form. If you use one email address to register multiple volunteers, you will get a single confirmation to that email address.

Breakfast will start around 5:45 and conclude around 7:00. We will spend 30 minutes together with a special time of worship and devotion before we head out to the work sites. Lunch will be delivered to the job sites. Supper will begin at 6:00 and conclude at 7:15. An optional devotion and worship time will follow!

Yes. We will have at least one Registered Nurse onsite. If you are a medical professional and would like to be added to our list of medical resources, please make a note in the Comments section of your registration form. We will need additional support in this area.

Yes! We have plenty of space adjacent to our headquarters and lodging area. If you need a RV spot, please email us at info@eightdaysofhope.com and claim a spot. Please bring your confirmation email with you when you check in.

The volunteer check-in area will open at 6:00pm on Saturday, June 3rd . On Saturday, May 27th, you will receive detailed instructions with the information on where you are to go to check in and what to bring. The first meal we will provide will be breakfast on Sunday, June 4 th . Remember that we ask that you serve for a minimum of two days. Please honor that request.

On Saturday, June 3rd, the check-in area will be open from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. On all other days, the check-in area will be open from 6:30am to 8:00pm. Please plan to arrive between these times. If you arrive after 8:00pm you will need to find a hotel for the night and check-in the next morning.

Yes. The last day one can volunteer for Eight Days of Hope XIII is Friday, May 26th. 

Yes! We have prepared a letter that you can use to present to your Missions Board or Church Leadership to help raise awareness or ask for financial support. We also have a letter that one can use to ask businesses or individuals to help offset the dollars needed by Eight Days of Hope. You may find these forms on our event page.

Yes, Facebook – Eight Days of Hope; Instagram – eightdaysofhope; Twitter - @8daysofhope Please use the hashtag #8DOH when you use social media.

Please pray that God would be glorified by our actions. Pray for safety both while we work and for travel mercies for the volunteers. Pray that God sends the people He wants to be a part of Eight Days of Hope XIII. Pray that God will not only allow us to restore homes but that He opens up many doors for us as we encourage people in the name of Jesus Christ!