All Hands & Hearts – Volunteer Hold Harmless and Code of Conduct Agreements

Please read the following Hold Harmless Agreement and Code of Conduct Agreement carefully. Checking the box on your Volunteer Agreement form confirms your understanding and agreement to their terms, conditions and requirements.

I acknowledge that I have been informed by the terms of this agreement that my volunteer service with All Hands & Hearts Smart Response, Inc., a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) (tax exempt charitable) organization (“All Hands & Hearts”) involves disaster relief work that is potentially hazardous and/or dangerous. I acknowledge that the volunteer work I will be asked to perform may expose me to illness, injury, emotional trauma or illness, disability and/or death. I acknowledge that I may be traveling, including in my own or other motor vehicles, both owned and non-owned by All Hands & Hearts, and working in dangerous and unhealthy circumstances with limited access to medical care. 

I agree to stay home and delay my volunteer service if I am ill or displaying any symptoms of a communicable disease.  I also agree to immediately notify the Program Director if I become ill or experience any symptoms of any communicable disease during my service.  I agree to comply with all federal, state and local mandates, as well as any policies of All Hands & Hearts, relating to social distancing, hygiene, cleaning and disinfection and any required health screenings.  

I also acknowledge that I may be exposed to or called upon to work with dangerous equipment and/or dangerous conditions, which may cause injuries and/or death and/or property damage to me, my motor vehicle and passengers, or other property or individuals. I acknowledge that the assignments, advice or instruction I receive, I may be subject to errors in judgments and decisions. Among the possible mistakes in judgments and decisions are: my physical and emotional ability to handle the tasks and conditions existing during the term of my volunteer service; a failure to correctly assess any injury or physical or mental health condition I may have at the time of my volunteer service or sustained during the period of my volunteer service; and my experience or expertise in handling assigned tasks.  

I acknowledge and affirm that I have the opportunity to ask any questions I may have of All Hands & Hearts personnel prior to my departure for volunteer service, prior to the commencement of my volunteer services and throughout the course of those volunteer services. I also acknowledge that, despite any answers I have received with respect to my inquiries, the conditions and circumstances of my volunteer service may change to meet the demands of the disaster relief project. I understand that my volunteer service may be terminated at any time for any reason by me or All Hands & Hearts. 

If at any time I conclude that I am physically or emotionally incapable of performing a task or enduring the conditions existing during my volunteer service, I understand that it is my sole responsibility to inform All Hands & Hearts personnel that I cannot or will not perform an assigned task or that I cannot or will not continue to endure the conditions of my volunteer service. Should I elect to perform a task after informing All Hands & Hearts personnel or volunteers of my reservations about performing the task, I fully acknowledge that the decision to do so is my own, free from pressure or duress by any person. I understand that I am free to end my volunteer service at any time, without reservation or penalty of any kind. I agree that my decision to perform an assigned task is my certification that I am physically and/or emotionally capable of performing the assigned task despite any prior representations I may have made regarding my physical and/or emotional health. 

I voluntarily agree to assume all of the risks and accept sole responsibility for any injury to myself (including, but not limited to, personal injury, disability, and death), illness, damage, loss, claim, liability, or expense, of any kind, that I may experience or incur in connection with attendance on the All Hands & Hearts program.  I hereby agree, on behalf of myself and my children, heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, to the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, to release, indemnify and defend All Hands & Hearts and any and all of its volunteers, personnel, board members, contractors, partners, donors and associates (each an “All Hands & Hearts Indemnitee”) with respect to all claims, liabilities, losses, suits or expenses, including all litigation costs and attorney’s fees, brought by anyone, including me, in connection with my participation in All Hands & Hearts projects. By this agreement I agree to waive all claims, whether legal or equitable, for losses, including property damage or bodily injury sustained in connection with use of my motor vehicle or any other motor vehicle in connection with All Hands & Hearts projects, that I may claim to be caused, in whole or in part, by the negligence or other wrongdoing of any All Hands & Hearts Indemnitee. 

I authorize All Hands & Hearts and its employees, contractors, and representatives to make photographs, films, and other visual and audio recordings of me during my volunteer service (collectively, “Recordings”) and to publish, display, distribute, and otherwise use the Recordings in print and/or electronic form in any and all media, with or without my name and for any lawful purpose. The foregoing rights include, without limitation, the rights to sell, license, or assign any and all photographic portraits or pictures, television spots, movie films, videotapes and/or sound recordings, or any part thereof, that may incorporate all or part of such Recordings. I hereby waive any right I may have to inspect and/or approve the finished product or the advertising copy that may be used in connection therewith or any other use to which the Recordings may be applied. 

I authorize All Hands & Hearts to seek and obtain medical care for me should its personnel deem it necessary to do so. I also authorize All Hands & Hearts to seek and obtain my evacuation from the disaster relief site. In so doing, I agree to hold harmless any and all persons who seek or obtain my evacuation and/or medical care. Eligible medical services and any evacuation will be paid in accordance with All Hands & Hearts’ business travel insurance policy as allowed and approved by its carrier. With respect to any medical expenses or evacuation not covered by this policy, or which is deemed ineligible by All Hands & Hearts’ carrier, I agree to assume full responsibility for the cost of all such medical services and/or evacuation. 

I agree that this agreement shall be governed by Massachusetts law, without reference to principles of conflicts of laws. Any legal action I may take, despite the terms of this agreement, shall be brought in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Before bringing any legal action for any claim I may make, I agree to participate in mediation in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a Massachusetts-based mediator mutually acceptable to the parties. If mediation should fail to resolve any claim I may make, I agree to engage in binding arbitration in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the rules and regulations of the American Arbitration Association and before an arbitrator approved under its rules and regulations mutually acceptable to the parties. Should any claim I may make be dismissed,  withdrawn or decided as a matter of law in All Hands & Hearts’ favor, either in arbitration or in a court proceeding, I agree to pay all the costs and attorney’s fees incurred by All Hands & Hearts, its personnel or volunteers. Should any portion of this agreement be determined to be unenforceable, the remaining portions of the agreement shall remain in full force and effect without modification. 

I give my consent to All Hands & Hearts to conduct a full and complete background investigation of me at any time in connection with my volunteer service. I have read this document, or in the event I am unable to read this agreement by reason of language and/or understanding, I have independently undertaken to have it read to me or translated for me, and I acknowledge that I have voluntarily signed it, and that no oral or written representations, statements, or inducements apart from the terms of this agreement have been made to me in signing this agreement. I further agree that no prior or contemporaneous oral or written statement may be used by me to modify the terms of this agreement nor may this agreement be modified in any respect following the date of my signature except by way of a written modification agreement with All Hands & Hearts. I understand that this agreement is subject to All Hands & Hearts’ privacy policy, which assures me that All Hands & Hearts will not share my personal information with anyone outside the organization without my permission. Additionally, I have been assured that all information regarding me, whether collected online or in person, is collected via secure channels and stored in All Hands & Hearts’ secure databases and facilities subject to All Hands & Hearts’ privacy policy.