Hands On Nashville Day 2009

Nashville's largest day of service to Metro Schools - September 26

Mark your calendar. Registration starts September 1.

Hands On Nashville needs Team Leaders and Project Coordinators for the annual Hands On Nashville Day event. Sign up today!

A Team Leader is someone who organizes a group of friends, coworkers, family, or others to participate together in Hands On Nashville (HON) Day. Teams can be any size. If you'd like to know more about becoming a Team Leader, contact Emily Lovell, HON Day Co-Chair, at emilyannelove@hotmail.com, or call (731) 431-9124.

Download [Be A Team Leader] to learn more.
Download the [Team Leader Packet] to get started.

A Project Coordinator (PC) leads volunteers at a HON Day school project site. Each PC is assigned to one school; completes a site visit at that school; and then manages the project on event day, which is September 26. A one time, 90-minute training is required for all new and returning PCs. If you'd like to know more about becoming a PC, contact Cindy Endsley, HON Day Co-Chair, at cendsley@wkrn.com, or call (615) 330-5302.

Download [Be A Project Coordinator] to learn more.
Click here for training dates and to sign up.

HON Day Happy Hour Mixer
Thinking about participating in Hands On Nashville Day and want to meet and mingle with other professionals who have taken part? Join HON for a Happy Hour Mixer at the MIRROR restaurant on 12th Avenue South. The event is Thursday, August 27 from 5:30 to 7:00pm.

Project Coordinator Highlight
Hands On Nashville is grateful for our many Project Coordinators who choose to be leaders in Nashville through community service. Project Coordinators are trained volunteers who ensure that HON projects run smoothly; tasks are accomplished; and volunteers have an enjoyable experience. This section introduces you to the Project Coordinators who lead HON volunteerism. If you are a Hands On Nashville volunteer and you would like to take on a new role as a Project Coordinator, contact Malinda Hersh at 615.298.1108 x 101.

Tamara Moss, a Lebanon native, began looking for more meaningful ways to spend her spare time. About three years ago, a friend suggested she connect with Hands On Nashville. Tamara quickly became involved in many volunteer projects, most notably Hands On Nashville Day, Nashville's largest annual day of service to Metro Schools.

In 2007, Tamara volunteered to be a Hands On Nashville Day Project Coordinator. The experience went so well, she was asked to join the Project Coordinator Steering Committee for HON Day 2008.

"Being on the Committee has allowed me to experience what it really takes to pull this once-a-year event off. At times it's overwhelming, but I thoroughly enjoy each aspect of the event. HON Day is a great way for someone to get their feet wet in the volunteer world, and it's a great way to meet new people too," says Tamara.

Tamara looks forward to the upcoming Hands On Nashville Day on September 26. She encourages new and returning volunteers to create volunteer teams with their friends and sign up for this four-hour-long service project dedicated to improving Metro Schools.

"HON Day is a big event. Anyone that wants to volunteer should come with their mind made up to have fun! Be ready to meet new people; do new things; and enjoy yourself. Even more, prepare to experience an overwhelming feeling of achievement and inspiration when you see people coming together to make a big impact."

Tamara Moss is also the Project Coordinator for Project C.U.R.E. Project C.U.R.E. occurs the third Saturday of each month from 9:00am to noon. "Every time I walk into the nonprofit's warehouse I am blown away by the sheer magnitude of what they are. After working in the medical industry for several years and being aware of equipment and supply costs, it literally gives me butterflies when I am sorting donations to think of others' reactions when these items are received in medically impoverished countries," says Tamara. If you want to participate with Tamara and Project C.U.R.E., click here to sign up for her project.

Hands On Nashville Day will take place Saturday, September 26 from 8am to noon. To learn more on how you can start a team or become a Project Coordinator, click here. Hands On Nashville thanks Tamara for her continued dedication. HON's Project Coordinators and volunteers are an integral part of Hands On Nashville's mission to transform our community through volunteer service.

Hands On Projects

Hands On Nashville's monthly calendar of volunteer projects provides easy and diverse opportunities for volunteering in our community. There's something for all interest areas and passions. If you have questions specific to a particular project, please email the Project Coordinator listed for that project. Click here to view the Hands On Nashville "Project Calendar" for more volunteer opportunities.

Let's Go Fishing!
Thursday, August 27
6:00 - 8:00pm

A cool summer evening complete with a fishing pole and some good company. What could be better? Come out to support members from the Middle Tennessee Council of the Blind during their weekly fishing event. Volunteers will help bait hooks and unhook fish when they are reeled in. You're guaranteed to have a great time! Click here to volunteer!

Game Night
Thursday, August 27
6:00 - 8:00pm

If you enjoy playing games like Spades, Rummy, Scrabble, or Checkers, then Metro Nashville Bordeaux Hospital is the place to be. The residents love to play board and card games, and they need friends like you to be a challenging opponent. Volunteers help transport patients to the game room, assist with game set up and scorekeeping, play games, and make new friends. Volunteer here!

Hunger Action Month Sort-A-Thon
Saturday, September 12
12:00am - 12:00pm (shifts available in 3-hour increments)

Hey night owls! You can make your nighttime ramblings productive by participating in Second Harvest Food Bank's first ever 24-hour Sort-A-Thon. Volunteers will sort food in their warehouse for 24 straight hours. Snacks and small prizes will be provided. Sign up here!

Skilled Volunteers:

Web Developer: Middle Tennessee Mental Health & Substance Abuse Coalition needs a volunteer web developer to create a website that raises public awareness and mental wellness and recovery by showcasing original artworks. For more information, contact Ashley Brown at Ashley@hon.org.

Videographer: Second Harvest Food Bank needs a videographer who is willing to donate their skills to make short videos about Second Harvest. These videos will stream on their website. For more information, contact Ashley Brown at Ashley@hon.org.

Volunteer Classifieds:

Front Desk Assistant for the Nashville Humane Association: The Nashville Humane Association needs a volunteer with administrative experience to lend their time and talents to the shelter several hours a week. Duties include filing, photocopying, data entry, stuffing envelopes, and general organization. This important work helps the shelter run smoothly and is imperative in ensuring adoptable animals find their forever homes! Click here for more information.

Living Well Program Mentors: The Living Well Ministry needs volunteers to serve as mentors to birth parents of child currently in foster care. Mentors must be 21 years old. Training is provided to volunteers with a desire to work with birth parents. For more information, click here.

Community Calendar
The Community Calendar is designed to inform Hands On Nashville volunteers about additional community needs. Volunteer opportunities listed below are not official Hands On Nashville projects. These opportunities are available directly through the agencies listed and are appropriate for any community volunteer.

The simple act of running can become the light that sparks a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living in young girls. Girls On the Run (GOTR) and Girls on Track (GOT) programs empower girls in grades 3 to 8 to achieve their highest potential.

A Volunteer Coordinator is needed for the Sumner County area to help expand the GOTR programs. Volunteer Coordinator duties include organizing after school practice session schedules with Hands On Nashville, completing paperwork for background checks on potential volunteers, and maintaining regular communications with volunteers and coaches. Time commitments vary between an estimated two to five hours per week with most tasks easily completed from your home. GOTR Fall 2009 Coaches Training Coaches and Volunteers are crucial to the continued expansion of GOTR Nashville. Coaches training will take place August 22 from 10:00am to 3:00pmat East Park Community Center. Lunch is provided. Attending the training does not obligate you to coach, but it does allow you to assist head coaches in delivering GOTR curricula lessons. Interested in learning more? Contact Jennifer Kimball at jen@gotrnashville.org. For more information on Girls on the Run, visit www.gotrnashville.org.

Due to the changing economy and a greater number of learners, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council (NALC) program needs one-on-one volunteer tutors now more than ever. NALC have a need for tutors all over the Nashville area, but are currently experiencing a serious tutor shortage in Antioch. If you live in the Antioch area, NALC needs you!

Nashville Adult Literacy Council currently has two volunteer opportunities. It needs one-on-one volunteer tutors to help teach English-speaking adults how to read and to teach English to adult immigrants. The Nashville Adult Literacy Council asks volunteers for a minimum six-month commitment of three hours per week. Volunteers will meet continuously with the same student. Meeting times/locations are based upon volunteers' availability.

The next volunteer tutor training session will be held at NALC's Antioch location on Saturday, September 12 from 9:00am to 3:30pm. Volunteer tutors will be matched with an adult learner based on schedule and location preferences. The Nashville Adult Literacy Council also needs volunteer tutors for its drop-in learning program, called Start Now, which helps teach English-speaking adults how to read and to teach English to adult immigrants. Start Now allows learners on our waiting list to call and schedule hour appointments for immediate instruction while waiting for a full-time one-on-one tutor. The next volunteer tutor training session will be held at the Cohn Adult Learning Center on Thursday, September 10 and Wednesday, September 16 from 5:30 to 8:30pm. As a volunteer, you can sign up for as many or as few hour time slots that fit your schedule every month. For more information about either opportunity, call 615.298.8060 or email info@nashvilleliteracy.org to register for training.

Women are needed as mentors for incarcerated women enrolled in Better Decisions, an eight-week program that teaches decision-making and life planning skills to inmates at the Tennessee Prison for Women. The commitment involves attending the volunteer training weekend on September 12 and 13 (9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday; 1:00 to 5:00pm on Sunday); meeting with your inmate partner for one hour weekly during the weeks September 21 to November 9; and attending graduation at 6:00pm on November 16. Please note that the training weekend registration deadline is August 15. For more information, or to register for the fall training, go to www.betterdecisions.org, or contact Program Director Kathy Masulis at betterdecisions@gmail.com or at 615.832.8327.

LP Pencil Box is a free school supply store for Metro Nashville Public Schools. It provides basic school supplies to teachers for their disadvantaged students. If you have a passion for education and want to use your skills and talents, contact Sandy Gutierrez at sgutierrez@pencilfd.org or call 615. 974.0438. There are a variety of skills that can be used at LP PENCIL Box's office, such as computer skills, film talent, marketing skills, etc. Teens and adults are all welcome!

CASA of Nashville will be holding its Shelby Bottoms Boogie 15K/5K race on Saturday, September 26. Volunteers are needed in shifts from 5:30am to 10:30am to assist with registration and check-in, monitor race course, work the water stations, and help clean-up after the race is over. To sign up, contact Jenny Magill at 615.425.2383 or jmagill@casa-nashville.org.

Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue is a no-kill 501(c)(3) Animal Rescue. Proverbs 12:10 is dedicated to finding "forever" homes for dogs and cats. They need more foster homes so that they can save more pets! Proverbs 12:10 relies 100% on foster homes for their animals. Volunteers can foster an animal for as short as a one-week period. Please visit www.proverbs1210rescue.org or come by and see Proverbs 12:10 any Saturday at Petco in Bellevue, located at 7657 Hwy 70 South, from 11:00am to 4:00pm for more information.

The American Red Cross - Nashville Chapter is in need of a truck that is at least a three-quarter ton. This truck would be used to tow the Red Cross' five trailers, which are used in disaster relief operations. If further information is needed, please contact David Kitchen at 615.250.4294 or kitchend@nashvilleredcross.org.