Sycamore Pop Up Dinner

Chef Galzin, his wife Caroline, and Jackalope Brewmaster Bailey at the last pop-up dinner in November.

Sycamore Pop Up Dinner
Sunday, January 27
Cafe Fundamental, 1115 Porter Road
$70 per person (includes four courses with cocktail pairings)

On January 27, Sycamore Nashville is hosting yet another pop-up dinner benefiting the Hands On Nashville Urban Farm. This is the second in a series of several pop-up dinners both Chef Galzin and his wife Caroline have initiated since moving to Nashville in July. (Also, right after moving to town, Chef Galzin spent a day at the Farm teaching youth how to make a healthy dish from the veggies they helped to grow.)

As they make plans for their first restaurant together, the Galzins have caused

Wine-braised Pork Sugo with house made pasta from November’s dinner. YUM! We can’t wait to see what’s served this round.

quite a pop-up craze. Their innovative approach not only educates the Nashville community on sustainable practices, but also brings together resources that benefit the local community in a unique way. At their last dinner, Chef Galzin used a whole hog from Phillips Pharm in Davidson County, while carefully explaining his process of using the entire pig to prepare the meal. He reflected on the beauty of food, the culinary responsibility we all have, and the work that we do to support the farming communities here locally. The beer pairings added some laid-back spunk to the dinner, too. Did we mention that proceeds from this dinner were donated to the Hands On Nashville Urban Farm? Philanthropy is a key goal and something they’d like to keep integral in their planning as they prepare for a future restaurant. (Now you know why we love them so much!)

The first course from November’s dinner at Jackalope featured Rillette, City Ham and Pate. Pure deliciousness.

If you weren’t able to attend their last night of deliciousness, you best get your tickets for January’s event happening at Cafe Fundamental, with proceeds again benefiting the HON Urban Farm. This month’s special will feature four-course meals using two whole lambs from Philips Pharm and special craft cocktails from PourTaste mixologists Jon and Lindsay Yeager. Tickets are $70 per person – and are about to sell out. Click here and purchase yours today. See you at the table!

MLK Trivia Challenge

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is quickly approaching on January 21. In anticipation of this great day, the HON VolunTEEN Program will have a MLK trivia challenge leading up to January 21. Participate in this challenge and you will have an opportunity to win some cool Hands On Nashville t-shirts and water bottles. Here’s how it will work:

1. Questions. Starting Monday, Jan. 7 (today!!), the VolunTEEN Facebook page will post trivia questions about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at 3 p.m. each weekday through Jan. 18. The questions will be about the life and work of Dr. King.
2. Answer. If you are the first person to give the correct answer to the trivia question, your name will be entered into the drawing.
3. Win. The winner of the drawing will be announced on Friday, January 18th.

Winter Coat Drive!

The HON VolunTEEN program is holding a coat drive from January 8 – Jan 17 to benefit the Nashville Rescue Mission Women’s and Children’s Campus. On MLK Day, January 21, these coats will be sorted and gifted to homeless women and children as part of a youth service day. Now is the time to declutter your closet! Start fresh this new year and help a great organization and women who need extra warmth this winter. All new and pre-loved coats can be dropped off at the HON office, 37 Peabody Street, Monday through Friday between 9am-5pm. Please note that the Mission accepts used coats, but all coats need to be clean.

The Nashville Rescue Mission is requesting the following coats:
· Women’s coats of all sizes, most needed size is 18 and up (for plus size women)
· Adult men’s coats for teenage boys
· Kid’s coats of all sizes

Stylish haircuts for a cause: Cut-A-Thon at Salon Nfuse Jan. 26

Ready to start the new year with a fabulous new hairstyle? Or maybe you just need a trim, or are looking for a new salon? Make your appointment now for the Salon Nfuse Cut-A-Thon on Saturday, January 26 (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) where you can get your haircut with 100% of proceeds benefiting Hands On Nashville!

The home of the official hair and makeup stylists for Nashville Fashion Week, the Symphony Fashion Show with Marchesa, Model Behavior with Christian Siriano, and the 2010 CMA Awards, is offering haircuts starting at $30 and up to $60, with owner Stephanie Trail providing cuts for $80. Appointments are available by calling (615) 649-0501. Please specify desired price point when making an appointment. Salon Nfuse is conveniently located just minutes away from downtown Nashville at 2535 Franklin Pike, Suite 106, Nashville, 37204.

This year marks the third annual Cut-A-Thon hosted by our talented friends at Salon Nfuse to support Hands On Nashville and volunteerism. Salon owner Stephanie Trail is an enthusiastic supporter of Hands On Nashville, and we are so appreciative of her efforts! Plus, her staff volunteers their time on that day to make the event a success. We love it.

Salon Nfuse will also give $20 toward any future hair service to all HON volunteers who bring in proof of volunteer service in 2012 or 2013. (One per person. To print off proof of service, volunteers should login to their accounts and print off their account homepage using Internet Explorer.)

The salon will also be selling copies of the book “Take My Hand: How Nashville United in the Wake of the 2010 Flood” for $20, with all proceeds going to HON.

From all of us at Hands On Nashville (many of whom are loyal Salon Nfuse customers), thank you, Salon Nfuse, for your generosity and support!

 

 

10,000 Miles for Hands On Nashville

Guest post by Drew Staniewski -

In a few days, fellow Nashvillian (and current D.C. transplant) Ryan Townsend and I will be embarking on the travel adventure of a lifetime by participating in the Mongol Rally. Quite possibly the holy grail of all road trips, the Mongol Rally is 10,000 miles of pure adventure across more than a dozen countries and over 1/3 of the planet from London to Mongolia.

To accomplish this mighty feat, we purchased a woefully unqualified vehicle in the United Kingdom. Our “steed” is going on 10 years old, has well over 100,000 miles of wear and tear, and has an engine capacity of 1.3 liters (try finding a car in the States these days with an engine that small!).

In short, we are an unqualified team with an even more unqualified vehicle driving across a third of the planet. What could go wrong? Well, in the words of the event’s co-founder, the so-called Mr. Tom: “if nothing goes wrong then something has gone very wrong.”

So why attempt such an absurd journey? Charity, of course! Assuming we are fortunate enough to make it to Ulaan Baatar, the finish line in Mongolia, our vehicle is sold at auction and the proceeds donated to the Lotus Children’s Centre, which does great work for children and families in Mongolia.

Now for the best part: we also get to raise money for a charity of our choice as part of this venture, and Hands On Nashville was an easy choice. The Mongol Rally is, above all, about the human interaction along the way and there is no doubt Hands On Nashville well represents the value and power of such interaction here at home.

Whether it is something like coordinating the volunteer response to the May 2010 flood or connecting volunteers to more than 300 service opportunities each month, Hands On Nashville serves an indispensible role for our community by mobilizing and organizing Nashville’s greatest asset, its people. What I love about raising funds for Hands On Nashville is that it means supporting not only our community, but also its people and all the initiatives across the city that Hands On Nashville volunteers make possible. It is truly a unique and invaluable organization and we are proud to do whatever we can to help its mission.

Ryan and Drew are about to embark on a huge adventure, with a simple request to raise money for Hands On Nashville, the charity of their choice.

For information on the rally, our team, our route, or our charities, check out our website at www.gigglegang.org. We will accept donations, advice, concern, and emotional support, particularly in regard to our vehicle. (Help us raise money for Hands On Nashville here.) We will be updating as much as we can along the way and plan to record the entire 10,000 miles on HD video via a camera externally mounted on our vehicle (surely it will hold for the whole trip). I hope you will share in this journey with us.

A special thanks to Drew and Ryan of the Giggle Team (and good luck, guys!) and other enthusiastic HON volunteers who use Crowdrise to raise awareness and financial support for Hands On Nashville with their creative projects and adventures. Crowdrise is really easy to use, and anything goes from international auto-treks to beard-shaving and most importantly, all the funds support Hands On Nashville. If you want to share your love of HON without leaving your computer, be a Tree Giver and sponsor a Tree at the Hands On Nashville Urban Farm. Register here, tell your friends on Facebook and Twitter, and watch your tree grow!

Share your photos/videos of service & be entered for a chance to win 2 free massages

Submit a photo or video of you/your friends actively volunteering during the 2012 MLK Day of Service weekend (between Fri, Jan. 13 and Monday, Jan. 16), and you’ll be entered for a chance to win two free 60-minute stress relief massages ($140 value) at Nashville’s BC Massage!

Submissions must follow these rules to be considered for a chance to win:

1. Volunteer at any Middle Tennessee location (Davidson County or surrounding counties) to help a local nonprofit, school, or government agency between Jan. 13 and Jan. 17, 2012. (Still looking for a project? There are plenty available on the HON Opportunity Calendar.)

2. Post photo(s) and/or video(s) showing you/your friends in action on Hands On Nashville’s facebook page by noon on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

3. Use #MLKdayService hashtag and post a brief description of where you/your friends served and who your volunteerism helped along with the photo.

4. The names of those who post photo(s)/video(s) to the HON Facebook page will be submitted into a random drawing to receive the two 60-minute stress relief massages at BC Massage (visit the BC Massage website here and the Facebook page here). The winner will be announced by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

5. The massages must be redeemed within 60 days. The winner will coordinate directly with BC massage to make appointments.

Stylish Haircuts that Support HON – Thank You, Salon Nfuse!

On Jan. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., our friends at Salon Nfuse will host an all-day Cut-A-Thon, with 100% of proceeds benefiting HON (for the second year running!). The home of the official hair and makeup stylists for the 2011 CMA Music Festival is offering haircuts starting at $30 and up to $50, with owner Stephanie Trail providing cuts for $100. Appointments are available by calling (615) 649-0501. Be sure to specify your desired price point when making an appointment. Salon Nfuse is located at 2535 Franklin Pike, Suite 106.

We are so appreciative of Salon Nfuse’s support. (And, we must admit, we also LOVE that scalp massage their stylists give us before a haircut! Yep, several HON staffers have appointments for the 21st, and we can’t wait to see you there!)

The lovely folks at the salon will also give $20 toward any future hair service to all HON volunteers who bring in proof of volunteer service in 2011 or 2012. (Please note: One per person. To print off proof of service, volunteers should login to their accounts and print off their account homepage using Internet Explorer.)