Volunteer Leader Spotlight: Julie Hill

Between her hobbies of hiking, biking, camping, and painting, Julie Hill seems to find herself leading volunteers and helping others on a regular basis. Just like getting in that habitual workout at the gym, Julie needs her community fix – and the community needs her. Twice a month, this southern California native works with a team to help prep and cook food for people who don’t have easy access to fresh produce. She has become an integral part of The Nashville Food Project, a local nonprofit that seeks to provide increased access to healthy foods in homeless and working poor communities across Davidson County.“I like the Nashville Food Project because you have two steps: preparing the food and handing it out to the individuals in need. I find it very fulfilling to be able to meet the individuals that we are there to help,” says Julie. “For me, volunteering is such a rewarding experience; I get the benefits of helping others and meeting great people who enjoy giving back to the community.”

She’s been working with The Nashville Food Project as a Volunteer Leader since September 2012, but has been an active Hands On Nashville volunteer since 2009. From a very young age, Julie was taught that helping her community was part of normal life. She continues to value the opportunity to help out her community and encourage those around her to do the same.

Julie has found Hands On Nashville to be a wonderful place to get connected. “By offering such a great website and partnerships, and the amazing people, Hands On Nashville makes volunteering truly a no-hassle and thoroughly enjoyable experience.”

Are you looking to get involved with The Nashville Food Project like Julie?
➢ Click here to see a list of upcoming opportunities and sign up.

Volunteer Leader Spotlight: Sarah Petschonek

Guest post by Sarah Petschonek-
This post originally appeared on http://confessionsofavolunteer.com

I lived in Nashville for about a year and when I first moved there, I knew I wanted to spend a good bit of time volunteering and learning about my new city. Through the extensive calendar at Hands On Nashville, I learned about an organization called The Nashville Food Project, which quickly became one of my favorite volunteer opportunities.

The Nashville Food Project is designed to create healthy food and deliver it by truck to the low-income areas of Nashville to ensure that everyone, regardless of their income, has access to a nutritious meal. The food they turn out of that tiny kitchen is amazing – like summer stir fry with beef or vegetarian lasagna. From the minute I walked into their offices I was hooked!

My shelf at The Nashville Food Project

There was fresh produce on every shelf and everything was incredibly well organized. It was clear that the team had fully embraced the idea of providing a rewarding and seamless experience for their volunteers. After a couple of times of volunteering, one of the project leaders suggested that I look into becoming a volunteer leader myself so that The Nashville Food Project, in cooperation with Hands On Nashville, could offer more meals each month. After a little arm twisting (ok, definitely no arm twisting required), I signed up to run the project on the fourth Sunday of every month for six months. Two months in, I moved back to Memphis, but I love the project so much that I continue to drive to Nashville each month to work with the project. If my count is correct, Day 25 of Mission Memphis marks my fifth time to lead a group for the Nashville Food Project.

The Nashville Food Project approach

This incredible project is housed in a small, unassuming building in the corner of a church parking lot. When I walk in for the project, there is a row of clipboards and one has my name and the date for the delivery. On a nearby shelf, another sheet displays what I’m supposed to prepare and take for the trip that day, and tells me the places we’ll be visiting.

About 70-80% of the food served is hot (like the veggie lasagna mentioned above), but on the weekend shifts we stick to sandwiches and fruit. Shortly after I get there, the volunteers start to show up to prep the sandwiches for the trip, which usually involves making 60-80 turkey sandwiches. One of the volunteers, Brittany, is there consistently each time I’m working, despite the fact that she is working two jobs and putting herself through school. While you can’t see all the sandwiches in this picture, the wonderful volunteers assembled 60 sandwiches for the delivery.

Volunteers Tram Giroir, Brittany Orpurt, Lisa Freeman

Generally, I experience a volunteer opportunity from the perspective of the volunteer, rather than the volunteer coordinator. This project is one of the few instances where I feel like the volunteer experience is up to me – that it’s my responsibility to make sure that each volunteer feels valued and appreciated. It always makes me a little nervous because I put a lot of pressure on myself to provide a meaningful experience. It’s nerve-racking because you never know who is going to show up (or if they’re going to show up), and most of the people I interact with are new to the project. When we get new volunteers, I make an effort to point out the map wall (as I call it), which highlights the different areas served by the project and includes a brief description of each location.

Map wall at The Nashville Food Project headquarters

When we have it, I also like to point out all the fresh produce that’s donated (hundreds of pounds) or grown in the garden out back.

Homegrown and gleaned produce at The Nashville Food Project

Before we leave, we take a few minutes to talk about guidelines for the volunteers and what to expect from the experience. I explain that most people will be very gracious and friendly, but sometimes people are grumpy and that’s ok. I tell them that I’ve never had any trouble on one of the deliveries and that it’s likely to be a rewarding experience, but sometimes people can be unpredictable and if anyone feels uncomfortable that we’ll leave. I just want to make sure that everyone feels as prepared and comfortable as possible especially if this will be their first client-facing experience in the area of hunger and poverty.

After prepping the sandwiches and covering the basics, we grab the fruit, hardboiled eggs, and any special produce and load up one of the two trucks for delivery.

Ready to roll with The Nashville Food Project truck

Once we get to the site, we’ll set up an assembly line to hand out the food, which on this run included turkey sandwiches, string cheese, apples and oranges, and hardboiled eggs.

Lisa Freeman, Adam Anghilnate, and Jessica Summers assembling a bag of food

Usually we also take bananas and those tend to be the most popular. I quickly learned that the soft foods tend to go quickly because many of the people who receive food might be missing most or all of their teeth. The first time I realized this I was shocked – not because their teeth were missing, but because it was so hard to tell! Many people alter the way they talk in an effort to hide their mouth. I’ve had entire conversations without realizing that someone was missing their teeth.

One of the many amazing things about this project is that I get the opportunity to visit the same sites each month, which gives me the opportunity to build relationships with the people we serve and to learn their stories. For example, one of our regular characters is Jack – an overweight Chihuahua who rides around contently in his owner’s wheelchair. Jack’s owner has a cowboy hat and a long beard and he seems happy to let Jack steal the show. I’ve seen them on every trip. Everyone knows him, but no one knows his real name. We all call him “Jack’s owner” and he typically peppers us with jokes on our visits.

The other incredible thing is what the experience does for the volunteers. When we leave from the church parking lot, everyone is pretty quiet, because they’re strangers to one another. So, I tend to run my mouth and ask everyone lots of questions to get them talking. On the ride home, my poor emcee skills are thankfully not needed – everyone talks about their common experience and swaps stories about the trip. The whole process is designed to build community in more ways than one.

I love this project for many reasons. I think there are two main things that really got me hooked in the first place. I love the idea that everyone is deserving of a good, nutritious meal rather than the scraps and cheapest food available. Everything that comes out of the kitchen at The Nashville Food Project is thoughtfully prepared to be good! It sends the message that we’re all equal and that everyone is worth the extra effort necessary to offer wholesome food. Second, this is a wonderful experience for volunteers because it gives you the opportunity to interact with the clients and it challenges your perception of what poverty looks like. It’s a rewarding experience for everyone involved. I wish I could duplicate this group and drop one in every city.

I could go on about this project forever. I love The Nashville Food Project. But instead, I’ll leave you with my favorite parting words from the Executive Director of The Nashville Food Project, Tallu Quinn:

“The daily story of the meals we serve reminds us of what we can do with that excess, of how we can reconfigure our lives with imagination so that we might be more concerned with others around us having enough than with making sure we ourselves have plenty.”

Interested in volunteering at The Nashville Food Project with Sarah? 
> View upcoming opportunities and sign up.

Nonprofit Partner Spotlight: Nashville OIC

Hope. A sense of purpose. These things are priceless, and when given to individuals who otherwise would feel hopeless or without purpose, lives can be changed.

Nashville Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) is in the business of changing lives. OIC provides education, training, counseling, and job placement services at no cost for citizens of the community who are disadvantaged economically, educationally, and socially. And during these challenging economic times, this is an incredibly valuable service that makes the Nashville community a better place.

Clinton Washington, a graduate of OIC’s GED Prep Program, says the organization’s guidance has changed his life. “The impact OIC has made in my life: 1) It has given me hope. 2) It has given me a sense of purpose. 3) It is life-changing. Now I see I have a future and can be a positive example to my son. I can show him that you can do whatever you set your mind to.”

Larry Harper, who spent 10 years in prison, found OIC by dialing the 2-1-1 help line. He enrolled in the Job Placement Program, and is now working two jobs. He is in college and studying Health Informational Technology. Larry’s background created employment barriers, but OIC helped him overcome them.

Clinton and Larry’s stories of self-achievement and success are two among hundreds.

Being a part of OIC as a volunteer is a wonderful opportunity to empower people to help themselves. Volunteers instill the value of education in OIC students, who then pass this value along to their families and children.

Here are ways to jump in and connect with OIC students as a volunteer:

GED test preparation – Volunteers are needed to tutor GED test preparation students in one of more of the following subjects: math, social studies, science, reading, and essay writing. Volunteers may select the subject(s) they prefer and are provided with materials to prepare for tutoring sessions. The instructor pairs each tutor with a student and identifies concepts to work on during each session. There is no minimum time commitment per week or month. There are two options for locations: The OIC campus, or Park Avenue CCC.
> Read more and express interest here. (OIC campus)
> Read more and express interest here. (Park Avenue CCC)

 

Computer Training Instructor – A Computer Training Lab Monitor & Instructor is needed one or more days each week to answer student questions about how to use the internet, basic computer skills, and Microsoft Office programs. This person needs to be highly proficient in one or more of the following: Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and Powerpoint.  Ability to instruct students in basic computer skills: turning on a computer, logging in, using a mouse, using the Start menu, opening a folder, saving a document, using flash drives to save documents such as class assignments and resumes, etc.
> Read more and express interest here.

Be a part of this inspiring atmosphere as a volunteer!

If you have questions or would like to learn more about OIC, contact Holly McIndoe at hmcindoe@oicnashville.org or (615) 248-2906, or visit www.oicnashville.org.

The Books of our Lives

Guest post by Melissa Spradlin, Executive Director of Book’em –

[For the past two months, Nashville-area students from 20 elementary, middle and high schools have worked hard to collect books to be donated to Book'em. The grand total came in at an astonishing 20,421 books. The initiative, in its second year and coordinated by Hands On Nashville’s VolunTEEN Program, culminated this weekend when 75 students, teachers, and parents from the participating schools gathered to sort through the books and prepare them for donating. Book'em will then ensure that the books get into the hands of children and teens from low-income families, most of whom have no books of their own. Melissa Spradlin, executive director of Book'em, explains the significance of the book drive…]

Think back to your childhood and some of the fabulous books you owned. How did they affect you? How might you feel if you did not have those great memories? What if you had never read Brown Bear, Brown Bear; The Cat in the Hat; The Secret Garden; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Hunger Games; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone; or whatever your favorite titles were?

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Thanks to 20 public and private schools in the Nashville area, thousands of children and teens in Davidson County will have the chance to own and read wonderful books. On Saturday, I had the privilege of working with some of Nashville’s best volunteers of all ages from local schools, Junior League of Nashville, Hands On Nashville, and Book’em. They sorted and counted nearly 20,000 books that morning. Do you know what 20,000 books looks like? Believe me, it’s a lot of books to handle in one morning! Throughout the day, I heard lots of comments about many of the books and people’s great memories of reading of them.

Unfortunately, many of our own economically disadvantaged youth here in the Nashville area do not have books of their own to cherish and read as often as they want. If you want to help change that, like these students and schools did, please check out the Book’em website at www.bookem-kids.org to learn more about how you can help.

In 2011, Book’em gave away more than 50,000 books to underprivileged youth in Nashville. Please help us make that 70,000 in 2012. Together, we can make a difference and help kids create wonderful memories with great books that will last a lifetime.

Learn more about HON’s VolunTEEN Program, including upcoming spring break activities, here. Thank you to the following schools for their incredible work on the book drive – thanks to you, more kids in Nashville have books of their own! High schools: Martin Luther King, Jr., Pope John Paul II, Overton, Antioch, Hume-Fogg, Hillsboro, Montgomery Bell Academy, Hunters Lane; Middle schools: Head Magnet, Bellevue, JT Moore, Abintra Montessori, Croft; Elementary schools: Ensworth, Friendship Christian, Ezell Harding, St. Edward, Christ The King, and Franklin Road Academy. Winners will be announced through the HON facebook page soon! If you would like to get your school involved next year’s book drive, please contact colleen@hon.org.

HON Staff Reflection: Tuesday Night at the Mission – The Kindness of Strangers

Malinda Hersh has worked at Hands On Nashville since January 2005, and is Director of Volunteer and Nonprofit Programs. She volunteered at the Nashville Rescue Mission this week alongside eight HON volunteers, and shares this reflection.

The trays kept coming — faster and faster — and were picked up by hungry diners just as quickly as they were filled. The eight people filling the trays had never met before this night, but they worked as efficiently and happily together as any well-practiced team would. The line workers delivered many wishes of “Merry Christmas” and “enjoy your meal” while they served, but it was those being served that provided the best sentiments. “Thank you for being here,” “we appreciate you,” and “God bless you” were the oft repeated phrases from the diners at the Nashville Rescue Mission.

I was one of the lucky servers at the Mission on a recent chilly Tuesday night who helped serve 525 men an evening meal. I left the Mission feeling as I’ve heard many volunteers state: that I received more than I gave. I said “congratulations” to someone who had just landed a job, I smiled with someone who was excited to see the slice of blueberry pie on his plate, and was thanked countless times for being there. I enjoyed getting to know my fellow volunteers: a mom making sure her young son experiences what giving back really means, a college student home from Atlanta, a couple who just relocated to Nashville, and two ladies who had volunteered previously with the Mission. I have a feeling that they won’t be the only ones to volunteer there again.

Hands On Nashville hosts two dinner service projects every month at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Join us! Click here for more info.

The Power of Space

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” -Henry David Thoreau
When the folks at DaVita Kidney Care approached us about coordinating a service day for their employees during the company’s conference in Nashville, we landed on sprucing up the building that houses East Nashville Cooperative Ministry (ENCM). It was clear to DaVita that this small-but-mighty East Nashville nonprofit impacts a lot of lives, and that the building where it does so much good work – helping the elderly, poor, disabled, unemployed, and disadvantaged with emergency food assistance and empowering community wellbeing through food security – didn’t quite reflect the beauty and potential of its work. As we dug into the needs of the facility, it became clear that the building would need a complete renovation. DaVita (based in Denver, Colorado) and the Nashville community stepped up to the challenge.

For the past few days, volunteers from the community have been working through the sunshine and the rain to tear down walls, set fence posts, build scaffolding, and more. Tomorrow, 180 DaVita employees will descend on the small building on Gallatin Road to paint an exterior mural on the side of the building, construct fences and arbors for the vegetable garden, build indoor and outdoor tables, paint and install shelving, paint interior walls, and build planters. Dozens of community members will continue to volunteer over the next few days to complete the project. And on Monday, after Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee restocks its food pantry with staple food items and produce,  East Nashville Cooperative Ministry will unveil their renovated facility – a space that will enable the organization to meet the rapidly increasing demand for emergency food assistance, provide food education to the community, engage more volunteers, and improve the curb appeal of the neighborhood.

As ENCM executive director Alan Murdock says in the news release that went out yesterday, “The renovation will not only help expand our services and volunteer programs, but it will also put the agency in a position to provide more healthy food choices, and expanded gardening and cooking education to our clients and the community on a more consistent basis.” While a building certainly isn’t everything, the space within which ENCM operates will be forever changed after this week. All thanks to the vision of caring businesses and Nashville volunteers. And that’s a powerful thing.

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