Family Volunteer Opportunities in Nashville

Tennessee is the Volunteer State and that is definitely taken to heart in Nashville , from helping challenged athletes to making sure children from low income families have the supplies they need for school. There are many charitable and community-based organizations in Nashville that allow opportunities for volunteering one's time and giving back by helping those in need.

HandsOn Nashville has been serving the greater Metropolitan Nashville and Middle Tennessee areas for 20 years. They work on projects ranging from homelessness and hunger, to helping low income families obtain green upgrades to help make their homes greener and more cost-efficient. They work with more than 700 area projects, so there is never a shortage of groups or individuals in need of a helping hand. They have opportunities for teens and adults alike to add their unique skills or learn new ones and give their time and effort to helping others.

Special Olympics Tennessee offers two levels of volunteering, depending on how involved a person wishes to become in the actual events. Those wishing to be "Class B" volunteers require no special training, they just need to fill out the volunteer registration forms. Anyone wishing to work more closely with the athletes will be required to complete a "Class A Volunteer Form" and, if accepted, must take an "Online Protective Behaviors Training" to help prevent inadvertent abuse of the athletes.

United Way Nashville holds "Days of Action" for various community projects. This summer, there is a Live United "Stuff the Bus" event to help at-risk children obtain much needed school supplies. There is a song contest and launch concert on June 21 at 7pm, the drive runs from June through July, and on July 29 there is a "Sort-a-thon" and supply delivery, where volunteers sort the donated school supplies to ready them and then take them to the McGruder Family Resource Center where they can be distributed to the children as needed. The United Way has other opportunities through out the year, for individuals and families who desire to donate their time.

The Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity has volunteer opportunities in a variety of positions, from helping to build the actual homes to working in stores that sell recycled goods and furnishings in order to fund home building projects, office and administrative help and working with the families who will receive the homes. There is a Youth United programs especially for children and teenagers who want to contribute to their efforts.