Junior League of Nashville serves 14 Nashville Organizations in one day through Members in Motion

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In the spirit of giving, one cold Saturday morning, 164 Junior League members set out across Nashville to volunteer with 14 local organizations. What members affectionately know as Members in Motion “MIM”, is a fun-filled half-day of coming together to make a serious impact across Nashville. 

Now in its second year—and its first year as an official placement for League members—this fall’s Members in Motion event was held Nov. 2, 2019. Actives and Provisionals donated a combined total of 468 hours of community service in our local area. During the League year, we focus our financial and service efforts on our two service pillars – cradle-to-career literacy and human trafficking, however, during our Members in Motion service projects we open our doors to work with other non-profits to expand our knowledge of different social issues facing Nashville. This Fall, nine of the 14 service projects were non-profits outside of our focus area to extend our reach. 

Project: Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE) JLN members volunteering at NICE experienced Nashville from another viewpoint. Members played games and made fun craft projects with refugee children. 

Volunteers experienced a variety of missions, including health and wellness organizations, education and arts groups. 

“In its first year run by a designated committee, Members in Motion has already seen exponential growth. Earlier this month, more than 160 women voluntarily gave up their Saturday morning and willingly spent time helping local nonprofit organizations in a variety of ways,” said Keri Wood, Members in Motion co-Chair. “To me, Members in Motion exemplifies who we are as a League and I am so grateful to be a part of it.”

Project: PENCIL Foundation  JLN members had a great time at PENCIL! The group helped with various tasks around the facility, including helping teachers “shop” for new supplies, unpacking and organizing supplies, and packing backpacks with specific supplies to be donated to teachers.

Projects included helping clean trail ways in local parks, painting a haven for area teens and sharing snacks and games with local refugee children. Organizations supported during this year’s Members in Motion event included:

  • Cheekwood
  • Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee
  • Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
  • Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE)
  • PENCIL Foundation
  • Poverty and the Arts (POVA)
  • Preston Taylor Ministries
  • Safe Haven Family Shelter
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee
  • Tennessee Kidney Foundation
  • Tennessee Parks and Greenways
  • Tennessee Voices for Children
  • Youth Villages

Project: Cheekwood JLN members volunteering at Cheekwood helped out around the botanical garden and art museum doing a variety of projects, including directing traffic and answering visitors’ questions during the annual Dia de los Muertos festivities and parade.

Once the morning of voluntarism concluded, participants celebrated with a chili cook-off at JLN headquarters. The fun afternoon provided members with a chance to connect with their friends and fellow volunteers, swap stories of projects completed and enjoy an afternoon together. Shout out to Carmen Rogge, our Social Media chair-elect, who won the chili cook-off! 

Keep a lookout for our Spring Projects scheduled for Sat., March 28th. Sign-ups will be shared via Tuesday News & Social. If you volunteer with a local non-profit or work for one that might be interested in being one of our MIM projects, please email Keri at membersinmotion@jln1922.org

Project: Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee JLN members volunteered at the annual Nashville Buddy Walk to celebrate and support individuals with Down syndrome and their families. This year, more than 5,000 people participated in the annual walk.

If you would like to work with us on a blog post or are a member with a blog post idea, please email our Publications chair at jlnpublications@gmail.com.

Author: Jessica Hopson-Bowers, Public Relations Chair ‘19-’20