This organization is aimed at improving the lives of youth. There are crisis and residential…read moreservices where they offer counseling, emergency shelter, street outreach, a drop-in center, and Harwell Lofts. They also offer leadership opportunities and activities for high school and middle school students. And they try to help with access to college and workforce preparation. Its a great program. I know a bunch of Vanderbilt people who've gotten involved and all say how great the program is. If you want to volunteer, here is their faq page https://www.oasiscenter.org/help/volunteering-faqs.html. While I'm not quite sure what the volunteer requirements are, the organization told me that it costs them money to do background checks (since you would be working with minors) and so its not exactly a short term project.

Great place for youth and their families to find support-- whether it's finding resources,…read morecounseling, mentoring, job help, etc. Also, excellent volunteer opportunities.

Rescues: dogs Rescue location type: foster network AND…read moreshelter (usually meets at Centennial park) Bonaparte's Retreat was established in 2004 and rescues dogs deemed unadoptable from the Nashville Humane Association and dogs who have run out of time at Metro Nashville Animal Care and Control. This organization has a shelter location but adoptions usually take place with a meet and greet at Centennial Park on Saturdays. If you have time to volunteer, they need help at the shelter and they need people to foster dogs too. Email info@bonapartesretreat.org about adopting, fostering, or volunteering.

Wonderful people work with this rescue. I adopted my sweet girl Juno from them this last year and…read moreit has been one of the best decisions of my entire life. They took time out and really worked with us, which was amazing. You can tell how much these dogs mean to all of them. They have truly been incredible!!

There aren't many non-profits that I have come in contact with that so greatly impact my community…read morein a positive way as STARS does. STARS aims to bring awareness, understanding, and help through programs and services to our youth in the areas of bullying, substance abuse, violence, and much more. They also provide services for the deaf and hard of hearing. What impresses me is the depth and breadth of the services STARS offers- counseling, outpatient programs, in-school presentations, educator training, and so much more. Beyond these programs, the people behind the organization care about every single person who comes through the door. Thank you, STARS, for making schools a better place for our youth and fostering a more progressive, understanding, and accepting Nashville!

STARS has been selected as a Tennessean Top Worplace six years in a row. And, provides great SEL…read moreand mental health services and trainings for young people and adults across the country.

5 years ago I felt compelled to make a difference in helping teens avoid bad decisions and make a…read moresuccessful transition to adulthood. I realized that a mentorship was the most effective method for me. I signed up with BBBS and went through their interview and training process. It was thorough, but I respected them for it. I've now been matched with a "Little" for over 4 years. He's about to graduate from high school and go to college. I couldn't be more happy with BBBS, the staff, and the programs they put in place. Every interaction has been positive. They sincerely have a heart for this cause. They give you the support to succeed and encouragement to feel competent in your Match. They produce a constant supply of resources, events, and information to make this a rewarding experience for both you and your Little. They always need volunteers for a variety of opportunities and I would passionately encourage you to give them a call.

Did you know that for every match that Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Middle TN makes it costs them…read moremore money ongoing? They're one of the few non-profits where the more people that get involved the more it costs to run. Those dollars go to make sure the kids are not trapped in some nightmare situation, do background checks on potential matches, personal interviews, crisis intervention, matching, events, match specialists, etc... BBBS spends quite a bit of money for each successful matchup they have. I've been in the program now entering my third year. In this time I've had (and still have) one little brother, and I'm now on my third of fourth match support specialist (one moved away, one because my little changed schools) and each one of them seems to take this as more than just a job. If you've got a few bucks to spare and are looking for some place to invest in the future, I can't promise that every dollar is going to the right place, but a decent enough percentage appears to be. If you've got some time to commit and are looking to make a change in someone's life, you might be interested in getting in their programs. Be aware it's a commitment, you're not guaranteed to be matched and sadly there are an abundance of Big Sisters who will not be matched as there are not a whole lot of little sisters and too many little brothers think big sisters are icky. Sadly it's how the game goes. (Big Sisters can be matched with boys or girls, Big Brothers as far as I know are matched with boys only) They have a couple of distinct options for mentoring, a community and a site-based option. Site-based is you come to a school and visit, Community is after school / out in the world. I spent 2 years doing in-school and now do both while my little is out of school. It's been a good experience for me as a BB. There are things I'd like to change about it for my particular situation, but in general I think they're doing just about as good as they can for everyone. So yeah, that's my review - decent place to volunteer time or donate some money.

Habitat for Humanity Nashville location pick-up service for donations to the ReStore is wonderful!…read moreThe 2 drivers were sweet and careful as they loaded the truck with care. They knew President Jimmy Carter's birthday was yesterday, which shows how all affiliated with Habitat are true humanitarian! And how it helps when needing to let go of things to have an outlet like this. Thanks for all they do!

They build 30-40 houses in Middle TN every year! Go on their website if you want to volunteer by…read moreyourself or have a group that wants to volunteer help build a house for low income families. I'v worked with them before and its really rewarding.

An awesome nonprofit in Nashville, super helpful and tons of amazing resources! When you want to…read morevolunteer in Middle TN look no further than hon.org!

Few understand the importance of Hands On's existence in Nashville. As bold as this statement is,…read moreI think there is no more important nonprofit here. As middle Tennessee's only volunteer center, HON serves as the volunteer staffing organization for so many charities who need the help. Everyone knows that charities can't run without (1) money and (2) volunteers. Every September, thousands of HON volunteers descend on Metro Nashville Schools to pour hundreds of thousands of dollar's worth of time into doing much needed maintenance to the system facilities. In the horrific flood of 2010, HON stepped up as the hero organization, providing relief in almost every facet. Full disclosure, I am on the board. I serve on the board because I believe it in so much. HON is financially sound and run like a well-oiled machine by its staff and executive team. If you're a volunteer, just log in to the website and enter the system. You'll be amazed by the opportunities, training and diversity of events. Go ahead...you might just change your life while changing someone else's!

Great neighborhoods don't happen by accident, there are a lot of people who work to make them what…read morethey are. These people usually work through neighborhood organizations or special interest groups. The folks at Neighbor2Neighbor (formerly NRC) help those organizations figure out what they're doing and how to survive. Having been elected the president of my neighborhood association recently, and wanting to do the job right and not just half ass it, I started on one of their programs. Basically a neighborhood organization boot camp. They also provide services to neighborhood groups wishing to maintain their tax exempt status without having to have someone in the group intimately familiar with how to run and file for a 503c1 (or whatever the number currently is.) They've helped me a lot with being handed the reigns of an atrophied neighborhood association at least knowing where to steer it and how *not* to look at the thing.

These are some of my favorite Nashville neighborhoods. This resource center nurtures neighborhoods…read morethru information and training of residents of diverse living areas in the metropolitan area. I am grateful for info from them and from the metropolitan government office of neighborhoods. NASHVILLE NEIGHBORHOODS 12south/Belmont: Nouveau shops/nabe south Belmont U. Bellevue: middle class suburb Berry Hill/Melrose: 100 Oaks, 8th Ave. Antique District Brentwood: Upscale neighbor to Cool Springs shopping Donelson/Hermitage: Founders Sam Donelson and Jackson homes East Nashville: Historic 5-Points. Artsy, gay-friendly Goodlettsville: Country living with Rivergate shopping convenience Green Hills: Tennessee's most bourgeois shopping, "The Mall" Madison: super churches: Madison C of C, Cornerstone, patriots Midtown: Over to Wedgewood/Blakemore. Restaurant/Music Row area North Nashville: home to great Meharry Medical College, Fisk, TSU South Nashville: new immigrants Nolensville road area Sylvan Park/west Nashville: 46th, Charlotte Ave. to Nashville West shopping center

We've been working closely with Agape Animal Rescue as a foster home for one of their puppies the…read morepast few months. The puppy was found injured, and the organization does an incredible job making sure dogs get the proper care from veteranians and caretakers alike. They scheduled a surgery for our foster dog within the month, and gave us detailed instructions on how to take care of him post operation. The organization is guided by animal behaviorists who offer numerous Zoom session classes on how to train dogs of any age. To get dogs adopted, Agape takes great care making sure dogs are matched across several categories to adoring homes. Everything this organization does is thorough and thoughtful, ensuring dogs are properly cared for. If you're hoping to adopt a dog or help foster one, this is an excellent organization to work with!

Rescues: dogs Rescue location type: foster network…read more Agape Animal rescue is a rescue for dogs only. They rescue dogs of all shapes and sizes. This organization is pretty big and they have need for volunteers, fosters, interns (can do for college credit), employees, adopters, and donations. This month, they helped Animal Rescue Corps with Operation unbridled Spirit and saved a bunch of puppy mills dogs! Help them out! They make fostering really a great experience and are looking for year-round fosters, temporary/ short term fosters (for long term fosters who go on vacation, etc), and emergency fosters for cases of hoarding or puppy mill closures. They also do a bunch of events to fundraise like the upcoming Agape Animal Ball on October 19th!