I got involved with Nashville Rescue Mission because I was looking to do volunteer work in the Nashville area. I tried doing some volunteer work with a couple of different organizations, but didn’t feel that any of them were the right fit for me. When I found out about Nashville Rescue Mission, I called and spoke with Joy who was running the volunteer services at that time. She told me all about the Mission and showed me around the facility. I knew right away that this was a place where I wanted to be involved. 

I first got involved at the Mission in the fall of 2018. I usually work two days a week during the lunch shift. I do travel quite a bit—some for business, but mainly to visit children and grandchildren—so while I’m certainly not consistently here every week, when I am in town I do try to come in twice a week. Nowadays it’s typically Mondays and Thursdays for the lunch shift. 

One of the main attractions for my involvement with respect to the Mission was because there seemed to be many homeless and needy people all over Nashville. Anyone that has lived in Nashville for any length of time is certainly aware of the fact that there are multiple people on almost every busy street corner asking for assistance. When I found out that Nashville Rescue Mission was open to anyone who needed food and shelter, serving three meals a day (for free), 7 days a week, 365 days each year, and also allowing people a place to stay at night and to take a shower, it was very impressive. 

I wanted to be a part of that.

Since I began volunteering at Nashville Rescue Mission I’ve been extremely impressed by how well run it is. Of course, all of the food is donated and since the Mission does rely on donations, it obviously does not know from day-to-day or week-to-week what specific food items are going to be donated. Being able to take those donations and turn them into healthy meals for the needy is a difficult task to accomplish, but the staff does a fantastic job of doing just that. I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in performing volunteer work to come to Nashville Rescue Mission and see what it is accomplishing. 

It’s impossible not to feel that you are doing something important, necessary, and very fulfilling.