On Friday, Sept. 30 the Nashville Predators Foundation Empowered by SmileDirectClub will welcome their first Featured Charity of the 2022-23 season: Communities in Schools!
The Preds Foundation is encouraging fans attending the game that night to donate feminine hygiene products that will be collected by Communities in Schools. Fans can drop items off at any arena entrance prior to the 7 p.m. game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning or purchase items from our Amazon Wish List (coming soon)!
Our mission is to surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
Davidson, Hardeman, Lake, Lauderdale, McNairy, Bledsoe, Clay, Fentress, Grundy, Jackson, Van Buren, Cocke, Hancock, Morgan, Scott
CIS is helping kids stay in school by applying a multi-tiered system of support, led by our school-based Site Coordinators, designed to mitigate the root problem(s) that preclude students from learning and help close the achievement gap. This includes school-wide initiatives, small groups, and the case management of individual students. Our evidenced-based model connects students to caring adults and community resources to transform how they see and experience the world around them. Whether a student is struggling to cope with an emotional stressor at home, dealing with complex trauma or they simply don’t have the basic needs necessary to attend school. CIS provides students with supports that alleviates emotional and behavioral challenges, makes sure their basic needs are covered which in turn supports academic achievement.
In order to give all Tennessee students the best opportunity to learn and thrive, we focus on making sure that students’ basic needs are met. CIS is collecting feminine hygiene products to eliminate barriers and keep our female students in school. No student should have to miss school because they are unable to afford the necessities they require.
– Half of the population menstruates but not everyone knows that 1 in 4 people struggle to purchase period supplies due to lack of income. This is called period poverty, and chances are we each know someone who has experienced this need – a neighbor, a co-worker, a friend.
– Before the pandemic, 4 in 5 teens reported either to have missed class time or knew a classmate who missed class time because they did not have access to period products.
– 1,454,399 women and girls between the ages of 12 to 44 live in Tennessee. Of those, 1 in 6 live below the Federal Poverty Line.
– One-third of low-income women reports missing work, school or similar commitments due to lack of access to period supplies.
The funds will be used to provide basic need supports for our school-based programs in 36 schools across the state of Tennessee.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cistennessee/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cistennessee/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CISTennessee
Saturday, Jan. 14
https://www.secretsafeplacetn.org
Pacifiers
Our mission is to end newborn abandonment across the state of Tennessee by educating and informing women and communities of safe, secret options under Tennessee’s Safe Haven Law
All counties in the state of Tennessee
A Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee is non-profit that advocates for the Safe Haven Law which allows a mother to safely and confidentially surrender her unharmed newborn, within 14 days of birth, at a designated Safe Haven facility without fear of prosecution. Our organization is responsible for equipping the over 1,000 Safe Haven Facilities across the state of Tennessee, as well as educating the entire state on the Safe Haven Law. We work hard to ensure that all women and communities are educated on the Safe Haven Law and their rights under the law with the goal of ending newborn abandonment in the state of Tennessee.
– There are over 1,000 Safe Haven Facilities in the state of Tennessee
– There have been 118 newborns surrendered in Tennessee since the beginning of the law. When broken down that is around 1 newborn surrendered every other month over the past 21 years.
– The surrender process is completely confidential.
– All newborns that have been surrendered under the Safe Haven Law in Tennessee have been adopted into permanent families except for one newborn that was reclaimed by their mother.
These funds will be used to equip all Safe Haven Facilities in the Nashville areas with Mother’s Packets, signage, and other necessary equipment.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/secretsafeplacetn
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secretsafeplacetn
Thursday, Jan. 26
https://www.nurturethenext.org
Diapers
To create a future for children and families filled with promise and prosperity.
We provide some level of service to all 95 counties in Tennessee. For Middle TN, we provide home visiting services in Davidson, Rutherford, and Wilson counties.
For over 35 years, Nurture the Next has served tens of thousands of families in vulnerable situations trying to provide a better future for their children. Many of the parents we serve have experienced trauma in their own past and are working hard to break away from the cycles of poverty and neglect. From our decades of experience and fact-based curriculum, we know that early intervention is highly effective in supporting healthy development. Nurture the Next looks forward to continuing to support parents and their communities in creating loving homes that make children feel nurtured.
Currently in Tennessee…
1 in 5 children live in poverty
72,805 cases of child abuse reported last year
48% of all children live in a childcare desert
42% of households with children had difficulty paying for usual expenses in last six months
Last year we served:
Nearly 900 children
100% of those children were protected from abuse and neglect
96% reached all their milestones for physical and social-emotional development
90% of parents said our support improved their interactions with their child
We also provided close to 25,000 diapers and hundreds of essential baby supplies and safety kits to our families.
More than 90¢ from every $1 given goes directly to serving families. Your support will help us continue our work to see all children in Tennessee thriving in safe, stable and nurturing families and communities
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NurturetheNext
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nurturethenext/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nurturethenext/
Saturday, Feb. 18
https://www.familycentertn.org
Interactive games such as Connect Four, Scrabble and Uno
Creating resilient communities where all children thrive by breaking multigenerational cycles of trauma
Middle Tennessee and Knoxville. On a virtual platform, we are accessible statewide.
The Family Center’s Family Resilience Programs offer awareness and action through an ACE’s lens (Adverse Childhood Experiences/Adverse Community Environments). ACE’s can affect a child’s brain development resulting in problems with school, relationships, and mental and physical health. Our evidence-informed programs provide guidance and support as families navigate new strategies for coping with trauma and move forward with greater awareness, confidence, and a renewed hope for healing and resilience. Additionally, our Organizational Resilience Program focuses on organizational change through trainings, workshops, and structured coaching. Topics include ACE’s, Trauma Informed Cultures, Organizational Wellness, and other resilience related topics.
Childhood Trauma can affect the brain development of a child and even change their DNA if it’s prolonged. The good news is that The Family Center coaches here to provide parents with compassion, understanding, and practical tools that build children’s resiliency, empathy, and connections. Research proves these tools are needed to create safe, stable, nurturing environments.
Funds received will go directly into our program budget to help our staff serve more families in need with resources and programming.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/familycentertn
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/familycentertn
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FamilyCenterTN
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@familycentertn?_t=8Uipmwh5vEQ&_r=1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-family-center-tn/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDfgiACMaa2Bvdx2H9XavwA
Saturday, March 18
https://creativets.org/
Art supplies for veterans
CreatiVets mission is to empower wounded veterans to heal through the arts and music
CreatiVets serves veterans nationwide. To date, CreatiVets has served veterans in 49 states (we have not received an application from a veteran in North Dakota).
CreatiVets provides combat veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury with opportunities to use art, music, and creative writing to heal their unseen wounds of war. Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress are often unable to verbalize the impact of a traumatic experience, but for healing to occur, it’s critical that they externalize their stories so that their painful memories can be reconstructed and transformed in a positive way. Research has shown that art and music are particularly effective in addressing post-traumatic stress, in part because they engage the senses in expressing traumatic memories. Many veterans have been unable to get the help they need, have been unsuccessful in their efforts to get help, or have not sought help due to the stigma associated with mental health issues. While CreatiVets does NOT claim to provide professional “treatment” or art and music “therapy,” CreatiVets DOES offer an alternative approach to individual self-expression through art and music education for combat veterans-the therapeutic benefits are a welcome bonus.
• CreatiVets partnered with Big Machine Label Group to release music created by veterans. You can find these songs by searching “CreatiVets” anywhere you stream or download music.
• CreatiVets music will be playing with an Amazon music account by speaking “Alexa, play music by veterans.”
• CreatiVets song “They Call Me Doc” was recorded by Aaron Lewis, Vince Gill and Dan Tyminski and has been streamed more than 2 million times!
• CreatiVets hosts its songwriting program backstage at the Grand Ole Opry.
• CreatiVets art program has been hosted at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, University of Southern California and Belmont University
• The latest study by the Military Times found that there are an average of 20 suicides each day and 14 of those do not seek any form of help. CreatiVets is searching for these veterans to end veteran suicide.
• CreatiVets “Visual Voices” portrait series has been installed at San Antonio Airport and Charleston International Airport. This series is slowly making its way across America. Look for it at the airport next time you travel.
• CreatiVets was co-founded in Chicago, Illinois in 2013 by Richard Casper and Linda Tarrson. It’s headquartered in Nashville, TN.
• CreatiVets partnered with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and offers online songwriting workshops through their Words & Music program
Funds raised will be used to host more programs and serve more veterans. Our current waiting list is over 350 veterans, which is a 3+ year waiting list. We are a small non-profit (under $1M per year) so we just don’t have the funds to host as many programs as we would like.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CreatiVeterans
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CreatiVets
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CreatiVets1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CreatiVets
Thursday, April 6
https://www.cac15.org
Stuffed animals, Play-Doh, “Fidget” toys, toys for children (ages 3-17)
The Mission of the 15th Judicial District Child Advocacy Center (CAC) is to “reduce the trauma of child abuse and facilitate the healing process”
Jackson, Macon, Wilson, Smith and Trousdale
Any child within the 15th Judicial District who is reported as a victim of sexual and/or severe physical abuse receives services at the CAC when a referral is made to the CAC. At the 15th Judicial Child Advocacy Center, we provide a place for children ages 3-17 to be interviewed about a possibly traumatic event or abusive incident. Trauma reduction is accomplished by having a child friendly environment where severely physically, emotionally, and sexually abused children are interviewed by a specially trained forensic interviewer. The healing process begins with the forensic interview and continues when the child receives support services or mental health services provided by our Family Advocate. The CAC also provides child abuse prevention education through Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children to local school systems, church groups, civic clubs, and the public. These adults would be trained to recognize the signs of child sexual abuse and know what to do if abuse is suspected. Stewards of Children provides a practical guidance for preventing and recognizing child sexual abuse and shows the link between major social issues such as teen pregnancy, violent crime, and substance abuse.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
• One in ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday.
• 93% of these children are abused by someone they know & trust. 37% are abused by immediate or extended family members. Of the children who are sexually abused, 20% are abused before the age of 8 and 90% never tell.
• 50% of sexually abused children suffer trauma severe enough to negatively impact their adult lives.
• They’re 3x more likely to abuse drugs & alcohol and 2x more likely to drop out of school.
• Scott Ridgway, CAC Executive Director, states “We should educate ourselves about the signs of sexual & severe physical abuse. We should listen to our children and young adults about their feelings, open up communication, ask about and validate their feelings, and assure they did nothing wrong.”
• To report child abuse or neglect: call 1-877-237-0004.
• Each child that enters the interview room will be given the option to play with Play-doh, draw, or hold “fidget” toys during their interview. This will reduce the anxiety and help the child feel comfortable during the interview.
• After each child completes their forensic interview, they are allowed to choose a developmentally appropriate toy before leaving the CAC. This will increase child’s self- esteem and reassure them that they are not in trouble for telling their story.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Child-Advocacy-Center-15th-Judicial-District-184444796784
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Child15th
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/15thjudicialcac
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