Bellevue resident and dog-owner Yoshie Lewis is Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month for January. “Volunteering is one of the purest opportunities to give with no expectation of return. The understanding is there without having to be spelled out – I’m giving to you, and you don’t owe me a thing. That’s truly beautiful,” she says.
Lewis serves multiple organizations, yet her primary causes are animals, history, and culture. She consistently offers her professional skills in the television and film industry through her volunteerism, and this has led to her benefiting the community as a judge of a film competition, creating non-profit videos, mentoring younger professionals, and more. “I think it’s important to take the time to give back to those who are coming up.”
Additional volunteer work takes shape in a variety of ways. For her current service to animals, she is producing a video as well as a new opportunity helping with miscellaneous needs such as washing the towels for the Pet Community Center and its new East Nashville Spay-Neuter Clinic. Her historical volunteerism includes various educational events and serving as a docent in historical dress for various historical sites. Her current, Japanese volunteerism includes planning activities for the Maury County Japanese Festival, and she is also the Founder and Board President of the Nashville Japanese Film Festival. Additionally, she serves with the Sisters of Mercy as a Mercy Associate which she describes as a “lifestyle.”
Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month is a program produced by Doing Good, a start-up, non-profit organization which celebrates volunteers who make a difference throughout Metro Nashville. For additional information about Lewis, Doing Good, or other volunteers, visit www.DoingGood.tv.
