Faith & Spirituality
Feeding Nashville with Heart: The Story of Corisa “Pine” Lewis
“Hospitality isn’t just a table setting—it’s a way of life.” This week on the Doing Good Podcast, host Megan McInnis sat down with Corisa “Pine” Lewis, a Nashville native whose warmth and service have touched nearly every corner of her community. A mother of five, grandmother of seventeen, and great-grandmother of one, Pine has built her life around feeding others—both literally and figuratively. A Family Tradition of Giving Pine’s journey began at home. When her...
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A Bridge to a Better Life
Tennessee Prison Outreach Ministry (TPOM) is a 501c3 which supports individuals incarcerated and released, as well as their families, with resources and services that empower them to build healthy, fulfilling lives. The ministry began in 1963 “when a couple known as Mama and Papa Cox went into the local jail in Nashville.” Now after decades of service, TPOM has brought in Thomas Snow as its CEO. Under his direction, “we’ve really focused on the area...
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Paul Dougall: Finding Time to Give Back
Paul Dougall – a resident of middle Tennessee, empty nester, and widower – is constantly finding time to give back to his community. As an employee of Nissan, Paul first began volunteering through a professional association. One of the nonprofits that Nissan sponsors is Second Harvest Food Bank, an organization that serves as a distribution center for the hungry. He has also volunteered with the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville alongside his coworkers at...
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Fighting and Thriving with Type 1 Diabetes: A Mother-Daughter Story
Lauren was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes – or T1D, as she and her mother, Barbara, like to call it – at just three years old. This diagnosis changed their family’s daily life tremendously. In 1979, when Lauren was diagnosed, checking one’s insulin was much more of a chore and not necessarily accurate all the time. Day in and day out, Barbara helped Lauren with her urine and blood tests to make sure she could...
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Lifelong Servant Leader Serves on the Path She Once Walked
By: Angela Barbosa Imagine being at an appointment with your doctor and learning you have cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 1.8 million people in the United States face that moment each year. Sadly, many of them face the uncertain and frightening next steps alone. People with initial cancer diagnoses typically face a fast-paced barrage of diagnostic tests, invasive procedures and complicated treatment plans, often with little to no warning or time...
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Harvesting Seeds His Dad Planted to Benefit Farmers
By: Angela Barbosa Growing up as a farm kid in northern Indiana, Vane Clayton had chores every morning and every night. Working the family’s dairy farm and spending big chunks of the summers helping out neighbors on their farms too, he loved the farming life. His philanthropically minded parents were both active in church and in a variety of local and state nonprofit endeavors. They instilled in him the importance of giving back. After more...
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Featured Volunteer: Jason
Listen to Jason, a husband, father of two, and a young professional, as he talks about the heart of a person. What happens to children after their court date? How do they move forward in a meaningful way? These are just two of many ways the Juvenile Justice Center impacts children & their families throughout Davidson County. ...
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A Mother’s Story
“I get more from volunteering than I give,” says Denise Stewart. “It gives me joy to watch how much NAMI’s programs that I teach, train and present help others.” NAMI Tennessee is the Tennessee chapter of the National Alliance of Middle Tennessee. She serves so people who want help with mental illness can get it. Her service as a volunteer is more than what she learned from class. Her life experience of living with a...
Read MoreA Celebration of the Community
As the middle of the year approaches, Doing Good takes a moment to reflect on this year’s outstanding service-oriented volunteers in the Nashville area. Local Nashville volunteers continue to selflessly give back to their community while volunteering in unique ways that express their passions and philanthropic interests. Sheila Habacker has been serving the Nashville community with her expertise in yoga for years. In addition, yoga has had a major impact on Habacker’s recovery process from...
Read MoreMulti-generational good
Written by: Emerson Loudenback “The good we do always comes back to us,” says Zarita Fears, this month’s Nashville’s Volunteer of the Month. Zarita has been a motivated volunteer since she was a child when she helped supply local shelters and even tutored other children. Just as her mother instilled in her the value of “small acts of kindness,” she has continued her family tradition by raising her daughter in service work around local shelters...
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