Category: Health
La Toya Murdock: Making Life Easier for Others
La Toya Murdock gives back to her Middle Tennessee community by serving on three different boards for nonprofits. Daughters of the King is a nonprofit which facilitates positive change in young people’s lives by providing school supplies, backpacks, hygiene kits, and more as well as bringing meals to the homes of older residents; the Educational...
Jacqueline McDonald: “Nothing is Ever Too Small”
Jacqueline McDonald’s passion for volunteerism is driven by all avenues of her life. She currently serves on the board of the Tennessee Action Council, which has two primary missions: Project Life and Helping Hands. Project Life supplies mobile ultrasound units to pregnancy centers, while Helping Hands supplies duffle bags to the Department of Children’s Services...
Bart Brammer: A Voice for People Living with Alzheimer’s Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease is challenging. It can be a life-changing diagnosis for both patients and their families, and our featured volunteer, Bart Brammer, knows that all too well. However, he encourages those with Alzheimer’s to not treat it as a death sentence but to make the best of the days they have left. During a 2020...
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...
Offering Opportunities, Reaching Potential
Growing up with a sister with Down Syndrome, Elizabeth Graham Pistole has a strong passion for helping individuals with special needs grow and develop. Her first experience volunteering was at her local church on “Special Saturdays” to serve church-goers living with disabilities broaden emotionally and spiritually. “The first time volunteering . . . was way...
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...
A 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...
Finding Hope in Volunteering
Reality Edwards and Lauren Bellflower, Co-counselors and lifelong friends Written by: Emerson Loudenback Lauren Bellflower was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease when she was 20 years old. Through various treatments and changes, Lauren found her way to Camp Oasis and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Camp Oasis specifically led Lauren to relationships with peers her age...
It’s a small world, after all
Yoga proved helpful in Sheila Habacker’s recovery from her bone marrow transplant. After fully recovering, she became certified as a yoga teacher where she learned she could teach yoga to the underserved. She is one of many who volunteer in this way with Small World Yoga. She says, “I don’t know if they ever think...
