Health & Wellness

Karen Chambers has spent her life giving back. From her early years volunteering at church—rocking babies in the nursery, serving teens, packing food for shelters, and handing out groceries at a local pantry—Karen always sought out ways to meet people’s needs. “Volunteering stretches you,” she shared in a recent Doing Good podcast interview. “It pulls you outside of your own life and lets you walk alongside someone else.” That heart for service took a deeply...

Erin Harris embodies the initiative and energy Doing Good enjoys seeing in volunteers. Eight months ago, she founded Un/Do Mindset, a nonprofit organization dedicated to mental health education and trauma recovery. A former teacher, Erin’s passion for this project is both inspiring and deeply personal. Her teaching career came to a heartbreaking end due to a school shooting, a traumatic event that took a toll on her mental health. After prioritizing her own recovery, she...

When Jill’s daughter, Jiselle, was a baby, she stopped meeting developmental milestones. The family went to many doctors, unsure of what was happening with her. Years later, when Jiselle was around four years old, she was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome: a gene mutation in the x chromosome that affects development primarily in girls. Jill, despite the situation, did not want this disability to hinder the joy in her family’s life. They were also fortunate to...

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 Scholarship Fund, formally known as Junior Miss, which rewards scholarships to promising young women in academics, community service, leadership, and...

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 (DCS) for use by foster children. Additionally, she works with other foster care-focused organizations and with the veteran community. When...

By working with Freedom Reigns Ranch, Beverly Powers has not only nurtured her passion for horses but also found a sense of value following her divorce. Beverly relocated to Nashville three years ago after escaping an abusive marriage. There, she started a life coaching business in hopes of helping newly-divorced women discover their sense of self-worth. Beverly focused on growing her business for a few years while following signs that pointed her toward Freedom Reigns...

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...

Written by: Ryan Wilson Jimmy Pitts is an example of the age-old saying – life is what you make of it. Jimmy is an advocate for Smyrna youth day in and day out. Between coaching basketball and serving on the corporate board of the Boys and Girls Club of Rutherford County, Jimmy constantly looks to improve the lives of those around him. The work of the Boys and Girls Club shows a different face of...

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...

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 work trip in Wisconsin, Bart had a stroke. In seeking the origin of his stroke, his doctors diagnosed him with...