Volunteering Nashville: Opportunities To Become One In

Sometimes, being stuck at home, or having more time on your plate can come with a lot of idle days. You are left with excess time to do what you want. Sometimes, you may not know what to do with all that time. If you live in Nashville, there’s a lot more you can do.

You can Volunteer!

You may have disregarded volunteering or thought of it as free services and so, not worth your time. But then, it’s an excellent way to spend your time.

Table of Contents Hide

Why should you Volunteer in Nashville?
Experience
Network
How Does Volunteering Affect Your Mental Health and Quality of Life?
Are There Paid Volunteering Opportunities in Nashville?
How can you become a volunteer in Nashville? A Step-by-Step Guide
How to find volunteering opportunities in Nashville
Some great unpaid volunteering opportunities you can apply for are:
Conclusion
REFERENCES :
Recommendations

Why should you Volunteer in Nashville?

Whether you currently have a full-time job, are a freelancer or on the lookout for your first job, volunteering can stabilize you on your career path.

Experience

Volunteer internships afford you various experiences that would enhance your profession and make you work even out of inconvenience and discomfort. You can have a taste of the real world even before you get in.

Some students do their internship programs in volunteer roles to explore various possibilities. They can have different career options without having to be paid or held accountable for a role or a contract. By volunteering, they can build new skills, network with other professionals and be an integral part of the community. This way, they are useful in building their communities.

Network

Volunteering would expose you to a wide range of organizations and professionals that would cause an uphill effect on your learning curve. Volunteer programs are usually not as formal as internships, hence, this is an added advantage as most organizations have the energy and resources to work with and train volunteers.

Volunteer interns can hence research nonprofit organizations, clubs, schools, health clinics, art galleries, and other organizations to find a role that suits them. If they do not want any of the roles listed in those organizations, they can go ahead to fill in the gaps in the organizations. There could never be a time when volunteers are not needed.

It would all be worth it eventually—students who find time to become volunteer interns learn how to support the community and strengthen it.

How Does Volunteering Affect Your Mental Health and Quality of Life?

As human beings, we desire connection with other people, and we want to do something that seems like it’s a worthy cause. We want our hearts to be involved in something sublime, and this is where volunteering comes in.

Volunteering provides all that we seek with maximal satisfaction.

You also get to learn useful skills and garner experiences which help you get better at the said skill. Volunteering makes you feel like part of a cause with the triumphant feeling of accomplishing a project you worked at when it eventually comes out amazing.

Discipline

Volunteering makes you use your time wisely and the discipline gives the facade of much more time. And that is good. Wharton professor Cassie Mogilner researched this exact phenomenon. She found out that those who volunteer their time eventually feel like they have more of their time to themselves. Like getting abounding results from sowing one seed.

This is similar to other research that proves that people who donate to charity feel wealthier; Mogliner said: “The results show that giving your time to others can make you feel more ‘time affluent and less time-constrained than wasting your time, spending it on yourself, or even getting a windfall of free time.” and this is true!

Skill Acquization

Suffice to say, volunteering is a great way to hone your old skills and even develop new skills. Volunteering is also an excellent opportunity to learn skills that are essential in building a great career in the future. Skills like interpersonal skills, marketing, project management, and working in a team. A lot of people have identified volunteering as a field training ground that would be instrumental in raising future professionals.

Enhances Health and Wellness

Volunteering is work and exercise makes for a healthier body. People who volunteer early in life are said to have easier aging. They are not prone to thrombosis-related issues and have better functioning hearts. A Corporation for National & Community Service report stated rightly: “Research demonstrates that volunteering leads to better health… those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.”

Volunteering also builds your experience

It is a résumé-worthy act that would influence your employment opportunities even. It would also enable you to realize your area of specialty without having to go through the rigors of an impassioned work experience.

Love for Humanity

Volunteering would also prove your love for sacrificing and helping humanity especially if you want to venture into the nonprofit sector in the future. You would already learn skills and make connections that would make you do better in your time. You can also be able to teach other people who also want to volunteer for certain opportunities. Especially young people.

Volunteering your love makes you feel more love

We know that as Isaac Newton’s law says, we receive an equal amount of what we give. And that applies here in Volunteering. Especially in Nashville where there are a lot of opportunities to show love to people, volunteering would increase the love that goes around in society. More people are inspired to love because they’ve been loved by you.

Researchers at the London School of Economics found a proportional relationship between volunteering and happiness, they realized that people who volunteered were happier. Volunteering drives empathy and strengthens social bonds — factors that increase the feeling of love.

Are There Paid Volunteering Opportunities in Nashville?

Volunteering in Nashville is the same as volunteering elsewhere. But the city of Country music has more to it than just regular volunteering. There are unpaid volunteering opportunities that are amazing and rewarding. There are also paid volunteering opportunities in Nashville. The fear is usually the terms and conditions these opportunities come with.

However, there are not a lot that comes with conditions like you being an expert in the area you’re applying for.

Ten paid Nashville volunteering opportunities you could apply for in 2024

#1. Volunteer Coordinator –

Facility: Adoration Home Health and Hospice – Madison,

Volunteer roles: Assign volunteers to serve based on program needs and the volunteers’ interests and skills. Monitor and evaluate volunteers’ performance.

Estimated payment: $23,000 – $33,000 a year.

#2. YPLAY Attendant

Facility: YMCA of Middle Tennessee – Nashville, TN +1 location4.0.

Role: You need to have an enthusiastic personality with the desire to serve members, volunteers, guests, participants, and staff to create a culture of service within their Centers.

Estimated Pay: $19,000 – $25,000 a year.

#3. Metro xtreme Weather Overflow Shelter Volunteer,

Facility: Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County – Nashville, TN 3.6;

Role: Each volunteer must ensure that the shelter schedule is adhered to. Volunteers must brief the next shift of volunteers before they leave the shelter; payment is $15 an hour.

#4. Coordinator

Facility: Hope Lodge located at AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY – Nashville,

Role: Collaborating with ACS staff to ensure financial and volunteer support of the lodge. Assists in recruitment, training. Payment is $16 an hour.

#5. Camp Lifeguard,

Facility: YMCA of Middle Tennessee – Nashville,

Role: A person who is passion-driven and is willing to serve at all levels. As they hold their culture of service in utmost esteem.

Estimated: $15,000 – $21,000 a year.

#6. Communications Coordinator,

Facility: Monroe Harding – Nashville, TN 3.5. This is accomplished by creating strong, compelling messaging and collateral materials for use by staff and volunteers in their communications.Estimated: $37,000 – $51,000 a year.

#7. Coordinator, Ramsey Solutions – Franklin, TN 4.5

One fully paid workweek of ministry time after one year to volunteer for your favorite charity or nonprofit. Multi-tasking with high attention to detail.Estimated: $32,000 – $44,000 a year.

#8. Family Services Team Lead,

Facility: YMCA of Middle Tennessee – Nashville,

Role: Superior supervisory skills and an enthusiastic personality with the ability to inspire and motivate staff, volunteers, members, and participants.Estimated: $20,000 – $25,000 a year.

#9. Public Education Coordinator

Facility: DCI Donor Services – Nashville, TN

Role: Conducts outreach in all communities developing and maintaining relationships with community leaders, recruiting volunteers, and based on demographics.

Estimated Price: $33,000 – $41,000 a year.

#10. Coordinator

Facility: Apartment Life – Nashville,

Role: Be legally eligible to work in the United States (at least one coordinator if serving as a team).

Estimated: $21,000 – $30,000 a year.

The question would now be “How can I get started volunteering then?”

It’s remarkably easy!

How can you become a volunteer in Nashville? A Step-by-Step Guide

Post your intentions on a social media platform like Facebook and/or LinkedIn to get connected to an organization in your network.
You can also use LinkedIn’s ‘For Good program, Catchafire’ or ‘VolunteerMatch’ to find local opportunities. You could also check movingWorlds.org to find international skills-based volunteer projects.
Choose a cause that you’re passionate about.
Find an opportunity that matches your skills, interests, and schedule, and be honest about your availability.
Go ahead to upload your volunteer resume to introduce yourself and showcase your skills to the non-profit organization you’d like to volunteer with. It’s okay if you don’t have one. You could create one using templates available online.
Send your resume through the company’s email or to their social media platforms and follow up promptly with the nonprofit organization after you’ve found an opportunity.

How to find volunteering opportunities in Nashville

If you’re a professional already and want to volunteer your professional services, Catchafire.org is a good place to start. You could also use Serve.gov and TaprootPlus.org which are also sites for volunteering professionals who want to offer their services for free to people who are not able to afford those services.

This professional volunteering can even stem from skills acquired while volunteering. For instance, professional writers or graphic designers can offer their services to startups that do not have the capital to employ the personnel for those roles. In this way, they get better and become professionals eventually. There’s also encore.org that has an automated way of searching for encore programs in the world.

There’s a lot to be said about the wonders that happen through volunteering. But finding the best place and assignment to match your interests and skills — that’s the tough part. Nevertheless, you can screen through all the available volunteering assignments using your passion, cause, and your particular area of expertise. Also, you should screen using the time you are willing to put into volunteering. This is because many Volunteering sites tell you how much time is required of you to give. You can decide if you want a long-term volunteering program, short-term, or one-off depending on when you have the time.

As much as volunteering shouldn’t be done out of convenience, it shouldn’t also become a pain in the neck. And so, the fulfillment from volunteering should not be short-changed by choosing the wrong place.

You can also reach out to alumni associations and faith-based networks, and then Google is indeed your friend. You can find opportunities that can match what you’ll be interested in doing.

Some great unpaid volunteering opportunities you can apply for are:

#1. Nashville Public Library.

Opportunities: Clerical support, Children’s tutor, Computer assistance.

Commitment: A certain number of times every week for a minimum of about six months.

Age Requirements: 11 and above. A great opportunity for teens. However, people who are eleven or barely twelve would need a guardian to approve of them. Check here

Also, Nashville Humane Association. Opportunities: Cat socializer, Dog walker, Puppy socializer, Community events assistant, Pet visitation volunteer. Commitment: There is a $25 Volunteer application fee which is paid once only to grant you access to; thirty hours of lifetime service.

Age Requirements: 13 and up (13-15 must be accompanied by an adult). Here.

#2. Rocketown.

Opportunities: Be a part of the teens-mentoring program, Package their meals, vacancies for volunteer receptionists and Coffee bar assistants.

Commitment: It must be your first-time application, there would be an interview and a conduct and background check. They ask that volunteers commit to three months, volunteering at least three times a month. Age Requirements: 18 and above. Click here

Furthermore, Nashville International Center for Empowerment is a great place to volunteer at.

The Opportunities are Childcare workers, teachers for various courses such as catering and English language. And then an administrative and citizenship volunteer,

Commitment: You must not apply for the second time if you’re rejected. And then, if accepted, there’d be a volunteer orientation and placement training; you’d be required to track and report your volunteer hours.

Time commitment depends on volunteer opportunities. Age Requirements: Unspecified, applicants under 18 must have a parent/legal guardian approval. Here.

Another is the Nashville Rescue Mission. Opportunities: Taking care of rescued kids. Teach them, feed and package meals, and then engage the kids. Commitment: First-time application; No time requirement, but many choose to serve regularly.Age Requirements: 10 and up. Here.

#3. Thistle Farms

Available Opportunities: Cafe worker, Shop worker, Manufacturing volunteer

Commitment: There are One-time Opportunities such as the Education Workshop which happens on the thirteenth of November; Brunch & Learn that happens on December 13th.

Time: Two hours mostly; The company advocates for relationships and communication between consistent volunteers, and this is a great skill to have.

#4. Room in the Inn

Opportunities: There are opportunities for a teacher, a laundry assistant, and a Winter Shelter assistant, You could also volunteer as a kitchen or cafe assistant and Workforce development assistant.

Commitment: There would be a Volunteer orientation, however, time commitment varies with opportunity. Age Requirements: 15 and up (age restriction depends on the opportunity). Here

Second Harvest Food Bank opportunities: Culinary Arts Center Volunteer, Disaster Relief Box Assembly. Can be looked up here.

Commitment: It must be your first-time application; they allow for one-off projects but some volunteer projects require one volunteer service in a whole month.

Age Requirements: Twelve years and above for general projects, but there could be a friendly restriction for six years and above.

This is a great opportunity to imbibe the culture of volunteering in the minds of middle school and high school students. There are also Volunteer opportunities at Nashville Cares which is an organization that provides palliative care for HIV/AIDS patients.

#5. Hands on Nashville.

Roles: Packaging and organizing relief food boxes, preparing the meals with the Nashville Food Project, and helping out at Thriftsmart Nashville.

Commitment: No set time commitment. Age Requirements: 13 and up. Click here

Hands-on Nashville serves as the organization that recruits volunteer staff for almost all the charities that need help in Nashville. Everyone knows that charities need volunteers and so, this is a fail-safe way of volunteering for charity while going about it professionally and through the right means.

It’s a creative idea and they’re always looking for volunteers. It’s a popular service.

#6. Safe-haven program.

They keep the families together and work to move homeless families from their temporary shelter to permanent housing. They make the families self-sufficient and help with food for those families. There are many volunteering opportunities there.

#7. American Red Cross, Nashville.

They have tons of volunteering opportunities. American Red Cross cited that ninety-four percent of the total workforce is made up of volunteers who carry out humanitarian aid. Hence, volunteers are really important to this organization. Check here

Opportunity: Community Volunteer Leader Training.
Organization: Hands-On Nashville,
Where: HON Virtual Opps/Training
They allow for virtual Training.
Time: 6:00 PM, 1.5 hours,
Community Resource Center, Nashville,

Conclusion

Volunteering in Nashville is pretty easy if you have the right information and the right knowledge on how to go about it. Nashville is a beehive of activities and it would not be profitable to live and work there without experiencing the fulfillment of volunteering.

“Wherever you turn, you can find someone who needs you. Even if it is a little thing, do something for which there is no pay but the privilege of doing it. Remember, you don’t live in the world all of your own.”

~Albert Schweitzer