Great Day of Service

How Can I Serve? Saturday, May 1, 2010, is the Great Day of Service and there will be lots of opportunities to help.  Project descriptions and coordinators are listed below. If you are interested in volunteering or helping, please contact the designated contact or team captain for each project.

  • The No Place Like Home Project  (Mercy Children’s Clinic)
    Contacts: Tiffany Fuller, 615-599-7969, mtlcfull@bellsouth.net and Rachel Williamson, 615-794-0588, mammagoosephotography@gmail.com
    The No Place Like Home Project is a home makeover project that beautifies, organizes and stocks a single mother’s home or apartment.  Collection of donations (both new and gently used furniture, decor, clothing, gift cards) begins weeks ahead of time, but all the work takes place on Great Day of Service.  Being a part of this project is to literally help transform a family’s dwelling into a home within eight hours.  Work includes cleaning, sorting, painting, building, plumbing, electrical, and of course, decorating! Children are welcomed and encouraged to help!  Bring your tool boxes and your paint brushes to join this gratifying “Extreme Home Makeover” type project!  Lunch is provided.
  • UMCOR Health kits
    Contacts: Patricia Kriebel, patriciakriebel@bellsouth.net, 615-591-9350
    For Great Day of Service, we will be collecting and assembling health kits for UMCOR. Health kits provide basic necessities to people who have been forced to leave their homes because of human conflict or natural disaster. Health kits are also used as learning tools in personal hygiene, literacy, nutrition and cooking classes. We will need cash donations for mailing and the purchase of tooth paste that UMCOR has arranged for. Each kit has a value of approximately $12 and all items must be new. We will mail and assemble as many kits as possible depending on the response. If you would like to help assemble from 9-12 on GDS, donate $$$, or provide products, please sign up on mission menu. Please provide e-mail address and phone #.
  • Graceworks Food Pantry
    Contact:     Roger Parker, roger.parker07@comcast.net, 615.599.1700
    Help Graceworks meet emergency needs of Williamson County residents by helping to sort items and stock shelves in the Graceworks food pantry.  Over 2300 shopping carts filled with groceries were given out in 2009.  Most of the work is done by volunteers.  This is a great project for families to do together. Also, the Graceworks Furniture Store needs several strong helpers help shoppers at the furniture store to load their purchases.  One additional volunteer in the furniture store can help the cashier.  Profits from the twice-a-month furniture sale help meet emergency needs of Williamson County residents.
  • May 8 in the Food Pantry: For those who would like to help out on May 8, the Saturday following Great Day of Service, many hands are needed to help receive food items brought in by the Post Office food drive that day.  Help is especially needed late in the afternoon on May 8.
  • Sewing Project
    Contact:     Nancy Garrison, garrisondonald@bellsouth.net, 615-794-3412
    We will meet at the church with sewing equipment to make walker bags for residents of local nursing homes.  There are jobs for people with machine or hand sewing skills. Our projects are simple and we welcome non-sewers who are interested in an introduction to sewing.  In addition, there are tasks that do not require sewing skills to put these handy bags together. We have made chemo caps and quilts for Graceworks in the past and could do that again if we have enough volunteers. This has been a great cross-generational project.  We have had volunteers from age 12 to 90!
  • 61st Avenue UMC
    61st Avenue Cookout:
    Contact: Janie Luna, jarsluna@comcast.net, 615-790-9835
    Come have fun with our friends at 61st UMC…we will have a hot dog cookout and celebrate the successful culmination of another year of the after school program.  After lunch, board games and card games will be set up either outside on the picnic tables if the weather is good or inside in Fellowship Hall.  For those who want a little more activity, we’ll have kickball, wiffle ball and cornhole games outside (weather permitting).  The knitting group has been invited to bring their knitting and spend time knitting together.  This will be a fun day for any age where we will spend time relaxing, playing together and just getting to know each other a little better.  Call Janie Luna at 790-9835 or email at jarsluna@comcast.net if you would like to spend a few hours on this project.  (Everyone will also be invited to stay for the Saturday evening service as well.)

    61st Avenue Roof
    Contact: Rich Peck, RichPeck27@hotmail.com, 615-516-4237
    Sixty-First Ave. UMC needs our help installing a metal canopy over the back entrance to the church and making minor repairs around the building.

  • Toussaint Cemetery mowing and trimming
    May 1, 2010.  8:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  (We usually finish earlier.)
    Contact: Jim  Heacock, jimh@wcs.edu, 615-554-1342
    The Toussaint Cemetery is an African American cemetery that was dedicated shortly after the Civil War.  It receives no public funding.  Please let me know what equipment you will be bringing.  We need riding mowers, push mowers and weed whackers.
  • Meals on Wheels
    Contact: Denny Rudolph, 615-569-0543, dennywayne@bellsouth.net, Camille O’Donnell & Sonshine Kids Club
    We are designing a project that will build relationships between the Meals on Wheels recipients and the families at Franklin FUMC. We plan to discover the household maintenance needs of the recipients and address those prior to the GDS. Hopefully we can have “Willing Hands” and others in the church repair these maintenance issues. This way the delivering families will work on building relationships.Prepare meals 9:00 – 11:00 in the church kitchen-We will need a crew to cook and prepare meals. (Camille O’Donnell and the Sonshine families will spearhead the food delivery.)

  • WAVES
    Contacts:     Debbie Owens, debraowe@gmail.com or Dennie Pickard, pickdmp@aol.com
    WAVES-“Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities”
    There will be four WAVES projects:

    • Day care at our church for the WAVES children and siblings – parents day out
      Team Captain: Elaine Wilson, ekernea@wilsonpc.com, 615- 771-1297
    • Lunch and bingo at our church for older adults living in the group homes.
      Team Captain:  Jeanne Gatlin, jgatlin1022@comcast.net, 615-794-4702
    • Landscaping & maintenance for a WAVES group home at  313 Cotton Lane
      Team Captain: Vic White, vicspam@comcast.net, 615-791-0001
    • Landscaping and maintenance for a WAVES group home on Cannon St.
      Team Captain: Edd Ingram, eingram@att.blackberry.net
  • My Friend’s House
    Contact: Petey Parsons, 615-794-3868, nashpars@comcast.net
    Working alongside the boys at My Friends House,  we will work on projects such as landscaping the property, mowing the lawn, mulching all the flower beds, planting flowers, weed-eating, bush/tree trimming, doing 2-3 small handyman type projects, and possibly painting some of the areas inside the house. Our project will start at approx 8:30am and conclude around 1 pm with a cookout with the boys, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.
  • Nursing Homes
    • Morningside Assisted Living
      Contact:       Kay Matthews, kaylm@bellsouth.net, 615-790-6579
      possible flower planting and mulching in the morning and an ice cream social, entertainment & sing-along and bingo from 12:15 -2:00 pm. Please sign up on the Mission Menu or contact Kay
    • Southern Care Nursing Home
      Contact: Carmen Greenwald, 615-599-5924 or GrnwldWC@aol.com
      there will be a piano player for entertainment and a sing-along, bingo and dessert from 1:30 – 3:30. Please sign up on the Mission Menu or contact Carmen
    • Claiborne Hughes
      Contact: Tom & Angela Overstreet, tozonian@charter.net, 615-614-1205
      Ice cream social from 2:30 – 4:00 pm. Please sign up on the Mission Menu or contact Tom or Angela
    • Legacy Crossing
      Contact:
      Musical concert and refreshment with the residents from 2:45 – 3:45 pm. Please sign up on the Mission Menu
    • NHC Franklin
      Contact: Jennifer Lampley, 615-636-7119, lampleyjen@fssd.org
      bingo with prizes and refreshments 1:30 – 4:00 pm. Please sign up on the Mission Menu or contact Jennifer
    • Belvedere Commons
      Contact: Karen Feamster, 651-791-6588, goldenridge@mindspring.com
      Our Belvedere commons project will take place from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. We are planning a day of pampering and fun for residents:  Manicures, massages, ironing, crafts and games, musical entertainment and ice cream sundaes following lunch. Please sign up on the Mission Menu or contact Karen
  • Cinco de Mayo
    Contact: Sarah McGinley, sbmcginley@comcast.net, 615-794-1276
    Organize games for children at the Cinco de Mayo festival at Pinkerton Park (12 noon to 4:00 p.m)
  • Brightstone
    Contact: Tina Majors, tina.majors@brightstone.org
    Brightstone is a community resource serving adults with developmental disabilities, providing work opportunities, life skills training, and community involvement.  On May 1, two projects are available:

    • Ceramics Cleaning—A morning of cleaning and sanding green-ware, to ready ceramic pieces for glazing and firing.
      Team Captain:  Mamie Jeter, mamiejeter@gmail.com
    • Spring Fling Dance—A “sock hop”–an afternoon of dancing and fun for BrightStone adults and their families.
       Team Captains: John and Christy Knorr, johnknorr64@yahoo.com
  • Habitat for Humanity
    Contact: Tim Grabbe, tgrabbe@hotmail.com, 615-599-1185
    Come join us as we put the finishing touches on the 100th Habitat home built in Williamson County!  Volunteers of all skill levels needed.  Neighborhood beautification and service projects as time allows. The build will be located at Beasley Place neighborhood off on Carter Street near downtown Franklin.
  • Construction projects
    Contacts: Doug Stafford,  creativewood@mindspring.com, 615-791-8586 and Joey Wilson, jwilson@wilsonpc.com, 615-771-1297
    Three construction projects…all skill levels accepted!
  • Plant a vegetable garden at the North Campus
    Contact: Mike Jones, 615-790-9964,  jones_michael54@bellsouth.net
    Help us with a mass planting! The proceeds of the garden will go to Graceworks and others in our community who do not have access to or cannot afford fresh vegetables.  Michael will be the contact.  790-9964  jones_michael54@bellsouth.net is his email.
Stay tuned for more information about each project as it becomes available!