Volunteer With These 5 Nashville Organizations for the New Year

NASHVILLE, TN - Tutor a child in need, help rebuild a house for a low-income family or write a grant for funding. Learn how you can give back to the Nashville community in 2017 by volunteering with one of these local community organizations.

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Book 'em Kids is a nonprofit in Nashville dedicated to increasing the literacy rates of socioeconomically disadvantaged children by providing them with free reading materials and tutors. Book 'em distributes over 30,000 books per year to Nashville schools and community organizations. Since they're a nonprofit, they rely heavily on the participation of engaged and enthusiastic volunteers. Interested in volunteering with Book 'em? Complete their volunteer application and join a team of 170 community members who are on a mission to raise literacy rates in Nashville.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville was established in 1985, and since then has recycled or rebuilt over 1,060 homes and served 2,600 family members including 1,700 children in need locally. If you're interested in giving back to the community, Habitat is a great option because of the variety of volunteer projects they offer and the high level of organization they maintain. You can volunteer on a community construction project, spend time with children and families who come from economically strained circumstances via Habitats HomeWORKS program and work with kids on their homework or a fun arts and crafts project, or volunteer at the Habitat ReStore and help low income families find affordable housing.

ALS Association of Tennessee provides localized care and support to those with ALS and their families. In addition to meeting the medical needs of those who suffer from the disease, the Tennessee Chapter of the ALS Association advocates for research and raises awareness about ALS on a national level. Interested in getting involved? You can volunteer with the Tennessee chapter in a variety of ways. Whether you're specialty is grant writing, clerical work, fundraising, photography or data entry, you can support the ALS Association in 2017.

Begin Anew is a nonprofit organization that works with individuals and families to overcome the different obstacles presented by poverty through mentoring and educational programs. Begin Anew relies on a team of 250 volunteers who serve in a variety of roles, such as tutors, teachers, prayer partners, childcare assistants and administrators. Want to get involved? Complete a volunteer application as either an individual or a group and join the Begin Anew team this new year.

Nashville Adult Literacy Council is a nonprofit on a mission to fight the rising rates of adult illiteracy in Nashville. Currently, 1 in 8 adults in the greater Nashville area is unable read. NALC works with over 600 dedicated volunteers, and you can join that team. Their One-on-One program pairs one adult with one tutor to focus on basic reading and writing skills for about 3 hours a week over the course of 6 months. For those with slightly tighter schedules who still want to contribute, NALC offers the Start Now program. Tutors need only arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled session and the lesson plan is provided.

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