Nebraska Huskers Provide Hope for Middle Tennessee Students

Emily with her mom, Julie
Written by: Cole Gray

     Doing Good’s Nashville Volunteer of the Month Emily Fay is passionate about the University of Nebraska and serving others. In 2007, two years after moving to Nashville, she decided to combine her passions by founding Nashville Huskers, a nonprofit alumni association that has used member dues and merchandise sales to raise $18,000 in scholarship for Tennessee high school students looking to attend the University of Nebraska.
“I just wanted to watch football with other Nebraskans. That’s what it was when I started,” said Fay. She missed being surrounded by other Cornhuskers after growing up in a University of Nebraska household in Loveland, Colo., then attending Nebraska, and finally ending up in a sea of SEC fans in Nashville. So, back in 2007, Fay sent out some Facebook message cold-calls and 80 fans showed up to watch a football game.
Fast-forward eight seasons, and Nashville Huskers has hosted over 100 watch parties and over 10,000 guests. Though it started on Facebook, it’s now an official Nebraska Alumni chapter, and the community Fay started is supporting Middle Tennessee’s students.
“We want to send more people to the Big Ten, and we want to send more people to Nebraska because it’s one of the flyover states. People forget about it. It’s a beautiful campus with so much opportunity there. They’re doing amazing research, they’re doing wonderful things on campus, and to be able to send someone here in that direction just excites me. There’s so much opportunity.”

Spreading the Light

By: Kingsley East

“By letting my light shine through volunteer work, I’m able to help others have a better quality of life- no matter where they are in their journey.” Brandi Nunnery lives to make the world a better place by meeting people where they are and serving them. Brandi is involved with a multitude of volunteer work that stems from her church, sorority involvement, and family life. Brandi says, “Whether I’m raising money for juvenile arthritis, serving my church on the board, organizing readers for Read Across America, or building a home for Habitat, I’m able to show enthusiasm and passion for helping others.”

Since 1993, Brandi has worked with her sorority Alpha Omicron Pi to raise support for the Arthritis Foundation. This philanthropy is dear to Brandi’s heart, as is her continued involvement with her sorority. Brandi currently serves as the President of the Nashville Area Alumnae Chapter for Alpha Omicron Pi. As she reflected on supporting arthritis research, Brandi said, “I’ve been able to raise money, organize teams for the Jingle Bell Run, walk in the Walk to Cure and, most importantly, hear the stories and MEET THE PEOPLE that we strive to support.”

At the Unity of Nashville Church, Brandi served as a board member for five years and as the Unity Build Coordinator for four builds. These positions enabled Brandi to play an active role in her church while reaching out to the community. For instance, Unity of Nashville works with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in the community. Some of Brandi’s best volunteering memories are from the work that she did with her daughter Parker at the Unity Build for Habitat for Humanity. Brandi includes her daughter in each of her volunteer efforts in order to instill a servant heart in Parker. She encourages others to let their lights shine because anything that you say or do has an impact on the community, your family, and even yourself. By volunteering, Brandi uses this power to make the lives that she encounters better.

Learning through Service

 

Roopa packing books for low-income children at Book’em
Written by: Kingsley East

“Volunteering helps me to develop skills, learn more about career options, make friends, spend time, build confidence, and even just shake up my routine.” These are a few of Roopa Srinivasa Rao’s reasons for volunteering, and she encourages others to get involved in their communities as well. Roopa is passionate about helping others, finding solutions to meet people’s needs, and expanding her own network of people. Through volunteering, Roopa has found an outlet for each of these desires.

Roopa serves a non-profit called Book ‘Em that works to provide underprivileged children with books. Since its foundation in 1989, Book ‘Em has donated over one million books to various schools, camps, and programs throughout Middle Tennessee. When Roopa first went to Book ‘Em, she immediately felt appreciated by the staff, comfortable in Book ‘Em’s environment, and inspired by their mission. Having moved to America from India only a year ago, volunteering with Book ‘Em provides Roopa with a growing network of people and a way to spend her time so that it helps others. Additionally, Roopa believes that people gain knowledge through their experiences, and she encourages others to learn new skills through volunteer experiences.

Prioritizing Your Passions

Written by: Kingsley East:  Misty Woodford is a mom, a daughter, a real estate broker, and a volunteer. She leads a life full of caring for others, including her family and the community within her church and children’s school. Misty is passionate about many things, but her children are her top priorities when it comes to choosing how to invest her time. Extending from her family, Misty gives much of her time to the community and the causes surrounding it. Misty believes that the best way to impact and create change is to be involved.

Misty is an incredible example of a working mom who still values giving back to her community. She uses her skills and innovation to find volunteering outlets that align with her own passions and organizational abilities. Misty primarily volunteers at her children’s school through fundraising and training other parents there; however, she also leads a community group with her husband at their church. Misty is gifted in managing groups and events, and she loves to make teams operate more efficiently to meet their goals. Misty believes,

“It doesn’t matter how much time you have or what your skill set is, there’s a place for everyone.”

Misty explained that we’re all talented at something; so, people should use their gifts to improve their communities. We can’t all feed the homeless or go to nursing homes, but when you do something that you’re passionate about, it doesn’t feel like work. Then you get to encourage people more and impact those around you because you enjoy what you’re doing. 

Education equals choices

Charlotte pumping water

Raise the Roof Academy began in 2010 to provide education for orphans and at-risk children. In only five years, the number of students has grown from 30 to 600. Owen says the mission of the school is to provide hope, stability and wholeness to children in need.

“Education equals choices,” says Owen.

The trips to Uganda, which last between 10-14 days, include a variety of activities, such as Vacation Bible School for the students, sponsorship meetings and most recently, building drying racks for the assembly of mud huts.

Owen says she became involved with Raise the Roof Academy because she wanted to give back and wanted her son to experience a mission trip.

“It made me appreciate what we have here in the United States,” says Owen.

Raise the Roof Academy is currently campaigning to build three more permanent classrooms and acquire enough sponsors to support 90 more students. Known as the 390 Campaign, the goal is to reach it before the 2016 school year begins.

If you are interested in supporting Raise the Roof Academy, visit raisetheroofacademy.org for more information.

“A little bit here,” Owen says, “makes a big impact there.”

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Claire Brown is a senior public relations major at Lipscomb University. Claire graduates in May and wants to stay in the Nashville area.