Hands On Nashville Day is HON’s signature annual day of service in which thousands of volunteers mobilize to complete done-in-a-day projects across the city. The future of HON Day is under evaluation. 

HON Day history

In 1992, the first Hands On Nashville Day invited volunteers to gather in downtown Nashville to receive their project assignments. They fanned out all over town and painted schools, built low-income housing, spruced up parks, and much more. More than 1,100 volunteers participated that year. 

In recent years, HON Day has benefited Metro Nashville Public Schools through projects including landscaping, tree planting, painting, school garden installation, and education-themed mural creation. HON Day projects were typically held at schools with a large percentage of students and families utilizing the school’s free lunch program. The initiative was a partnership between HON, MNPS, the Mayor’s Office, and Metro Nashville Public Works. 

HON paused HON Day in 2019 to plan for 10,000 for 10, a three-part spring 2020 event that would have included HON Day, the Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards, and more. 10,000 for 10 and HON Day 2020 were canceled due to COVID-19 safety precautions.