Vote for this year's Strobel Volunteer Awards finalists! 

Hannah Bodoh

Various organizations

In a year of uncertainty and destruction, high schooler Bodoh spent 2020 looking for ways to be a light to others. From delivering meals and cleaning up tornado debris to sewing masks and collecting supplies for those in need, Hannah made a huge impact on the Nashville community. 

Sydnee Floyd

Founder of Jumbled Dreams Saving Lives

When she was just 13 years old, Floyd founded the nonprofit Jumbled Dreams Changing Lives. In 2020 alone, her nonprofit helped 20 different organizations and several thousand individuals through a number of donations, including clothing, toiletry bags, sanitary wipes, first aid kits, backpacks and more. 

Ian Hooper

Urban Bicycle Food Ministry

As a high school student, Hooper became involved with the Urban Bicycle Food Ministry (UBFM) when he was looking to try something new while serving. Since May 2020, he’s logged more than 130 hours of service, biked hundreds of miles and touched countless lives.  

Teaka Jackson

Founder of Love Thy Neighbors

Jackson's organization, Love Thy Neighbors, is geared toward engaging the community through programming, events and initiatives that will aid in providing education, tools, resources and opportunities. 

Laura Prechel

Founder of Charlie's Angels Saving Animals

Prechel has dedicated her life to saving animals from kill shelters in rural Tennessee. Last year she saved more than 2,800 animals from being euthanized, and commits to driving three transports per week to rescues in other states. 

Savanna Starko

Gilda's Club Middle Tennessee

Starko led virtual meditation sessions for Gilda’s Club members during the pandemic, creating a safe, calming space for for people affected by cancer to not only practice mindfulness and relaxation, but also connect and share in ways that foster a sense of community.

Dennis Caffrey

Siloam Health

Caffrey has donated more than 5,000 hours volunteering with Siloam Health. He assists with translating written documents, and helping patients feel comfortable while receiving care. During the pandemic Caffrey served as an interpreter on the front lines as medical staff treated COVID-19 patients.

Kathy Halbrooks

PFLAG, Open Table Nashville, others

Halbrooks has been an ally for the LGBTQ+ community for 19 years. She serves on the board of PFLAG Nashville, is the regional director for PFLAG Nationa, and has volunteered on the board of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition and GLSEN Tennessee.

Stephen Kohl

UpRise Nashville

Kohl has devoted hundreds of hours to repairing cars to ensure UpRise's emerging leaders can get to class, and ultimately, their new jobs. Helping resolve transportation issues is a critical way to help individuals out of living paycheck to paycheck.

Bridge Builders

Families and individuals in Nashville
 

Amid a devastating pandemic that has wreaked havoc on our community and, in particular, families, Bridge Builders went the extra mile to meet the needs of people across the city. From connecting students to resources like haircuts and school supplies to delivering water and meals to senior residents, Bridge Builders impacted the community in immeasurable ways. 

Charlotte Heights Church of Christ

Shower The People

Motivated by widespread need and refusing to be held back by a devastating pandemic, the Charlotte Heights Church of Christ volunteer group joined forces with local nonprofit Shower the People to provide weekly shower services and hygiene supplies for homeless Nashvillians. In doing so, they harnessed the power of collaboration to yield an exponential impact on the city. 

The Winter Canvassing Team

Open Table Nashville

An interfaith homeless outreach nonprofit with the goal of disrupting cycles of poverty, Open Table Nashville’s winter canvassing team served as a consistent source of warmth for the city’s homeless population, during a particularly harsh winter. They provided transportation, performed wellness checks, and ultimately, helped prevent cold-weather death and injury. 

Jena Altstatt

Hands On Nashville

When the March 2020 tornado struck Nashville, Jena Altstatt jumped into action, immediately reaching out to Hands On Nashville to see how she could help. She quickly became instrumental in training and deploying 100 volunteer leaders to the hurting community. 

 Corrie Anderson

Community Resource Center

Stricken by the March 2020 tornado and global pandemic, Corrie Anderson channeled her time and energy into Nashville’s recovery efforts. She dedicated her time and energy to the Community Resource Center of Nashville (CRC), helping to raise awareness, recruit volunteers and, ultimately, maximize their level of support for the city’s most impacted populations. 

Suzanne Hartness

Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands

Motivated by the cause of the Legal Aid Society of Middle TN and the Cumberlands, Suzanne Hartness made it her own personal mission to grow the nonprofit. From event planning and fundraising to development and outreach efforts, Suzanne ensured its longevity in serving Nashville’s hardest-hit citizens.  

Greta McClain

Silent No Longer

Silent No Longer’s mission is to support, empower, and advocate for sexual assault survivors through the creation of safe spaces for survivors to share their story in creative ways, to provide survivors, allies, and advocates the skills required to organize and advocate for themselves and others, and to dismantle stereotypes and erode the systemic causes of sexual violence through awareness, education, and the legislative process.

Meredith McKinney

Book'em

McKinney created The Black Book Project, an initiative designed to get diverse books into the hands of Nashville’s kids. The project aims to raise awareness about the importance of children seeing themselves in the books they read, and celebrate the authors and publishers working to provide more diverse representation in children’s literature.

Donna Pack

Nashville International Center for Empowerment

Pack serves more than 20 hours a week for the refugee community around Nashville, working closely with the Community Resource Center and NICE. The volunteers and organizations she works with have lovingly nicknamed her “St. Donna of Nolensville Road.

Maria Amado

Community Resource Center

Amado, CRC's volunteer board chair, has spent countless hours in the warehouse, helping make sure survivors of multiple 2020 disasters got access to the critical items they needed to recover. 

Emergency Response Unit

Office of Emergency Management

When people see the members of the Emergency Response Unit on the news, they usually don't realize that these more than 40 highly trained first responders and rescue workers are volunteers who also have 9-to-5 jobs.

Nicholas Renfroe

North Nashville tornado relief

In the aftermath of the tornado, Renfroe recruited volunteers to help with cleanup and donations in North Nashville. He also launched an app to help his church congregation stay connected during the pandemic when they couldn't meet in person.