Volunteer Canada "On the Road"

This past week I did a little travelling of my own and headed down south to Tennessee and see for my self the effects of the recent flood. Upon first glance things seem business as usual, the bright lights of Music Row are shining and the capitol building is standing tall, however it's when you get off of highway 40 and into the communities that you truly see the effect the recent flood has had. When I finally landed in Nasdhville one week after the flood, the main street in downtown Nashville was still wet with flood waters, the cumberland river was still racing and the smell of dampened foundations, wet wood and generator exhaust hung heavy in the air. It ios estimated that there has been 1.56 billion dollars worth of damage in Middle Tennessee and from the absolute destruction of Opry Mills (which includes the Opryland Hotel, Mall and Theatre) to the rows upon rows of personal belongings outside waiting for pickup that now replace the sidewalk within teh neighborhoods of Nashville - it is clear that it's going to take a while before business as usual truly returns.



An example of one of the many homes in Brentwood, Tennessee effected by teh flood. As you can see their ruined belongings now line the side of the street to be picked up by Metro Services. Unfortunately, they are not unique in this situation as this scene repeated itself house by house throughout the affected neighbourhoods.

While in Nashville I was given the opporunity to volunteer my time with the flood relief efforts in a few different capactiies. With Hands On Nashville helping with volunteer placement, in one of the many disaster relief centres and down at the Nashville Farmers Market. Whether taking calls from eager volunteers at Hands On or handing out necessities in Bellevue, I was blown away by the positivity and willingness to help by all involved. For example Middle Tennesseans who were looking to recieve aid would in turn ask how they could be helping others, at one aid distribution location there were TOO MANY volunteers and at the Farmers Market so many people showed up to help it took little time to have the market looking as good as new!

Working alongside these passionate individuals reaffirmed my belief that volunteers and volunteerism helps us change the world, change lives and make our communities better places to live. The volunteer community in Middle Tennessee immediately organized and was ready and willing to begin rebuilding their communities the moment the flood waters finally diasspeared. It is their hard work and big hearts that will be the reason that Nashville, in time will recover, rebuild and grow together to continue to be one of the most beautiful and friendliest places in the South.

Thank you to all the volunteers I had the pleasure of working alongside and Hands On Nashville for being such a solid place for the community to turn to in their time of need. Your organization, passion and leadership will be at the heart of recovery for Middle Tennesseans as they recover from May's flood.