Travellers Rest Historic House Museum

Oct 17, 2023

Mission Statement

Travellers Rest Historic House Museum, Inc. is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the 1799 Overton home and landscape and serving as a gateway for learners of all ages to explore and experience Nashville’s historic past.
For the 2022 Big Payback, we are raising funds to stabilize our historic smokehouse that was built in the 1840s. Preservation of the smokehouse is an integral part of the site’s landscape and overall interpretation, especially since it is one of three historic building on the property. Addressing structural issues and masonry needs will help in preserving the structure for future generations to continue to learn about the history and specific activities and individuals associated with the smokehouse. This benefit is reflected in the organization’s 2020-2025 Strategic Plan where the highest priority is placed on updating and expanding the interpretation of individuals, particularly the enslaved and post-emancipation African Americans who lived and worked at Travellers Rest.

This year we are thrilled to The Henry Laird Smith Foundation providing a dollar for dollar match for the first $5,000 raised.

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Turnip Green Creative Reuse

Oct 17, 2023

Mission Statement

Our mission of fostering creativity and sustainability through reuse guides everything that we do. Creative reuse is an incredibly effective way to keep materials out of our landfills while enhancing our community and helping art come into the world. We partner with artists, schools, teachers, and businesses to breathe new life into old, unwanted, or damaged items that would normally be thrown away. We do this through our pay-what-you-can retail space, education outreach and programming, our Green Gallery and Marketplace, and an inclusive Open Studio which hosts an array of classes and workshops featuring reuse materials.

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UniCycle

Oct 17, 2023

Mission Statement

UniCycle is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) that supports and supplements the work of the Homeless Education Resource Office within Metro Nashville Public Schools. Through volunteer organization, collection drives, fundraising and two signature programs – UniCycle Closets and the HERO Family Fund – community resources are secured and shared to remove barriers to education for students experiencing homelessness.

Uniform + Recycle = UniCycle!

The UniCycle Closet program provides school clothing to students in need within the Metro Nashville Public School system by collecting gently-used items in schools and distributing them at the school level and through a spartnership with the Homeless Education Resource Office. We answer the question of “What can I do with my child’s outgrown school clothing?” while removing an obstacle to education for students in need, lessening the workload for MNPS support staff, offering more clothing choices to students whose families have limited budgets, and giving new life to clothing that is “outgrown, not worn out.”

HERO Family Fund

The HERO Family Fund was launched in 2023 and allows HERO outreach workers to provide basic, critical needs to families immediately. The fund is used for items that are integral to a student or family’s progress, but are not readily available through other community resources. Examples include gas cards or ride-share vouchers; medications or specific healthcare or hygiene products; critical household essentials and work-related items.

We firmly believe that access to school uniforms and basic needs are obstacles to education that can be resolved on the community level, and that by doing so, we can not only bring positive attention to the more than 3,000 students navigating unstable housing each year in our city, but also free up time and resources on the school support staff end so that everyone can better focus on their own piece of the network that it takes to support our most vulnerable students.

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