On the morning of March 3, tornadoes hit Middle Tennessee. As of today, twenty-four people have died with dozens missing. Putnam County, 70 miles east of Nashville, and East Nashville were hit hardest.
As Vanderbilt students, we’ve heard about and seen how the tornado affected the Nashville community and the damage it caused. We urge you to keep in mind that most of the deaths occurred in Putnam County. If you live in Nashville, consider donating money to help those who are further from you. Below are a few ways to help.
Donate
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee activated their Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund to support victims and address their needs. You can contribute to the fund by giving here. The fund will provide grants to nonprofits to support their short-term and long-term responses to the tornado.
Volunteer
Hands on Nashville is organizing volunteers to help with relief efforts. You can express interest here. More opportunities will become available as Hands on Nashville identifies specific needs and projects for volunteers.
Additionally, visit the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee website for more information on relief efforts and how you can help.
Other ways to help
While there are many ways to help today and this week, there will be other opportunities to serve in the coming weeks and months as these communities rebuild. If you can’t commit to helping this week, consider serving in the future after the initial response has subsided.
In the face of unexpected tragedy, often the best thing we can to do is to continue with our daily routines. If you’re a Nashvillian, support local businesses. And if you’re free on Thursday night, consider going to Strings for Hope’s concert benefiting Nashville tornado relief. Strings for Hope is a Nashville-based social enterprise that recycles used musical strings into jewelry to support women survivors of addiction, domestic violence, and human trafficking. Yesterday, they announced that profits from their concert this Thursday will go to the CMFT Emergency Response Fund.
To stay up to date on ways to help those affected by the tornado, follow The Tennessean‘s coverage and read The Center for Disaster Philanthropy‘s blog.
Follow Novel Hand on instagram (@novel.hand) and like us on Facebook for more updates. We’ll continue to share ways to help in the coming weeks.
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