Hands on Nashville ready to deploy more than 22,500 volunteers for tornado relief

More than 22,500 people have signed up at the Hands on Nashville website, ready to help with the seemingly overwhelming cleanup and relief from the devastating tornado that ravaged Middle Tennessee this week.

"We are at 22,500 volunteers and still working on details for Saturday and Sunday," said HON spokeswoman Lindsey Turner, who said, "They just keep coming."

She said every effort will be made to offer volunteer opportunities to all of the people who signed up, either this weekend or as the response continues.

Turner said that Hands on Nashville President Lori Shinton met Thursday morning with the Office of Emergency Management to hash out a plan for how and where the volunteers would start the massive cleanup work this weekend.

The mayor's office and Hands on Nashville earlier announced there would be volunteer days Saturday and Sunday in the areas impacted by the tornado. The weekend shifts are from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Turner was not sure how many volunteers would be assigned but said there will definitely be many other opportunities as the cleanup continues. 

"We keep saying this is a marathon, not a sprint," Turner said. "The needs are going to be ongoing." 

She said HON staffers planned to visit the sites Thursday to confirm they are safe and appropriate for large-scale volunteer efforts before posting the opportunities on their website Friday. 

Although there will likely be some volunteer opportunities for teens and families with younger children, Turner said, "That is hard to determine at this point."  

Hands on Nashville has a staff of about 15 employees and a typical monthly calendar offering about 300 volunteer opportunities, so a massive multi-site disaster response like this, with more than 20,000 volunteers, is a "little bit" overwhelming, Turner admitted. But she quickly added that the generous response from so many people is "a good problem to have."

"I think that what we are seeing again is an outpouring of totally overwhelming support of people who want to help," Turner said. She said that like the response to the flood 10 years ago, it has been "inspiring" to see tragedy bring people together. 

"They want to be 'Nashville Strong,' " she said. "We have had people calling and coming in from all over the country wanting to help, saying they want to bring food, bring tools, do whatever they can to help. It really is inspiring."   

How to sign up to volunteer

Interested volunteers can sign up for the weekend cleanup effort at www.hon.org. Hands on Nashville says it will be in touch with more details on how to get involved. And you can go to the site to see what opportunities are posted.

How to post a volunteer project

In addition to the Hands on Nashville volunteer offering, groups and organizations can post their own projects at www.hon.org. Turner also noted that the projects can be in other counties as well as Davidson.

As of Wednesday night, more than a dozen tornado-related projects, ranging from neighborhood cleanups to the need for translators and to sorting opportunities, had been posted. 

Community Resource Center update 

The Community Resource Center, 218 Omohundro Place, is accepting donations of items other than used clothing. Most needed items include personal hygiene items, bleach, trash bags, gloves and box cutters, tarps, plastic coverings, trash cans, buckets, laundry detergent, flat-nosed shovels, heavy-duty rakes, brooms and mops. They also want new clothes and over-the-counter medicines, including cough and cold medicines and cough drops. More details at www.crcnashville.org. 

Vanderbilt Athletics is hosting a donation drive for the center from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday before the men’s basketball home game against South Carolina. The community is asked to bring the above items as well as gloves, baby and toddler clothes, formula, underwear, bras, batteries and baby food.

The drive is in the McGugin Center parking lot at 2601 Jess Neely Drive. The first 500 people who donate will also receive a ticket to the men’s basketball game, which tips off at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. Learn more at vucommodores.com/donation-drive-set-for-saturday.

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”