News & Photos
Huge Spike in Basic Needs Hits Nashville, You Respond!
October 18, 2011United Way of Metropolitan Nashville donors and volunteers culminated a 45-day blitz on September 30, 2011, to help replenish basic needs supplies for United Way partner agencies serving Nashville’s most vulnerable families, with a Day of Action in which volunteers sorted, packed, loaded and delivered more than 9,600 basic needs items to agencies throughout the community.
Multiple companies participated by hosting Basic Needs drives for items such as canned foods, socks, personal care items and cleaning supplies, and/or sending volunteers for the Day of Action. Nearly 300 total volunteer hours were logged to sort and package the basic needs items. UPS®, a United Way partner, provided complete logistics services with manager/drivers and trucks onsite to load and deliver the goods to agencies that serve families facing hunger and housing challenges.
Calls to United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline for help with food and essentials increased by more than a third in June, July and August over the same period last year, to almost 20,000 calls. In August alone, calls requesting assistance with food, shelter and other essentials grew 23%.
With unemployment rates remaining high, the nature of the calls is shifting, said United Way Board Chair Margaret Dolan. “Many individuals and families calling United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline now are people who have been laid off or whose jobs have been eliminated, and many of them are highly educated with a good work history in stable fields like finance,” said Dolan.
Goods gathered during United Way’s Basic Needs Day of Action will be distributed through 38 United Way partner agencies.
