If you are interested in supporting the relief efforts for the August Flood 2021 survivors, please make a gift to the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.
Tennessee Emergency Response FundFOLLOW CFMT'S TORNADO RESPONSE
Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund Activated by CFMT Due to Destructive Tornadoes and Severe Storms
In the wake of destructive tornadoes, power outages, road closures and rescues throughout Davidson and surrounding counties, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has activated the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund to support the affected communities and nonprofits helping victims address their ongoing needs.
Grants from the Fund will be made to nonprofits providing vital services both immediate and long term. Our work helps free nonprofits up to concentrate on delivering vital services while we “connect generosity with need” and our community sets out to rebuild lives.
“We know when disasters strike, there are no quick fixes,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “We need to support the affected communities and the nonprofits on the ground helping victims and addressing their needs.”
MAKE A GIFT
Your tax-deductible gift will be reflected on your credit card statement as The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
To donate by check, make it out to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and note the Fund name in the memo line.
Mail your donation to:
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
P.O. Box 440225
Nashville, TN 37244
Also, the nonprofit Hands On Nashville is working with the city’s Office of Emergency Management to determine what the volunteer needs are at this time. If you are interested in volunteering for disaster relief efforts, please visit: bit.ly/32MpoiC (hon.org is currently experiencing technical difficulties due to an outpouring of amazing folks trying to sign up to help.)
To donate goods: The nonprofit Community Resource Center (www.crcnashville.org/) is the official agency for product donation. The CRC is specifically looking for personal hygiene products, bleach, trash bags, box cutters, and gloves at this time.
From the Associated Press: Tornadoes ripped across Tennessee early Tuesday, shredding at least 40 buildings and killing at least 19 people. One of the twisters caused severe damage across downtown Nashville, destroying the stained glass in a historic church and leaving hundreds of people homeless.
Daybreak revealed a landscape littered with blown-down walls and roofs, snapped power lines and huge broken trees, leaving city streets in gridlock. Schools, courts, transit lines, an airport and the state Capitol were closed, and some damaged polling stations had to be moved only hours before Super Tuesday voting began.
The death toll jumped to 19 on Tuesday, Tennessee Emergency Management Spokeswoman Maggie Hannan said, after police and fire crews spent hours pulling survivors and bodies from wrecked buildings.
“Last night was a reminder about how fragile life is,” Nashville Mayor John Cooper said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
The Community Foundation has been involved in disaster response funding for more than two decades, including the 1993 ice storm and 1998 tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, and in 2004 when a tsunami slammed ashore in Southeast Asia. Historic Tennessee flooding in 2010 resulted in 21 deaths across the state and $2 billion in damages to private property in the Nashville area alone.
Through collaborative work with many local organizations and entities of government, a plan was outlined that resulted in The Community Foundation becoming an integrated part of the Nashville official disaster manual created by the Office of Emergency Management and has been designated by the city of Nashville as the central repository for giving at the time of disaster.
This collaborative work and advance planning served our community and Middle Tennessee well during the 1,000-year flood of 2010 and the region’s record-breaking recovery.
About The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
The Community Foundation exists to promote and facilitate giving in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee and beyond. It does this by accepting gifts of any size from anyone at any time and by empowering individuals, families, companies, nonprofits, and communities to respond to needs and opportunities that matter. The Community Foundation works with people who have great hearts, whether or not they have great wealth, to craft solutions that reflect their intentions and goals. For more information, call 615-321-4939.
