The 20th anniversary for Hands On Nashville Day, a fund-raising and community service event for Hands On Nashville (HON), took place on Sept. 24. Forty-eight College of Arts and Sciences faculty, staff, students and family members worked side by side with ten other Belmont students to create two Belmont teams for HON Day. In addition, three CAS faculty members donated funds to cover the HON donation request for students who couldn’t afford to make a donation. This was the largest Hands On Nashville Day on record.
One Belmont team worked at Smithson-Craighead Middle School, where Education Assistant Professor Myron Oglesby-Pitts is principal, and the other team worked at Haywood Elementary School along with some teachers and students of that school. The volunteers had a great time getting to know the teachers and children they were servicing.
The groups spent the morning spreading mulch, trimming bushes, painting hallways, door frames, window frames, doors, classrooms, portable classrooms, playground equipment and a storage shed. Belmont representatives worked hard taping, painting, raking and moving mulch, but everyone was full of smiles and laughter, having a great time enjoying good company and knowing the work they were doing would have a positive impact on the school’s learning environment.
Several comments were made about how insignificant the work seemed, until the volunteers stepped back at the end of their volunteer time and looked at the whole project. The classrooms, hallways, main entry and grounds had been transformed, appearing fresh and like new.
Six members of Belmont’s Chapter of the Mathematics Association of American and Association of Computing Machinery (MAACM) participated in Hands on Nashville. They went to Charlotte Park Elementary School and painted, spread mulch and planted flowers.
College of Law Students Serve the Community
The Lawyers’ Association for Women (LAW) also hosted a community service day project in conjunction with Hands on Nashville. The organization was created to provide opportunities for women lawyers to build a network between one another, both socially and professionally. Within the professional arena, LAW promotes career opportunities for women lawyers, as well as encouraging women’s active participation in existing bar organizations and women’s nominations to the bench. LAW partnered with Hands on Nashville to serve at an underserved Metro Nashville school. 
LAW invited students from Belmont’s College of Law to participate in this day of service. Betsy Appleton, Brittany Dugas, Callie Hinson and Kimberlee McTorry, all members of the charter class, participated in the community service project. The students completed handiwork, such as painting and landscaping at a Metro Nashville School, while networking with the members of LAW. The College of Law students were excited to participate in this organization’s day of service, as well as give back to the community that will be their home for the next three years.
