COVID-19 has brought both challenges and opportunities for growth to the boys of the MBA Service Club. The needs of our community partners are greater than ever, but the traditional ways of meeting those needs simply do not work during a global pandemic. Barriers and complications have not stopped the Service Club. We simply have put on our thinking caps, engaged our creativity and continued to move forward.
Last March, the tornado put an abrupt end to our ability to prepare and serve our monthly meal at Loaves & Fishes, our nearly 40-year-old partnership with Catholic Charities. With the virus hitting hard right after the physical destruction of the neighborhoods surrounding Holy Name Church, we have not been able to return since. In the meantime, hunger and homelessness issues have grown, and we have continued our support. What began initially with sack lunches has turned into a catered meal prepared monthly by our friends at Eastwood Deli Company. While the building remains closed, the Service Club has sponsored delicious, seasonally appropriate take out lunches. Recently, to make sure the boys remain engaged, we have been packing and providing provisions bags to go along with the meals. Socks, masks, nutritious snacks, special treats, toothbrushes, hand warmers, notes of encouragement and more have been included.
The tornado and virus also disrupted the weekly tutoring program at East Park Community Center, but they did not stop the Service Club. With the prevalence of online school, tutoring needs are greater than ever. Saturday Scholars is our new online tutoring program for students around Nashville. We pair students who need help with an MBA boy, and they meet one-on-one every Saturday morning via Zoom, Google Meet or FaceTime. Through the online platform, the Service Club has expanded the number of students and schools served. To learn more, visit us at https://www.montgomerybell.edu/programs/overview-of-student-life/service-club/community-education.
Best Buddies has continued to be active with weekly Saturday morning Zoom parties, virtual birthday parties, and more. On Saturday, October 31, the Service Club hosted a drive-through parade as part of the Best Buddies Friendship Walk. The Parade of Heroes included MBA boys dressed as superheroes, decorated cars and more. Thanks to David Wilson (MBA ‘98) for loaning us amazing costumes! Students of Mr. Kelly or classmates of Robert Sawyer may be interested in a competition the boys cooked up to see which one of THEM would don a superhero costume! The boys voted with their money, and Mr. Sawyer “won,” and the student leaders raised $625 for Best Buddies.
We have been busy with many other events as well.
Second Harvest: The MBA community again set a new record with Second Harvest donations during homecoming week, and the Service Club followed up with sorting sessions at the Second Harvest warehouse. On Saturday, October 24, fifteen students and two faculty members spent three hours working to get hungry Nashvillians fed. Additional events are being scheduled for later this semester and the spring.
Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer: Losing the opportunity to COVID for our traditional 4 Quarters for Research during this football season, the Service Club held our first ever Outdoor Movie Night on October 24. The ticket price included a COVID-safe showing of Pirates of the Caribbean, all-you-can-eat popcorn and candy, a blanket and an MBA mask compliments of the Mother’s Club. After braving the rain and other roadblocks, the event was a huge success, raising $1500 for Rally.
Urban Housing Solutions: On Saturday, September 26, a small group of MBA students and faculty gathered to prepare dinner for our friends at Mercury Court. While our Last Saturday Dinners program typically is served white tablecloth style to seated guests, the Service Club focused on equally as delicious take-out dinners.
Past Preservers: Past Preservers, the history related service project, has been spent several Saturdays working around Nashville. While working on the grounds and otherwise supporting Fort Negley, Glen Leven, Shy’s Hill and other spots, the boys serve and learn about and explore history sites at the same time.
Just.Wash: Over Homecoming Week, the Service Club extended our relationship with Justice Industries by bringing Just.Wash to MBA for the first time, offering its mobile car washing service on campus. Just.Wash and our ongoing collaboration with Just.Glass bring employment and dignity “to those who find it difficult to obtain and retain work because of barriers, such as criminal history, addiction recovery, mental illness, domestic abuse, and generational poverty.”
Komen Foundation More Than Pink Walk: COVID, Homecoming and the SAT took away our ability to participate in this year’s More Than Pink Walk on its scheduled day, but the Service Club did not rest! The boys hosted our own COVID-friendly More Than Pink Walk at the MBA track on October 10. Despite the barriers, including constant rain, the Service Club raised almost $3000 for breast cancer research.
Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital: On PSAT Day, October 14, the Service Club worked with Seniors and their 7th grade little brothers to complete almost 400 craft kits for the patients at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. Because of COVID, the patients cannot leave their rooms for the community activity area, so the staff brings the fun to them. Each kit contains everything they need to complete one of six different craft projects, and we were happy to do our part in making the kids’ days a little brighter. On January 29, the Service Club will host our Second Annual Montgomery Bell Miracle dance marathon to benefit the Children’s Hospital.
Mending Hearts: On PSAT Day the boys also put together Happy Halloween treat bags for the ladies at Mending Hearts. Since we cannot celebrate the holidays in person with them this year, we wanted to send our love another way. Each bag contained a unique fabric mask (as sold by the Service Club), candy, spiced tea mix, black and orange halloween necklaces and more Halloween treats. On November 7, the Service Club will have a work day on the Mending Hearts campus, putting to work their raking, sweeping, trimming and other outdoor skills.
Safe Vote Kits: On October 28, the Service Club joined hands with the girls at www.safevotekits.com to put together kits full of tools to help voters feel safe at the polls. Hand sanitizer, a mask, a pair of gloves and a mint made up the almost 750 kits we assembled on Wednesday morning.
Veteran’s Day Projects for Task Force Dagger, Operation Stand Down and Mending Hearts: The Service Club raised money for Task Force Dagger in support of our wounded Veterans and collected gently used business attire for the men and women at Operation Stand Down and Mending Hearts. Many of our friends do not have appropriate clothing for interviews and work, and the MBA community worked to fill in some of these gaps.
Cold Weather Gear Drive for UniCycle, Oasis Center and Blanket Nashville: Beginning in late November, the 7th and 8th grade students, led by their Junior School Service Representatives, began their annual cold weather gear collection. The collection continues through mid-January, and we welcome your donations. The list of needed items includes coats, hats, gloves, jeans/joggers, hoodies, blankets, hand and foot warmers, and gift cards to 24-hours fast food restaurants and gas stations. You may also join our virtual drive at https://cold-weather-gear-drive-101248.square.site/.
Holiday Bazaar and Gift Wrapping Services: The Service Club raises money to support all of our projects and receives no direct funding from the school. As COVID took away most of our fundraising sources, like bake sales and reserved parking for football games, we have gotten creative in closing some of the gaps created by those losses. This year we joined forces again with the MBA Mother’s Club by participating in their Holiday Bazaar on December 5. Since March, we have sold unique, comfortable and CDC-compliant face masks made by a family company in Chicago, and we added a variety of other items for the very successful market. We even tried our hand at gift-wrapping!
Last Minute Toy Store: For a number of years MBA students have helped with the Last Minute Toy Store. Whether a shopping assistant, a translator for spanish-speaking families, or a bag-to-car carrier, students have been essential to the store’s running smoothly. MBA also has supported the store during the setup and breakdown periods. As with many things, COVID changed this year’s Last Minute Toy Store, and many MBA students were not able to attend in person. Not to be deterred, the Service Club, led by Matthew Thayer (‘22), held a very successful toy drive. The MBA community showed up, and we gathered a load of gifts for the kids of Nashville. At the last minute, members of the hockey team were able to help in person and helped make this year’s drive-in store a great success!
As we move into the second semester, we hope to expand opportunities to improve ourselves, our community and our world. The Service Club greatly appreciates the support of the MBA family as we seek to fulfill our mission “to give back to the larger Nashville community and to help boys realize their own roles as leaders within our city and world. We hope that over time MBA gentlemen will learn to appreciate their relationships with others across the sometimes limiting lines of race, ethnicity, economic status, and other group identifications and to experience the value of working together towards common good.”
For more information about the MBA Service Club, please visit our website at https://www.montgomerybell.edu/programs/overview-of-student-life/service-club or contact the Annie B. Williams at annie.b.williams@montgomerybell.edu or 615-369-5333.
