Best Buddies Saturday Zooms Continue

Covid can't keep us from our Buddies!  Saturday mornings = Zoom parties.  Thanks to the Spellmans and others for keeping this new tradition going!  We also have extra parties when occasions call.  Here we are celebrating with Matt on his birthday.

Service During Covid - A Fall Update for the Alumni Newsletter

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, 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.  In January, 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.  

Several more projects are in the works for the remainder of the semester.  Here are a few.

• Veteran’s Day Projects for Task Force Dagger, Operation Stand Down and Mending Hearts: The Service Club will be raising money for Task Force Dagger in support of our wounded Veterans.  Hats, shirts, water bottles and other gear will be for sale November 6 - 13.  During that same time period we will be collecting 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 we hope the MBA community will help us fill in some of these gaps.  

• Cold Weather Gear Drive for UniCycle and Oasis Center: Beginning in late November, the 7th and 8th grade students, led by their Junior School Service Representatives, will host their annual cold weather gear collection.  Coats, gloves, hand warmers, gift cards and more will be gathered throughout the school and delivered to Nashville’s homeless youth.  Exact needs will be announced at a later date.

• 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.  We are happy to join 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 will feature new patterns at the market.  We will also be selling honey collected by the MBA Beekeeping Club, hot chocolate kits with MBA marshmallows. Christmas tree removal services and a variety of alternative holiday gifts perfect for the person who has it all.  Additionally, the Service Club will offer gift wrapping services on December 5 and December 19, and on other days by appointment.  Get your gifts wrapped beautifully in exchange for a donation to the Service Club!

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.

MBA Makes it to Style Blueprint!

https://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/mba-brad-gioia/

Rally Foundation + MBA = Good Times and Great Work

On Friday, October 26, MBA held our 8th annual 4 Quarters 4 Research event at the football game against Baylor.  Under the leadership of Senior Garrett Murphy and Sophomore Charlie Mason and with the help of the great Elaine Kay and the Rally Kids, our community raised $1150.  A special thanks to our friends from The Baylor School for joining in our cause and giving generously.

Mrs. Kay wrote:

"Thank you all for a wonderful 8th year MBA Rally 4 Quarters 4 Research.  Because of you, an awesome $1,150 was raised to help save kids with cancer!   You all did such a great job organizing, collecting and helping to set up and clean up.  A perfect way to celebrate NO MO CHEMO for sweet Chevanaye and 4 years of cancer free for our ball of energy and goodness, Jessica!

The icing on the cake was a 7-0 WIN over Baylor… Rally On, Big Red!"

Look forward to another event during basketball season and to seeing our Rally friends on campus again soon!

MBA Boys Raise Over $1500 for Hurricane Michael Victims

The MBA community, under the leadership of juniors Sam Kirkpatrick and Will Crawford, partnered with the Sandestin Foundation for Kids to raise money for goods needed by our friends on the Gulf Coast.  The event was a huge success, and we greatly appreciate the generosity of our students, faculty, staff, parents and friends.  Items will be sent to Sandestin to be distributed directly to families affected by Hurricane Michael.

Another BIG Year at Race for the Cure

MBA joined forces with Harpeth Hall again this year for Race for the Cure 2018, and again the event was purposeful and fun and successful by all measures.  Our team of 350 members raised over $9000!  Despite the rain, the crowd was enthusiastic and ready to roll.  A special shout out to the HH and MBA 7th and 8th graders who attended the pre-race service mixer, enjoying donut holes, games, music and hot chocolate.

Thanks to the Browns and Deerkoskis for providing Duncan Donut treats and coffee to round out the fun.

Junior School Gets Its Own SERVICE Trip ... Costa Rica 2019!

For the first time, MBA is proud to offer an international service trip for Junior School boys.  From June 22-29, 2019, a group of MBA volunteers will travel to the rural town of Santa Cruz, in the Guanacaste Province, an area where children are predominantly supported by single mothers working long hours to provide basic needs for their family.  As such, daycares are a centerpiece of a child’s life, providing nutrition, education, and developmental care.  Unfortunately, these centers are often small, understaffed, in poor repair and lack basic resources.  We will work both to improve the facilities and directly with the young people to improve their skills and readiness for primary school.  We will also engage in daily cultural outings and adventures such as surf lessons and ziplining!  The cost of the trip is $2300, including meals in CR, lodging, activities and transportation.

Keep a lookout for additional information in parent newsletters and announcements as the semester goes forward, or contact Ms. Annie B. Williams with any questions you have now.

For a quick overview, look here.