Tag: Outreach

Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Healing, Love, Philanthropy, Uncategorized

A Fresh Start

By Moses Malone

Sylvie Lawrence, a ShowerUp Volunteer, speaks about how the non-profit organization ShowerUp serves those that are unhoused or anyone that is in need of a helping hand. They provide mobile showers, hygiene kits, laundry, and personal care items. Their main goal is to spread hope and love to the community of Chattanooga Tennessee.

On a beautiful, chilly morning, amid the city sounds of traffic and train rumbles, laughter and cries of joy fill the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. These cheerful groups stand outside a mobile trailer that promises a hot, steamy shower for the unhoused and those who need a helping hand. On the side of the trailer, the word “ShowerUp” reads: a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing hope, love, and compassion to the Chattanooga community.

“ShowerUp, in my own words, is this non-profit that is there for other people…we want to evaluate the dignity that they [the unhoused] already have and let them know what they’re really worth,” said John Justin Lin, a ShowerUp Operational Manager.

ShowerUp’s journey began 10 years ago, when Paul and Rhonda Schmitz handed out sandwiches to the unhoused. They built relationships with people on the streets and realized that they could do more than provide meals. The couple asked themselves: What do people need most? The answer to that wasn’t money, food, or clothes; it was a regular shower. Since then, a mobile community built on compassion has expanded from Nashville, TN, to Chattanooga in June 2023.

Continue reading “A Fresh Start” →
Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, Diversity, Family, Hugs, Sports, teachers

Role Making Chainbreakers

Written by Lexi Foley

Corey Craddock dribbles at Carver Community Center. Thursday, November 21, 2024. (Photo by: Lexi Foley).

Echoes of squeaky shoes and the clap of a basketball compete with the shouts of Corey Craddock as he stops the game for the tenth time to “dispute a call”—in reality, the aging man just needed a break. His team laughed as they recorded an interview of how he’d been feeling about his game. 

Because these courts are in the middle of a high-crime area, men walk through the doors of Carver Community Center and have their bags and coats checked. A security guard wands down their personnel to make sure no weapons are hidden. Chattanooga’s violent crime rate is 282% higher than the national average. One in 16 residents in Chattanooga is at risk of becoming a victim of violent crime. But despite the precautious entrance to the courts, Craddock found hope hooping with his brothers.

These are the 423 chain breakers. 

Continue reading “Role Making Chainbreakers” →
Animals, Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, donate, Environment, Family, Food, Healing, Health, History, Love, outdoors, Philanthropy

Protecting Pets

Written by Olivia Smith

Alyssia Rich, left, trims Terri Greer’s dogs nails during a routine free pet food & supply delivery to a local neighborhood. Thursday, February 22, 2024. (Photo by Noah Camacho)

McKamey Animal Center is ten miles from Alton Park, one of the poorest zip codes in Tennessee. The Center is a thirty-minute drive but without other means of transportation, a three-and-a-half-hour walk, one way. 

During MAC C.A.R.E.S grand opening, Heather Hensley, the Community Solutions Manager at McKamey said, “Being at MetMin [Metropolitan Ministries] is such a big relief, we are closer to Alton Park and other populations that are looking for this assistance… We can spread the love so much better by being here with MetMin.”

In late January McKamey Animal Center and Metropolitan Ministries Impact Hub partnered to open MAC C.A.R.E.S Center. Located at 4001 Rossville Blvd., less than two miles from Alton Park. 

The grand opening being at noon, staff spent their morning giving pet supplies to people in need.

“More than half of MetMins clients have pets, they were already talking about this,” Hensley said. “As we were unloading food this morning people were coming to us, so we were giving it out.” 

Continue reading “Protecting Pets” →
Chattanooga, Chattanooga outreach, community, Daily Life, outdoors, Sports

Chatt Town Skate Clinic

Written by Noah Camacho

Skateboard instructor Gray Joyce gives a run down of the Outdoor Chattanooga learn to skate clinic held in Chattanooga’s Chatt Town skate park.

Surrounded by ramps, rails, ledges, and skateboards, families gather to spend a couple of hours learning how to skateboard. Alongside trained instructors, beginner skateboarders learn the basics of skateboarding at the Learn to Skate Clinic. 

Outdoor Chattanooga hosts a learn-to-skateboard class at the Chatt Town skatepark in downtown Chattanooga. During this class, equipment is provided ranging from helmets to kneepads—and most importantly, skateboards.

The class was led by Gray Joyce and Patrick Sheel, local skateboarders who are highly skilled and have extensive skateboarding knowledge.

According to Joyce, beginners should start the class by having a group stretch, which is crucial in skateboarding as it mostly involves their legs. The skateboarders are then taught how to ride a board properly and how to find their center of gravity.

Learning to push and having good foot positioning during this sport is one of the most important things to learn as a beginner, and one must have a firm understanding of both of these before they can move onto bigger obstacles. 

Continue reading “Chatt Town Skate Clinic” →
Chattanooga, community, Daily Life, Healing, Health, Nurses, women

Sight & Hope Restored

By Anna Truss

Kathleen Stephens stands on a hill in front of the dock in the Chickamauga Dam Day Use Area. Wednesday, November 23, 2022. (Photo by Anna Truss).

While many people plan to retire fully by 65, that dream is not always a reality for everyone. Kathleen Stephens, a resident of Hamilton County, TN, is still a full time certified nursing assistant at the age of 79.

“I still work full time and I thank God for that because I can see what I’m doing, because before I wouldn’t have been able to see,” Stephens said.

Continue reading “Sight & Hope Restored” →