About the Service Club

List of 26 frequently asked questions.

• Abe's Garden

   MBA has a powerful, rewarding connection with the elderly residing at Abe's Garden and Park Manor retirement homes. This strong connection was interrupted during the covid lockdown, but MBA has returned to its regular visits with precautions. MBA and Harpeth Hall musicians and singers perform a monthly medley of songs for residents of Abe's Garden (a senior home for patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s) and Park Manor. Additionally, at Park Manor, many elderly people enjoy playing board games and working on puzzles during their activity period with MBA students. MBA students also volunteer on the Abe's Garden side of the project in various ways with residents who have Alzheimer's disease. The generational connection of MBA students with the elderly in our community is a win-win for both the young and the old. The residents appreciate the music and the companionship, while reciprocally, the MBA boys enjoy the chance to make the day brighter for the seniors.

• Best Buddies

  The mission of Best Buddies of Tennessee is “to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)”. This will be MBA’s ninth school year working with Best Buddies to further this goal. Watch the announcements and Service Club calendar for more information and more fun opportunities.

• Bottles for Bucks

  Bottles for Bucks encourages recycling at the football games. During the game, students teach kids to recycle by running the Bottles for Bucks stand. The Bottles for Bucks stand is a game where kids attending the football game can turn in 10 plastic bottles to earn a $1 coupon at the concession stand. Shifts allow volunteers to watch the game and volunteer in the same night. Bottles for Bucks champions recycling during football games, fostering an environment of sustainability and education. Throughout the event, students take the lead by operating the Bottles for Bucks booth. This interactive stand functions as a unique game, enabling young kids to exchange 10 plastic bottles for $1 coupon redeemable at the concession stand.  Shifts allow volunteers to watch the game and volunteer in the same night! 

• Catholic Charities Refugee and Immigration Services

  The 2023-2024 school year will be the second year that MBA is partnering with Catholic Charities’ Refugee and Immigration Service. This group provides support to children aged 5 to 14 who have immigrated to the United States from all over the world. The program has a blended focus on academic lessons and tutoring, the development of emotional resilience and coping skills, and recess. MBA students support the after-school programs across Nashville by helping kids with their homework, playing outside with them, distributing snacks, assisting other volunteers on specific projects, and generally helping the kids in any way we can. 

• Cellophony

  Established by Hamilton Berry, class of 2003, Cellophony is a student-run concert supporting Nashville's W.O. Smith Music School, which provides quality music instruction to children from low-income families. By showcasing the talent of the musicians here at MBA, we hope to help children across the city open new doors into their own musical potentials. 

  Cellophony originally started, as the name suggests, with two cellos playing classical music as well as arrangements of songs by Radiohead and the Beatles, but has since expanded to include other instruments, vocalists, and many musical genres. 

• Donate Life Tennessee: LifeSavers

  MBA’s partnership with Tennessee Donor Services helps raise awareness for people to apply to become organ donors.  Many people in MBA’s community have been affected by organ and tissue donations. Thus, MBA continues to help raise awareness for the meaningful and important act of becoming a registered organ and tissue donor.  Tennessee Donor Services is a group of professionals who help facilitate organ, eye, and tissue donations throughout the Middle Tennessee area. Donate Life Tennessee is the organ and tissue donor registry that people of Tennessee can join to help save lives. 

   

  https://donatelifetn.org/Donor/LearnMore 

  https://tds.dcids.org 

• Elijah's Heart

  The 2023-2024 school year is the second year MBA is partnering with Elijah’s Heart to bring relief to the underserved communities in Nashville through the Walk of Love. Volunteers distribute food, water, sanitary supplies, and other necessities door to door in Nashville’s most impoverished communities. Elijah’s Heart also runs the Fresh Market which provides fresh healthy produce, meats, and ready made meals to those who are in need of such commodities. We will be assisting Papa Joe and his team of volunteers and staff to set up and participate in the Walk of Love and Fresh Market.

• Fannie Battle

  Each year members of the MBA choral program join this Nashville tradition.  Caroling typically in the neighborhood adjacent to MBA, students work to raise money for the Fannie Battle Day Home for Children, an organization dedicated "provid[ing] accessible and affordable high-quality childcare while empowering families to reach their fullest potential."  

• Harpeth Conservancy

  As we enter our third year partnering with the Harpeth Conservancy, we are excited for another year of protecting our local ecosystems. The Harpeth Conservancy is an organization dedicated to cleaning up impacted communities around the Harpeth river and its tributaries. As we join the Conservancy with making our local ecosystems a cleaner place, volunteers will help clean up trash, create new habitats for animals, plant trees, remove invasive plants, and many more fun projects. 

• Holiday Market

  This year's Holiday Market will be held on December 2, 2023, in MBA's Gioia Commons.  The Service Club will again operate the Holiday Market Cafe to raise money for projects to be completed in 2024 in Greece, Guatemala and Ghana.  We will also have a Service Club booth where we will sell student-made items and alternative gifts to support the ongoing work the Service Club does in our greater Nashville community.  Follow us on Instagram @mbaserviceclub to see the latest!

• Just.Glass

  The MBA Service Club is in the seventh year of our partnership with the Just.Glass recycling project of Justice Industries, a non-profit organization that builds self-sustaining businesses like Just.Glass to employ and empower people who are working hard to break free from the cycle of poverty.  By recruiting customers for Just.Glass, MBA helps Justice Industries give people good jobs helping our environment.  At the same time, by giving the MBA Service Club a portion of the recycling service fees paid by customers recruited by MBA, Justice Industries helps the Service Club raise funds to support our other projects.  RECYCLE your glass, BREAK the cycle of poverty, and support the MBA Service Club ... at the same time!
  
  To sign up for Just.Glass home glass recycling, click here.
  
  Students from all grades are invited to participate.

• Last Minute Toy Store

   Each of the past twenty-seven years, The Last Minute Toy Store has distributed free toys and other gifts to thousands of low-income children and youth who live in Davidson County. Parents visit the Davidson County Sheriff's Office Service Center over the long weekend in December and are taken “shopping” through the store with the assistance of a volunteer who carrie’s their bag and helps them pick out suitable toys for their kids. MBA serves a truly vital role throughout these three days. Wether a shopping assistant, a translator for Spanish-speaking families, or a bag-to-car carrier, students are essential for the breakdown periods. The project runs from early in the morning to late in the afternoon and daily attendance is not required ( any amount of days is great help). Lunch is provided every day and it’s impossible not to meet hands full of incredibly nice people- both volunteers and families coming to shop. Stay tuned for 2023 dates and hours! Students from all grades are invited to participate.

• Last Saturday Dinners with Urban Housing Solutions

  Sponsored by Urban Housing Solutions, “Last Saturday Dinner” provides food towards the end of every month at a location owned by Urban Housing. MBA faculty and students prepare a 3-course meal to the residents living in ‘Affordable Housing.’ General Counsel, Alan Mazer, prepares this event because these residents don’t have the privilege to come together and spend time as a community. Students will tour the Mercury Court property which will raise volunteer interest with Urban Housing Solutions. 

• Loaves and Fishes Community Meal

  Loaves and Fishes has been a long-standing staple of MBA’s Service Club, as it is one of the oldest partnerships that the club has. The work involves preparing and serving a meal for the homeless population on the first Saturday of every month at Holy Name Catholic Church. MBA students will meet at the church carpool downtown to the church to cook and serve the meal. Not only do students gain valuable culinary skills, and build strong relationships with people in their community, but also they are given the opportunity to learn from the community there. All grades are invited to participate in this project. 

• MBA Parking

  To help offset the cost of MBA's many service projects, the Service Club charges $5 for people to park in the parking garage (Wilson Boulevard side of campus) during home football games. MBA students will be at the lot from 5:15 - ten minutes prior to kick-off. 
  
  Students from all grades are invited to participate.

• Operation Stand Down Tennessee

  Operation Stand Down is a local non-profit that works to engage, equip, and empower veterans and their families. They offer transitional housing, monthly food deliveries through Operation Commissary, and career services to help homeless veterans get back on their feet. MBA has a fundraiser that raises money to take veterans shopping during the holiday season. Money is raised through selling shirts and caps, as well as collecting donations. Throughout the year, a group of boys will help prepare a meal to serve to the veterans. More details for that will be announced soon. 

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• Past Preservers

  The Past Preservers at MBA are directly involved with our History Club to promote the preservation and restoration of historic sites in the Nashville area. Some common activities include helping non-profit organizations and historical locations with their different needs. Some activities include: helping the landscape of a natural historical site such as the Glen Leven Farms off Franklin Road, digging to help in excavations near ancient Native American sites, and assisting with temporary monuments near historic sites such as the flags for the Union Colored Troops in December. Our involvement in service projects around the area covers a wide array of historical subjects from the ancient populations to the modern day, and we take pride in being a group that can assist in the preservation of Nashville’s historically significant locations.

• Pet Community Center

  The 2023-2024 school year marks the first revived year of MBA’s collaboration with Pet Community Center. Pet Community Center is a nonprofit veterinary clinic that dedicates its work to providing low-cost, high-quality veterinary care so that pets stay happy, healthy, and in a home with people who love them. Volunteers will be able to do a range of work from building dog fences and houses, to filling surgery kits, or to working large fundraiser events.

• Rally Foundation

  Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, empowers volunteers across the country to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research to find better treatments with fewer long-term side effects and, ultimately, cures. The Rally Foundation consists of philanthropic seed investors in the next great discovery and utilizes a dual peer review process that supports research at all stages, from the initial idea to clinical trials. With the highest ratings from charity watchdogs, you know you are donating to a nonprofit children’s cancer organization for better childhood cancer treatments. The MBA Service Club partners with the Rally Foundation to fundraise and host events at the school as well as educate people in the MBA community about the importance of Childhood cancer research. Traditional childhood and adolescent cancer treatments are often harsh and come with a long list of side effects that can stick around even after reaching remission.  By funding cancer research specifically for kids and teens, we hope to discover new and better treatments, and ultimately cures, with fewer harmful side effects. 

• Richland Creek Run

  MBA, through the Service Club, sponsors and participates in the annual Richland Creek Run, benefiting "Greenways for Nashville, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the creation, protection, preservation, and promotion of Nashville greenways." MBA students help assemble race packets in the week before the event and work in various capacities on race day. All grades are invited to participate.

• Room in the Inn

  Room in the Inn is a nonprofit organization with the goal of serving the homeless community and helping lift them out of poverty. The MBA chapter, headed by Frank Pierce, Colin Durelli, and Claiborne Tompkins, works with Vine Street Church in order to provide food and a place to stay for participants during the winter. Volunteers help cook meals throughout the school day, transport it to Vine Street, and serve and eat with the participants.

• Saturday Scholars

  Members of the MBA Service Club have for decades offered support to students throughout Nashville.  Whether tutoring and mentoring in after school programs, helping our immigrant neighbors with their English or working to boost the math, reading and spelling skills of East Nashville kids on Saturdays, they have shared their knowledge with and learned from folks throughout our greater community.
  
  With the arrival of COVID, the Service Club proudly expanded on this tradition with a virtual program for students throughout Middle Tennessee: Saturday Scholars.  We now offer academic support tutoring and ESL tutoring on Saturday mornings via Zoom, Google Meet or Facetime.  MBA students are paired with youth and adults who need a little extra help.
  
  To learn more visit www.montgomerybell.edu/saturdayscholars.

• Second Harvest Food Bank

  MBA’s partnership with Second Harvest has been going strong for many years and will continue its strength this year. Students can participate in this project in two key ways. The first of those ways will be during Homecoming Week, where the Mother’s Club, Student Council, and Service Club will come together to collect food for Second Harvest and help aid Second Harvest’s mission to “feed hungry people and work to solve the issues of hunger and food insecurity within our community”. The second way is through volunteering at Second Harvest’s warehouse to sort donated items. All grades are invited to participate in this project. 

• UniCycle

  More information coming soon!  Look for the start of our annual Cold Weather Gear Drive at the end of the month.

• Vanderbilt Children's Hospital Dance Marathon

  Dance Marathon is a movement uniting university and high school students across North America. Students spend a year gaining leadership, teamwork and business experience while raising funds and awareness for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. The year culminates with a 4 - 24 hour event (the dance marathon) on each campus where students get to meet patient families treated at their local hospital, participate in games and dancing, enjoy entertainment, and reveal their annual fundraising total.  MBA will host our dance marathon early in the second semester.

   

  Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt is one of the nation's leading children's hospitals, treating and helping to prevent a full range of pediatric health issues from colds and broken bones to complex heart diseases and cancer. Achieving 10 out of 10 nationally ranked pediatric specialties in 2019, Children’s Hospital was again named among the nation’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” for the 13th consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report.

  
  

  Children's Hospital, a nonprofit organization, opened in 2004, expanded its physical space in 2012, and is currently adding four new floors and 160,000 total sq. ft. The new expansion will help advance the size and scope of the hospital's mission. For more about Children’s Hospital, visit ChildrensHospitalVanderbilt.org  

• Youth Encouragement Services

  Youth Encouragement Services is an organization that provides after school programs such as tutoring, yoga, an after school snack, and ministry to underprivileged youth. MBA students head to Y.E.S. right after school every other Wednesday.  Dates are marked on the Service Club calendar.  This opportunity is open to all grades.