FISH of Knox County – Emergency Food Delivery

TVUUC and more than 20 other area churches work throughout the year to provide bags of food for those in need. On the third Wednesday of each month, our FISH volunteers bring bags of food from the West Knox Food Pantry to church, receive 15-25 calls at the church requesting food, deliver bags of groceries and other items around the community, help stock our shelves with non-food essentials (like soap and toilet paper), and file monthly reports to FISH about deliveries. In addition, TVUUC takes responsibility for purchasing, stocking, and bagging food at the West Knoxville Food Pantry throughout the month of December — a month of high demand. Volunteers always needed!

Hops & Hope, 5K Run and Octoberfest

One October Sunday – TVUUC annually hosts a Greenway 5K run and mile walk for about 200 people from the church and greater Knoxville community, beginning and ending at TVUUC. The event is followed by micro-brewery beer and Octoberfest fare at the church, with volunteers serving the meal. Entry fees cover costs and raise needed funds to pay for food to stock a Knoxville food pantry.

Family Promise

Hosting for a week at church, 3-5 times a year – Family Promise is an interfaith program involving 38 area congregations which offers support and housing for families temporarily without homes. TVUUC serves as a host congregation several times a year, housing families and providing meals Sunday pm -Sundayam for a week in our building. If not in school or working during day times, family members go to the Family Promise Day Center for support services and classes on budget assistance, nutrition and parenting. Thirty-five to forty volunteers cover well-defined roles during our host weeks, and training sessions are offered regularly.

Volunteer Ministry Center Meals

3rd Thursday of every month – currently one of three teams of TVUUC volunteers works together to purchase food, prepare and serve a dinner for the homeless at Volunteer Ministry Center, located on Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Volunteers always welcome.

Lonsdale Tutoring Program

Weekly as arranged – Volunteers are needed for various jobs: Tutoring a child or children in reading and/or math during school hours, with schedules worked out with the school coordinator; working in a classroom to help students as a teacher requests; leading or assisting in programs in the community school which meets in the afternoons after regular classes end; Really, the sky is the limit for people with an interest in helping students, especially in the community school where they provide special help and enrichment classes as well as a dinner before they go home.

Children’s Diversity & Justice Library

The Children’s Diversity and Justice Library is a free community library providing books and programs featuring underrepresented identities and demonstrating diverse individuals, including children, who raise up justice in our world. Rooted in values of equity and compassion and hosted by the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church (TVUUC) in Knoxville, Tennessee, the CDJL empowers young people to celebrate diversity and seek justice in their lives and communities. Learn more at www.CDJLibrary.org

Justice Knox

Justice Knox is a local nonprofit focused on grassroots solutions to community needs and our church is now a partner with them. We address issues in our community like gun violence, homelessness, restorative practices in education, and public transportation. Our church is now a partner with Justice Knox.

Become a Network member and join a team to study and help bring change to our community. Contacts-Ruth Horton and Polly Murphy