Mothers and daughters who reside in Williamson or Davidson County have a new philanthropic group they can enjoy together via volunteering excellence. It's a dream setup for those passionate about the Brentwood community and Nashville region.
National Charity League, Inc. (NCL), the nation’s premier mother-daughter nonprofit organization, formed a new chapter in the Greater Nashville area on March 8, 2020. The Greater Nashville chapter numbers 278 out of 279 nationwide chapters, and is the first one in Tennessee.
Lori Thacker, NCL Nashville Chapter president, says Tennessee has long been heralded as the Volunteer state. "The first-ever Greater Nashville NCL chapter hopes to live up to its nickname with mothers and daughters serving the community," she adds.
Daughters currently in 6th to 10th grade will embark on a core program focused on philanthropy, strengthening mother-daughter relationships, cultural experiences and leadership opportunities. This will be the only time where women can become founding members. Besides making history, Lori asserts there are other major perks to volunteering. "You spend time with your daughter during crucial formative teenage years, your daughter will have substantive leadership roles and activities to place on her college application. And, research has shown that volunteering boosts your immune system and your life span with people experiencing more overall joy," she explains.
At press time, Lori says their current membership count was 66 Ticktockers (daughters) and 57 Patronesses (mothers), for a total of 123 members.
In addition to national philanthropic initiatives, the chapter’s inaugural members chose the following six local philanthropies to serve:
- The Store
- TN Alliance For Kids (TAK)
- Ronald McDonald House
- Project Cure
- 50 Forward
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Lori says the members hope to serve the Greater Nashville philanthropies "with heart, graciousness and hard work," and to add more nonprofits to their service list each year. She says the group is also about integrity and relationships that encourage the mother-daughter relationship, foster and build friendships between the moms and between the Ticktocker classes, while serving together as Greater Nashville members. Students may attend public and private schools, or be homeschoolers.
"Lastly, we grow trustworthy friendships with our local philanthropies," she adds.
This chapter is part of creating a national annual $68 million philanthropic impact through 279 chapters in 29 states through 200,000 active members, sustainers and alumnae.
Lori says there are three, experiential ways in which NCL is different from other service organizations.
1. They serve as mother/daughter teams.
2. They empower daughters to become leaders through officer positions and their six-year, core Ticktocker program.
3. They facilitate cultural experiences to broaden minds and to encourage a passion for the arts.
For more information, email Connie Banovac at MembershipGreaterNashville@nclonline.org.
Note: With this unprecedented social distancing, the NCL Greater Nashville Chapter is most likely delaying their in-person planned chapter-wide Kick-Off on May 3. "Although we aren't sure what the future holds, we will either do a virtual kick-off and begin volunteering when the CDC gives the green light. Or we may delay our big kick-off until August, right before school," Lori says. "Lots of decisions are still up in the air as the road map to get to our destination has changed. And, women love to meet in-person, to hug, and have fellowship; it creates a buzz and excitement. So, I would say that it's trickier at this time in history than most to launch a new NCL chapter in Tennessee. With that said, this group of women is up for the challenge, and while the map looks different, we just need to take a different route to get there."