You Matter Nashville

Needs Of Our Kids (NOOK) with Allison Gamble

• Jason and Mindy Hoover • Episode 11

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In this episode, we had the privilege of speaking with Allison Gamble from Needs of Our Kids (NOOK), a nonprofit organization in Franklin, Tennessee, dedicated to providing immediate, essential support to students in our local schools. We learned how NOOK’s all-volunteer team steps in to offer educational resources, clothing, hygiene items, and even assist with fees for school activities. By ensuring every child has what they need—whether it’s the right pair of shoes or access to nutritious snacks—NOOK helps maintain a sense of dignity, focus, and confidence for students in Middle Tennessee.

As we listened to Allison’s inspiring stories, we realized that small contributions truly make a big impact. From supplying simple necessities like deodorant to bridging gaps in after-school care, NOOK’s community support and donation opportunities enable every child to participate fully in school life. We also appreciated learning about how they partner with other local nonprofit organizations and encourage volunteer opportunities that help strengthen the fabric of our Nashville podcast community.

Our conversation with Allison reflects the heart of You Matter Nashville—promoting kindness, inclusivity, and generosity. Through our work as real estate professionals, we’re committed to making a difference and connecting others with causes like NOOK that uplift our neighbors. We hope this episode encourages you to consider how you might contribute, either through donations, volunteering, or simply spreading the word about this powerful mission.

Takeaways

  • Nook addresses the immediate needs of children in schools.
  • 40% of kids in Franklin rely on free or reduced lunch.
  • Volunteers play a crucial role in fulfilling requests.
  • Community support is essential for Nook's operations.
  • Small donations can have a significant impact.
  • Nook collaborates with other organizations for broader support.
  • Immediate solutions help children stay focused in school.
  • Feedback from families highlights the importance of dignity.
  • Nook is a 501c3 organization, allowing for tax-deductible donations.
  • The podcast aims to connect listeners with local heroes and initiatives.


NOOK
https://needsofourkids.com/

You Matter Nashville YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@YouMatterNashville

The Hoover Team
https://www.thehooverteam.com/

Jason & Mindy Hoover (00:00.098)
Hey, Nashvilleians, welcome to the You Matter Nashville podcast, the place where every story we share is a celebration of you, the heartbeat of our community. I'm Jason Hoover, delighted to be one half of your hosting duo. And I'm Mindy Hoover, joining you alongside Jason to bring the stories of inspiring individuals and unsung heroes making a positive impact right here in our hometown. Every episode is about passions, dreams and actions that stitch together the Middle Tennessee community. So if you're looking to get inspired by the good happening around us,

Or if you want to hear from the change makers who believe, just like us, that you matter, then hit that follow button on your favorite podcast platform. And if you are looking to make a move in the middle Tennessee area, and Dan and I are real estate professionals and would be honored to serve you with excellence. Now let's dive into another episode of You Matter Nashville.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (00:51.874)
Welcome to You Matter Nashville podcast where we interview community leaders that making a positive impact right here in the middle Tennessee area. I'm Jason Hoover. And I'm Mindy Hoover and I'm so glad to have our guest with us today. We have Alison Gamble with the Nook and she is going to be telling us all about this amazing program that is helping our schools here in Williamson County. Yeah. And Alison, you are the community outreach

person, right? Is that correct? work in community development and fundraising. Community development. If you want to contact me with either of those things, please do. Perfect. Perfect. So I really like this organization, NUCC, which stands for Needs of Our Kids. Yes. And there's a lot of information here that really is surprising that so many people don't know about. And I know

You know, Mindy, you worked in the school system for quite some time. Yeah, for quite a while. And there has always been a need, especially for the kids that are in the gap, the kids that are needing that extra like fiscal support, you know, that are needing the school supplies and, you know, extra clothing, school fees, just different things. Looking into this, I thought I knew what Nook was about. So I was pretty excited to see.

all the different programs that you guys support. I think it's really gonna blow everybody away today. Yeah. So Allison, why don't you just introduce yourself a little bit and tell us a little bit about Nook. Okay. I'm Allison Gamble and I've been with Nook for about four years and I started as a volunteer, meaning that I was just on call during the day and if a need arose, then I went shopping and the children get their needs met that day.

So the whole goal of Needs of Our Kids is to reach them, like you said, in that gap. So if there is an immediate need, shoes, hygiene products, coats, anything that you can imagine, to keep them in school for one to two days, then we can provide that the same day that the need exists. That is something that's just unbelievable because, you know, teaching red tape.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (03:11.81)
Like if we had to submit this to the county and be like, hey, we need help. This child needs help. It has to go through five or six people before it finally, the need gets met. And it may be a week or two before the need is met. just knowing that you guys are there going, I can go literally in five minutes and go pick this stuff up and get it to the school by the end of the day. It is amazing. It really is amazing. And that's how it started. A group of moms noticed that teachers were spending their own resources just to

just to keep the kids with deodorant, just to the kids with a pair of non-ripped pants. And so they realized that they could meet it immediately. And over time, they spoke with the school board, they spoke with principals and social workers and counselors. So we could have a direct line to meet those needs while they're waiting for the more formal resources to show up. And you guys are a group of parents that started this,

Yes, and we realized that it was a distraction for the children that had the need, but also for every child. If a kid is hungry, if a kid doesn't have the right shoes for recess, that is a distraction for everybody. And it also messes with the dignity of that child. So that was of utmost importance for every kid in the school, that we meet them where they are. And the way the schedule works per day,

It's from eight to two o'clock for the volunteers. And that way those volunteers can go get into the car line and pick up their own children. okay. And so you started at Popular Grove, right? Popular Grove. And it was just, saw a need of children that was impacting them and their studies, I would assume. Yes. And you saw that you could

help them quicker than going through the school system. that kind of what That's exactly right. And we also work with organizations like One Gen Away, if a family needs a food box to get them over the hump, because children can't learn and they're not going to be in school if they have no energy or if they're hungry. And even snacks after school, that sort of thing. And some of those requests can get very specific. Sometimes we need meat.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (05:34.636)
Sometimes we need some fresh fruit to keep the energy up after school. And through One Gen Away, we can help those families the same day as well. And I really truly believe, just from being on the teaching side, is that people forget that there is this whole separate demographic. And there's also another set of people that, you know, they're one or two paychecks away. If they lose a job or if one of the parents loses a job, they cannot sustain living here.

So having something like this that can just meet that need really quickly is so important. And what you were saying about, you know, the kids having like an even playing field, you know, not having the right shoes. So maybe they have sandals and it's November or December. Like right now it's starting to get too cold and you know, having that had one little girl who her only pair of shoes were her Sunday shoes.

And so, and they even had a little heel on them. Well, you can't go to, you can't go to PE in those and you can't, they were special shoes, but you also need the everyday shoe. And so we were able to get those shoes so she could just get back into the activities of school. And we also provide gas cards for families, understanding that kids need to get to and from places. Parents need to get to work.

Or if you have a teenager, they need to be able to get around and trolley tickets. provide those. We purchase those through the city as well. That's fantastic. Especially for the middle school and the high school kids, you know, that can utilize that, you know, and I think that's just really, really great, especially with the after school tutoring programs, which a lot of times the same kids are needing to have that chance. And if their parents are working one or two jobs that don't end until after well after tutoring ends, it really puts them in a bad place.

So having that trolley option is really great. And you mentioned about being one or two paychecks away. several years ago, just three or four years ago, a family might have been able to do that to make their rent and feed their kids and get them what they needed for school. And because prices are so high now, it's just not an option. So they might lose housing. might have to, they might find themselves in a situation that's an emergency.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (07:55.734)
or domestic situation where the needs of the entire family need to be met. And we're there to help fill that gap. You shared something with us that was astonishing. One of the things that you shared with us is that 40 % of kids in Franklin are on free or reduced lunch program. Right here in Franklin.

might be shocking to a lot of people. It's close to 40 % and every school is different, but there's a large population of each school that has free or reduced lunch kids and for whatever reason. And the last census shows us that about 5 % of families live in poverty here in Franklin. And, that equals about 4,000 people. So,

That's 4,000 people in really what's still a small town of Franklin that have have a need. and they're wonderful organizations in town, that can, can help provide what they need. But again, we are the same day solution for these kids. I had read just this past week, you know, in some real estate, emails and stuff that was sent that people who live in Williamson County and Franklin pay a much higher percentage of their paycheck.

to be here. And so like what their housing cost may be 20, 25 % in other county or in a more rural area or here it can be like 40%, 50 % of the paycheck is going to rent or to a house payment because they are wanting those school system. And so they're sacrificing a lot to be here. But again, that really puts them in that marginal area of just one or two paychecks. And we understand the sacrifice of

what you do in order to be in a great city like this. it's really great that you guys are able to step in and help these kids. And we have actually, we rarely get direct feedback from families because it's all anonymous. we work on it on everybody that works with the nook is volunteer, even the board. But this past week through a social worker, we got some feedback from a mom.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (10:15.694)
I'd love to read it to you if I could. please. That'd be great. Again, we rarely get to hear it, but we know, because it's all anonymous. of times it's a thankless job, it's soul fulfilling. absolutely. And she writes, this mom writes, we received a generous donation with the student's coat and clothes in it. I I teared up. It's so sweet. I can't believe they even got us the lotion and shampoo.

I know it's expensive, but it's the little things that make us feel more human. my goodness. So we're dealing with families that need soap. We're dealing with families that need a toothbrush and along with their bigger needs like pants or underwear or like we said with the food boxes. We also work with organizations like OneSight where kids can get referrals to receive prescription glasses. That's amazing.

We work with a lot of organizations around town that can help fulfill some of those other needs that we can't directly fill. And, know, that is one of the things that Jason and I are wanting to do with these podcasts is trying to bridge some of these, you know, nonprofits that, you know, you can work together. Right. Absolutely. And it's important that we do. So you focus mostly right here in the Williamson County School District and Franklin Special School District.

Yes, we work with Franklin Special School District and Williamson County schools that are in Franklin. Okay. And we also work with Fairview. We have a connection with a lady that lives in town so we can get needs to Fairview as they're needed. Because that's like a little extra track going out that way so it's nice having people that can take care of that area. Right, absolutely. So our focus is Franklin proper. Okay. Do you mind telling us a little bit about your volunteers?

The majority, probably 98%, are women. We have over 30, it's our largest year this year, of parents who, and some people who have kids that have grown out of the school system, like mine, but were passionate about the kids that are in the schools. And they are available whenever we need them. We have an officer on call every week that can help.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (12:40.014)
fulfill requests if somebody gets overwhelmed. So a typical day for a volunteer on call, you wake up and you log into the GroupMe app and we've got two streams of information. We get requests from FSSD and Williamson County. And those requests come from counselors, they come from social workers, nurses. We also help stock nurses offices with stretchy pants.

or feminine hygiene products or hygiene products in general. But as an example, this really illustrates the level of need that we get daily. my goodness. That's incredible. So we'll get needs for entire families or it might be one kid who just needs a coat. So for those that are listening and not watching,

You're showing your group me of all of these just line after line after line of things that are needed for these kids. And those that are just listening, she's just scrolling and scrolling on her phone. And that's amazing. That is so much. It's powerful. And for example, there's a little girl who's, I don't know what grade she's in, but she's a size 10, 12. She needs every kind of clothing item.

She needs a hygiene kit and shampoo, soap, body wash, hairbrush, feminine hygiene, toothpaste. It's all listed here. And we keep a lot of the hygiene products in our very little store room at Franklin, our freedom middle. But most of the time we go and we purchase items for the children. And it's all new. We don't accept used items. And that's part of maintaining the dignity for the child. So they look like everybody else.

Yeah. And if they have a favorite color, we would love to find them the red shoes if we can. We want them to feel fast on the playground. So, or if they like blue, we'll try to give them the blue coat. What is your biggest need like throughout the year? What do you, what do you tend to run out of the fastest? Typically hygiene products. the things that

Jason & Mindy Hoover (14:58.062)
are ultimately disposable. Toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant. We go through a lot of deodorant. We go through a lot of feminine hygiene products. We go through, we love socks and underwear. Love socks and underwear. Yeah. And mostly because a lot, we can't keep every kind of size in our small space for every child. So if you have a couple of kids in a day that need a four or five pant,

plus a 10-12 pant for the brother, that sort of thing, then it makes more sense for us to go out and purchase those. But the things that we all use every day just to be clean, those are the things that we desire most in our little closet. Okay. I get that. And as a former teacher, I just want to say thank you for the deodorant that you guys provide. It's no joke. It is no joke with those middle schoolers. God bless every middle school teacher. a teenage son. Hey, us.

I still have a teenage kid in college, but ooh. But yes, but imagine if you didn't have those things as a kid. Right. When you just me in class, you don't want anybody looking at you. And kids, they talk and they snicker and they say things. So just little things like that make a world of difference to these kids. It's like what that mother said, that it's the little things that make us feel human.

That is powerful. Make us feel human. Teaching at Centennial years ago, I had a closet in there and talking about teachers supplying, I had feminine products. I had soup that the kids could put in the microwave, but they didn't have anything to eat that day. I had...

I did not have deodorant for them to share. did not have that, but I had snacks. But I can tell you how many times I would have girls kind of like wave at me and go into my office and I knew what that meant that they were eating something. Because I was on the opposite side from the nurses station and a lot of those girls didn't have it. It's expensive. It's expensive. So how do you find the...

Jason & Mindy Hoover (17:12.162)
the physical donations or even monetary, you take monetary donations as well. How do you find that? Absolutely. Well, we talk a lot. I'll talk to anybody. So anybody listening, if you have a small group and you want an activity, if you want to do any kind of drive, I would love, love, love to come talk to your organization about what we do. Our website is needsofourkids.com.

And there's a donate button there for monetary donations. We covet monthly donors. That's amazing. That gives us some consistency. We rely a lot on grants, small grants throughout the year and individual donations. And one way to either volunteer, you can volunteer on our website or you can email us at contactusatneedsofourkids.com.

contact us at needsofourkids.com. If you want to schedule someone like me to come talk to you, or if you have some items that you'd like to donate, or if you'd like to, or if you have any questions at all. One other thing that we offer are small grants and scholarships. Grants are given to students who need to pay for fees for school uniforms, things.

you know, if you can't afford your deodorant or you can't, you don't have a way to transportation to go get it. How are you going to afford your uniform? Right. fees or how, you know, or your competition fees and you can go through your counselor or someone else at your school and they can, or you can contact us at needsofourkids.com and we can facilitate that for you. And this is incredible. You know, being a former music teacher, you know, you have the fees to be a part.

We ask for them to be paid. If not, they have to be fundraised and it falls on the teacher then to fundraise for these students, which is part of the job. It's what we do. But just knowing that these kids can actually have that covered and that's not on their back that, I got a funnery super hard because I can't contribute to the school. Or prom tickets. Yeah, prom tickets. We'll help you with, you know. That's amazing.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (19:29.282)
I didn't know you guys did that. with what you do with your organization, providing dresses. See, this is why it's important that we all know each other, right? That we work together. I do think there's some way to collaborate on that. 100%. Cause I didn't think, even think about that. But it's, these kids who want to participate and the parents just won't let them because that club costs too much. can't do it. And they are just left out. I saw that, you know, in the school system, cause it's,

It's not a have to, you don't have to be a part of that group, but it also takes away part of being a teenager, part of being a kid, you know, being able to participate. If you need help with an instrument, renting an instrument, something like that. that is something. Contact us at needs of our kids or go through your school counselor. That's the best way to do it. And they can contact us that way. it's mostly still anonymous as well. So if they are donating, money,

Are you a 5013C or are you another? Okay. We are. So just know that, like I said, everyone is a volunteer, even the board. And we've got some really smart people on the board that manage all of that. But we're able to get our items tax-free when we shop for them. And it's all going, all going to the children. Because we don't have a building, we have permission for a closet.

It's all going to the families and the children. if I'm listening to this show and I want to donate some items, do you all have like an Amazon wish list or something I can go and shop and purchase for you guys? We are working on it right now. And by December 1st, that will be up and running. perfect. And so I know it's in a couple of weeks, but everybody's busy right now anyway.

But December 1st, that should be available. And also, if you want to donate items, I will come pick them up from you. allisongamble716 at gmail.com, I will come to you. And then I can talk to all of your people while I'm there. Perfect. I love that. So you've been doing this for four years.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (21:48.958)
Now, were you there at the inception of this or how long has the program been going? I was at the program has been going on for about seven. Seven years. And I remember being in the middle school and watching the parents of basketball games handing bags back and forth to deliver to the teachers to get to the students. So it was just a very small group making it happen. And now we've got over 30 volunteers, which is incredible because everyone I speak to.

It's such an obvious yes that even if you can't be available during the day, you're working in an office, I was working online so I could schedule my day to be able to be available. But yes, there are so many families that can provide a pair of tennis shoes, even though they cost twice as much as they did three or four years ago at Walmart. It's such an easy thing to say yes to.

And that's why it's such an easy thing for me to talk about and to encourage others to be a part of. Yeah. So also too, on the, the items, you'd mentioned that you, you really would love to increase your monthly donors. You have the donation amount. Is there a way that do you have it like set up through, Stripe or PayPal where it automatically does that? is that something? If you go on, if you go on needsofourkids.com

and click the donate button, there's an option to give monthly. You can have it be a recurring donation. And any amount is helpful. $5 a month buys the deodorant, by several deodorants. Just little things like that. We always think we need to impact in large amounts, and you really don't. Just the little things, they add up. We'll take the large amount.

is great. It's like if your company just wants to give a big lump sum for that, you know, 2024 write-off, let's make that happen. Or if companies have for the write-off, yes, or if they also offer grants and they've just never heard of us and they're interested in helping us and having us apply for that, we would love to hear from you. Absolutely. That's great. Perfect. I love that. So

Jason & Mindy Hoover (24:07.63)
You've had some stories and things that you've shared with us, but what kind of feedback have you gotten from the community or from other people that have been working with you? Well, the feedback like we got from this one mother from a social worker is kind of rare just because everything's anonymous. We don't know who it's going to. However, we will get feedback sometimes from counselors, for example, one of our favorites at Poplar Grove. He will always tell us if a kid's excited about

the color of the shoe that she got or the jacket and they put it immediately on, they didn't want to take it off because these were mostly parents and we're thinking about, would my own child wear this out too quickly? would they want to wear this? We don't go in thinking whatever they have will take. Sometimes that happens if they're out of a ton of things, but we're really thinking about the kid.

And what would bring them a little joy in addition to the fact that they've got some tennis shoes. Yeah. Just fitting in. Just feeling like everyone else. That's right. Well, you know, and, to add to that, I think a big portion of it is they fit and this plays into our podcast, but they feel like they matter now that somebody loves them, that somebody cares enough to, won't make them feel human.

and that they have worth in this world. They're not alone. are paying attention and that they're not alone. attention. Yeah, the details, they do matter if you can do it. And we have amazing people that work for the city for these families, the city social workers and everyone that in our school board, everyone that works to surround these children. And we are just so blessed that we can be in immediate

solution until those amazing people can do their magic. And I don't think people realize that we even have kids that are living in like motels that have lost their homes for various reasons. And could you share a little bit about how you guys are bridging that gap? Certainly. there's one motel that I'm thinking of in particular that actually has a bus stop. There are set, there are families that live in the motel and

Jason & Mindy Hoover (26:33.688)
they don't have access to a stove or things like that. So their food needs will be very specific. But we can still provide it. We can still do microwavable things. can still do, you know, if one gen doesn't have it, we'll go get it. And those kids have the same needs that everybody else does. So whether they have stable housing or not, then there's a solution for a couple of days, at least.

So, you one thing, you know, we're talking about the different donations and something that Mindy and I, we came up with this idea of how can we give back because we love doing the podcast and connecting people. And we started seeing there's so much need right here for monetary donations, you know, as well. And so we created this give back program for our real estate.

team, which is just right now it's a husband and wife team. And we really love each other. We're on everything together. She's like, I don't know why. But so we came up with this give back program that you may be interested in. So what we do for everybody that comes on the podcast, and you have to have a 501.3c, which you do, is that if you refer anybody at all, refers business to us to buy, sell,

doesn't matter, and they just let us know, hey, know, Allison from Nook shared with us that you have a give back program. And so if we help them close on any properties, we will give back 20 % of our professional fee that we receive. And that will go directly to you. And there's no, you know,

There's no red tape. It's as simple as that. It's a check. Yeah, it's a check and it's a donation. so if that's of interest to you, we'll definitely like to have you part of that give back program. Thank you so much. That's incredible. Appreciate it. Yeah, absolutely. So we'll send you information on it as well. Yeah, we'll get that out to you guys. Well, Allison, it has been an absolute pleasure.

Jason & Mindy Hoover (28:50.51)
to get to know you a little bit more. And I like your shirt, by the way. I've been meaning to say something. I like the shirt. Yeah. So we've got new shirts in for our podcast and we're going to send one out to you as well for taking time to be on our show today. Thank you so much. Yeah, absolutely. So we'll get that out to you. Anything else that you want to share with our listeners before we wrap this up? Just once again, well, thank you first of all for having me and having the nook on

this amazing show, you guys do an incredible job with the show. And again, this is just such an easy yes. If you have $5 or if you find yourself at the dollar store and you can pick up five tubes of toothpaste and you want to donate it, that will make an immediate impact in a kid's life, in a family's life, really. And if you have any questions at all, please contact us at needsofourkids.com.

I love it. love it. Well, Allison, thank you so much for coming on the show today. It's been really special to have you here and to hear all the things that you guys do. It's pretty extensive. I thought it was just clothes and things here and there, but you guys just go well on beyond that. And it's just I'm so proud to have something like this. Part of our kids, our personal children's school system. Thank you guys so much for all that you do. Thank you. Thank you, Allison. And to everybody listening, thank you for tuning in.

and we'll have all the information and some links in the show notes for you. So if you want to donate, we'll have that information down there. If you need to contact Allison, we'll have that for you as well. So we love you, Nashville. Have a blessed week and always remember that you matter. And that brings us to the end of another episode of You Matter Nashville. We hope today's show has left you feeling as uplifted and inspired as we are.

Remember, the spirit of Nashville lives in all of us and every small act of kindness echoes throughout the community. A huge thank you for listening and even being a part of our You Matter community. If you love this episode, please share with friends and leave us a five-star review. It helps us reach more listeners and spread the love. And if you know anyone that is looking to make a move to Middle Tennessee area, we are real estate professionals known as the Hoover Team, and we would be honored to serve them with excellence. Until next time, keep making a difference Nashville. You matter more than you know.