1701 Dodson Furniture | Chattanooga Free Store

The Chattanooga Free Store is a non-religious, volunteer run, mutual aid coalition. Their core belief is that everyone deserves to live well, and to be able to meet their basic needs. They believe the solution to hunger, poverty, and other material inequality, is for communities to build their own systems and structures to care for each other. Communities, neighborhoods, and families know better than anyone what they need, and we believe in bringing them to the table and putting the resources we have directly in their hands. And they’ve been doing exactly that.

2022 brings them into their own physical space at 1701 Dodson Ave. All they needed was some furniture like clothing racks, storage and folding chairs. That’s where our $1,400 came in handy. If you would like to donate to support their efforts, volunteer, or find other information, go to linktr.ee/chattfreestore to find all the links you need!

Restorative Practices Documentary | CALEB

We’ve all heard of the the school-to-prison pipeline, right? For low-income and minority communities expulsions and suspensions are one of the key contributors. Data from the Tennessee Department of Education and Hamilton County Schools (HCS) indicates that black students are four times more likely to receive suspensions than white students. In 2019, HCS was reprimanded by the state's education department for inequitable disciplinary treatment of minority students and those with disabilities. These facts speak to the need for discipline reform in HCS. So how?

CALEB is creating a documentary to show school board members, educators and staff how the use of restorative practices reduce the numbers of behavior referrals leading to suspensions and expulsions. Who is CALEB, anyway? CALEB is an institutional coalition of faith-based, labor, and community groups working to build power to affect change in Chattanooga.

Our $3,000 grant will be used for two dinner/documentary viewing parties showcasing restorative practices at Orchard Knob Elementary School. The two schools will be in Hamilton County school zones where “out of classroom” times (suspensions, expulsions, juvenile court referrals, etc.) are prevalent.

Binders for Kids | B4CK

B4CK stands for Binders for Confident Kids. What is a binder? It is a chest compression garment designed to give the appearance of a flat chest. Binders help queer youth feel safe, focus on learning and stay alive. Really.

A national survey by GLSEN has found that 75% of transgender youth feel unsafe at school, and those who are able to persevere had significantly lower GPAs, were more likely to miss school out of concern for their safety, and were less likely to plan on continuing their education. More than half of transgender male teens who participated in the survey reported attempting suicide in their lifetime and many transgender young people experience family rejection, bullying and harassment, or feel unsafe for simply being who they are - all of which can be added risk factors for suicide.

So, how did we help? $515 went to purchase and distribute binders, based on need, for Chattanooga queer youth.

Operation Warm | Rainbow at Ridgeway

Winter officially started on December 21st. While you probably have a nice warm winter coat and boots, not everyone does. Enter Lindsey Butler, the Resident Services Coordinator for Rainbow Housing Assistance Corporation at Ridgeway Apartments on the west side of Chattanooga. She saw a need and had the right partners to make it happen. Our $2,485 grant purchased 62 coats and 53 pairs of shoes for children who reside in the Ridgeway community through Operation Warm. They partner with community organizations such as Rainbow to use this gift (the coats and shoes are a really good deal) as a catalyst for community connection.

But that’s not all Lindsey wanted to accomplish. After receiving the items, kids were asked to write a letter to a child at St. Jude's spending the holidays in the hospital. Paying it forward as they say. Nice job, Lindsey.