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The following individuals, families, and foundations are doing their part to ensure Nashville’s legacy of being a service-centered city remains firmly cemented. From supporting the arts to healing sick children and everything in between, some of the city’s biggest givers are helping to fund Nashville’s priceless future.
When seventh generation Nashvillian Barry Stowe returned to Nashville in 2015 after more than two decades away, he and his wife, Sherri, immediately got involved with Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. “Cheekwood preserves this dimension of Nashville’s history," Stowe says of the 55-acre botanical garden and art museum in Belle Meade. Built in 1929 and once home to Leslie and Mabel Cheek, Stowe adds, “It’s more than just a look back. It’s also this spectacular venue for the exhibition of contemporary art."
Each year, Cheekwood attracts more than 225,000 visitors. Tourists and locals alike come for the holiday lights feature, the tulip gardens in the spring, the sprawling outdoor sculpture exhibits, and the museum’s robust collection of 20th century American fine art. Stowe, who remembers coming to the estate as a child, sees the art and architecture of Cheekwood as an integral and culturally significant part of Nashville’s past and its future.
“Historically, people may have looked at Cheekwood and said it’s in a particular part of town and emblematic of a certain kind of lifestyle," Stowe, who also sits on the Board of Trustees, says. “But Cheekwood is for the entire community. There’s something for everyone here."
Barry Stowe
Supporter of Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
cheekwood.orgWhen seventh generation Nashvillian Barry Stowe returned to Nashville in 2015 after more than two decades away, he and his wife, Sherri, immediately got involved with Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. “Cheekwood preserves this dimension of Nashville’s history," Stowe says of the 55-acre botanical garden and art museum in Belle Meade. Built in 1929 and once home to Leslie and Mabel Cheek, Stowe adds, “It’s more than just a look back. It’s also this spectacular venue for the exhibition of contemporary art."
Each year, Cheekwood attracts more than 225,000 visitors. Tourists and locals alike come for the holiday lights feature, the tulip gardens in the spring, the sprawling outdoor sculpture exhibits, and the museum’s robust collection of 20th century American fine art. Stowe, who remembers coming to the estate as a child, sees the art and architecture of Cheekwood as an integral and culturally significant part of Nashville’s past and its future.
“Historically, people may have looked at Cheekwood and said it’s in a particular part of town and emblematic of a certain kind of lifestyle," Stowe, who also sits on the Board of Trustees, says. “But Cheekwood is for the entire community. There’s something for everyone here."
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Opened in 2004, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is Middle Tennessee’s only freestanding children’s hospital. It is also the site of countless stories of hope, miracles, and more than a few celebrity volunteers. Despite operating at 80 percent occupancy year-round, no one is ever turned away for inability to pay.
Today, the hospital is undergoing its second expansion, adding four floors and 160,000 square feet. Kathryn Carell Brown, daughter of the late Monroe Carell, Jr., led the recent Growing to New Heights Campaign, raising more than $40 million to fund the expansion. “My father felt very strongly that, if you were fortunate, you should always help others," she says. Brown, along with her two sisters, Edie Carell Johnson and Julie Carell Stadler, and their families contributed the cornerstone gift of $10 million. She credits the Nashville community, however, for carrying her fundraising team over the finish line.
“Nashville is great because of the heart and soul of the people here. They gave to the campaign. They were compassionate. They understood the message that we need to help children and that no child ever deserves to be sick."
Slated for completion in early 2019, the expansion means more children will have access to outstanding pediatric care. “For such a huge organization, it feels like everyone [at the Children’s Hospital] cares about you and your family member," Brown says. “You feel that compassion and love for each patient"
Kathryn Carell Brown
Supporter of Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
childrenshospital.vanderbilt.orgOpened in 2004, the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt is Middle Tennessee’s only freestanding children’s hospital. It is also the site of countless stories of hope, miracles, and more than a few celebrity volunteers. Despite operating at 80 percent occupancy year-round, no one is ever turned away for inability to pay.
Today, the hospital is undergoing its second expansion, adding four floors and 160,000 square feet. Kathryn Carell Brown, daughter of the late Monroe Carell, Jr., led the recent Growing to New Heights Campaign, raising more than $40 million to fund the expansion. “My father felt very strongly that, if you were fortunate, you should always help others," she says. Brown, along with her two sisters, Edie Carell Johnson and Julie Carell Stadler, and their families contributed the cornerstone gift of $10 million. She credits the Nashville community, however, for carrying her fundraising team over the finish line.
“Nashville is great because of the heart and soul of the people here. They gave to the campaign. They were compassionate. They understood the message that we need to help children and that no child ever deserves to be sick."
Slated for completion in early 2019, the expansion means more children will have access to outstanding pediatric care. “For such a huge organization, it feels like everyone [at the Children’s Hospital] cares about you and your family member," Brown says. “You feel that compassion and love for each patient"
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Love brought Mark Humphreys to Nashville. After meeting his now-wife, Emily, a Nashville native, in an airport restaurant five years ago, Mark began commuting to Nashville from his home in Dallas. Both lovers of the arts, Emily recalls their earliest dates were to arts events around the city. As the couple got more serious, so did their financial commitments to organizations like the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Ballet.
“Being involved in the arts and nonprofit work was important to both of us, but we weren’t able to make it a priority in our previous lives, Emily says. She sits on the board of another Nashville nonprofit, King’s Daughters Child Development Center. Mark, CEO of Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects, adds, “I can’t dance, can’t play an instrument, but I can give"
This year, the couple will donate nearly a quarter of a million dollars to 14 different Nashville nonprofits, many arts-centered. “To be a world class city, you have to have the arts," Emily says. Over the last several years the couple has underwritten or sponsored events like the Ballet Ball, the Swan Ball, and the Symphony Fashion Show. “We feel like we can really make a difference here," Mark says.
Mark & Emily Humphreys
Supporters of Nashville Symphony and Nashville Ballet
nashvillesymphony.org | nashvilleballet.comLove brought Mark Humphreys to Nashville. After meeting his now-wife, Emily, a Nashville native, in an airport restaurant five years ago, Mark began commuting to Nashville from his home in Dallas. Both lovers of the arts, Emily recalls their earliest dates were to arts events around the city. As the couple got more serious, so did their financial commitments to organizations like the Nashville Symphony and Nashville Ballet.
“Being involved in the arts and nonprofit work was important to both of us, but we weren’t able to make it a priority in our previous lives, Emily says. She sits on the board of another Nashville nonprofit, King’s Daughters Child Development Center. Mark, CEO of Dallas-based Humphreys & Partners Architects, adds, “I can’t dance, can’t play an instrument, but I can give"
This year, the couple will donate nearly a quarter of a million dollars to 14 different Nashville nonprofits, many arts-centered. “To be a world class city, you have to have the arts," Emily says. Over the last several years the couple has underwritten or sponsored events like the Ballet Ball, the Swan Ball, and the Symphony Fashion Show. “We feel like we can really make a difference here," Mark says.
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For 35 years, The Frist Foundation, founded by the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., has been investing in Middle Tennessee-based nonprofits. Still the largest private foundation in Middle Tennessee, the Foundation will fund $17 million in grants this year alone. “[The Foundation is] about two things, Pete Bird, president and chief executive officer of the Foundation says. “One is to support those institutions that make Nashville special. And the other is about trying to find ways to help those people in Nashville who are vulnerable or most in need.
Whether it’s supporting the Second Harvest Food Bank, providing an operating grant to Conexión Américas, or awarding the Tennessee State Museum a leadership grant, The Frist Foundation touches nearly every aspect of the greater Nashville community. Two of the Foundation’s biggest commitments are to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, which will receive $6 million in funding this year, and the Nashville Zoo, which will receive $5 million. “We’re trying to help [the Nashville Zoo] become one of the great zoos in America, Bird says. “We have that potential here.
Pete Bird
President and CEO of The Frist Foundation (Frist Center for the Visual Arts & Nashville Zoo)
fristfoundation.orgFor 35 years, The Frist Foundation, founded by the late Dr. Thomas F. Frist, Sr., has been investing in Middle Tennessee-based nonprofits. Still the largest private foundation in Middle Tennessee, the Foundation will fund $17 million in grants this year alone. “[The Foundation is] about two things, Pete Bird, president and chief executive officer of the Foundation says. “One is to support those institutions that make Nashville special. And the other is about trying to find ways to help those people in Nashville who are vulnerable or most in need.
Whether it’s supporting the Second Harvest Food Bank, providing an operating grant to Conexión Américas, or awarding the Tennessee State Museum a leadership grant, The Frist Foundation touches nearly every aspect of the greater Nashville community. Two of the Foundation’s biggest commitments are to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts, which will receive $6 million in funding this year, and the Nashville Zoo, which will receive $5 million. “We’re trying to help [the Nashville Zoo] become one of the great zoos in America, Bird says. “We have that potential here.