10 Businesses that Give Back

These local businesses offer ample opportunity to give back this holiday season and all year long.

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The month of December isn’t just about the joy of giving, but the gift of community.

Giving back to the people around us—friends, family, and strangers alike—is important every year, but in 2020 it feels paramount. We’ve compiled 10 businesses that are not only community hubs, but also partners of the city of Nashville, dedicating their businesses to giving back to its communities.

1. HUMPHREY’S STREET COFFEE

Partnered with Harvest Hands, an organization that works to provide opportunities for youth in South Nashville to promote community, Humphrey’s Street was created as a resource to match students with afterschool employment and mentorship. All of their profits are filtered back into programs and scholarships to give students better opportunities financially, academically, and economically. humphreysstreet.com

2. CHRISTIE COOKIE CO.

It’s no secret that our healthcare workers have given a lot this year. This December, Christie Cookie Co. offers a variety of curated cookie tins for purchase and is using a percentage of their sales on designated tins to give back to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. Tins are tastefully designed to show appreciation for the workers at VUMC and are full of delicious holiday cheer. christiecookies.com

3. THE WELL COFFEEHOUSE

The Well uses their profits to provide effective solutions to poverty in economically disadvantaged parts of the world, mainly Africa. The coffee shop has been able to provide clean drinking water through the installation of water wells in several African countries due to the generosity of customers with a love for coffee. Grabbing a cup of joe from The Well this season is a need met, a life touched, and the privilege of sustainable drinking water provided across the globe. wellcoffeehouse.com

4. LAST MINUTE TOY STORE

Last Minute Toy Store is a nonprofit organization that takes in donations of toys of all shapes and sizes. Then, either through an online gift registration or in-person shopping, families can come and receive to make giving possible. This December, Last Minute Toy Store is hosting a touchless drive-thru to keep the spirit of giving alive yet safe, even through the pandemic. lastminutetoystore.com

5. JUST LOVE COFFEE

Aside from offering a vast menu of traditional and flavored coffee drinks as well as a fully functioning kitchen and food service, Just Love Coffee has initiated a fundraising program through their website to raise funds needed to serve local nonprofits through coffee sales. Through online wholesale ordering, customers can fill out a fundraising request form and use their love for coffee to meet specific needs in the surrounding community. justlovecoffee.com

6. THE COOKERY

Among the lineup of all the restaurants and coffee shops Nashville’s 12th South has to offer is The Cookery, a nonprofit restaurant, cafe, and event space that serves to equip formerly homeless men with the skills necessary to become employed in Nashville’s food service industry. Started by Lambscroft Ministries, all of the restaurant’s earnings are put back into the cafe and into programs to help Nashville’s homeless population and, in turn, provide accessible opportunities for employment. thecookery.org

7. CREST COFFEE

Crest Coffee is Nashville’s first donation-based coffee house, where all coffee and miscellaneous drinks are strictly not-for-profit and paid for through customer donations. Customers pick their price for their drinks and these donations are then totaled up and used to meet needs in Nashville. Serving as a ministry of Hillcrest Community Church, Crest Coffee is Christ-centered and dedicated to giving back in every season, not just during the holidays. hillcrestnashville.com

8. THISTLE FARMS

Thistle Farms is an artisan home and body shop with handcrafted items such as candles, soaps, balms, and scrubs, as well as home decor and apparel. It also doubles as a cafe. Thistle Farms seeks to employ women who have survived addiction, abuse, and other injustices, to promote healing and freedom through a two-year residential program that offers safe shelter, mentorship, and counseling, as well as job training. Whether through donations or by purchasing gifts, customers can provide financial support to the women who made them. thistlefarms.org

9. LISTENING ROOM

The Listening Room live music venue and cafe runs on a love for authentic music and quality sound mixed with a heart for the city of Nashville. Owner Chris Blair created Sound Good, Do Good after the 2010 Nashville flood. Through the foundation, the Listening Room hosts one show a month that targets and funds a specific local business or cause in Nashville. Music to our ears. listeningroomcafe.com

10. BOOK’EM

Book’em is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting “a more literate Nashville” by accepting and repurposing donated books. They distribute the books to schools and marginalized communities in Nashville to make education through literacy more accessible and engaging for underprivileged youth. Book’em has many partners across Nashville that make their mission possible, providing hundreds of thousands of books each year to those who need them. bookem-kids.org