Non-profit gives food boxes, essentials to Nashville bombing victims in drive-thru event

After a bomb detonated in downtown Nashville on Christmas Day, nearly 1,500 people were affected — residents, business owners, employees and guests staying in the area.

The Community Resource Center, a nonprofit in Nashville focused on providing household essentials, was one of many organizations that quickly organized supplies and resources for those affected. It also supported the hundreds of law enforcement officials who deployed to Nashville as a massive investigation into the bombing got underway.

On Wednesday, the CRC hosted its second drive-thru event to give food boxes, essential supplies and information on resources like long-term mental health support to those directly affected by the bombing. Around 150 people drove through by the end of the day, according to CRC Board President Marie Amado. The event ran through 3 p.m. that day.

© Stephanie Amador / The Tennessean
General Manager Laura Broll brings in boxes donated to the Comunity Resource Center in Nashville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Volunteers come to help package items for the those in need of a relief package.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.

CRC hosted a previous drive-thru on Friday, but only around 20 people came through. The low numbers were possibly due to the holiday weekend, Amado said. 

Overall, she estimated that close to $500,000 in donations and supplies had come into the CRC in the wake of the bombing. She said they are one of many organizations in Nashville that have worked together to support victims and law enforcement as they focus on recovery — both short-term and for the long haul.

She’s been amazed at how many local business, organizations, nonprofits and residents have rallied to help after the bombing, and in the wake of the March tornadoes and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

“We’re going to be there for these business owners and these residents and their employees until they’re settled,” she said. “Our community is going to prop us all up. There’s a reason that the first word in our name is ‘community.” 

Find reporter Rachel Wegner at [email protected] or on Twitter @rachelannwegner.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Non-profit gives food boxes, essentials to Nashville bombing victims in drive-thru event