NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — While many families gathered around dinner tables on Christmas Day, a dedicated group of volunteers in Nashville chose to spend their holiday serving others, ensuring no one felt alone during the season.
For 18 years, Faith, Hope, and Love Fellowship has made Christmas Day about giving back to the community's most vulnerable residents. Led by Janice Christian Austrie and her husband, the organization delivered more than 500 meals to people experiencing homelessness throughout Nashville.
"It's about giving back to people to make sure the world's a better place," Elliott Matthew said.
The Matthews family represents the spirit of the effort, with four generations volunteering together year after year. They prepared plates filled with chicken, Brussels sprouts, and lo mein noodles for those without homes.
"We know a lot of people are not coming out to serve today. So we have to be here to help them," Austrie said.
The volunteers made stops throughout the city, including at motels where many former Tent City residents now live. Amanda Miller, who has stayed at one motel for eight months, was among dozens displaced when the city closed Tent City in 2024 to build a park.
"Not everybody could survive without them," Miller said.
Austrie and her team visit these locations weekly, never arriving empty-handed. Their consistent presence has created bonds that extend beyond a typical volunteer relationship.
"Every week we serve them, and we have been doing it for the past 18 years," Austrie said.
For recipients like Miller, the volunteers have become more than service providers during a time when traditional family gatherings aren't possible.
"Not everybody has family," Miller said. "Without this, I wouldn't even have gotten anything for Christmas. So some of us really appreciate that."
The feeling is mutual for the volunteers, who see their work as building extended family connections.
"They're like family. That's what they are, they're like our family," Austrie said.
The organization continues to seek volunteers and donations of meals, clothes and other necessities to support their ongoing mission in the Nashville community. Click here, to donate.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
Recently while home sick, I got to watch the news just like you — a viewer! And I have to brag on my co-workers. Not only are they great people and journalists, but they are also tremendous advocates. Look no further than the recent reporting by Amanda Roberts and Jennifer Kraus. This kind of reporting takes dogged commitment. To us, it's always more than a story; this is our home too.
- Carrie Sharp
