UPDATED 03/01: The following story includes original reporting, as well as updated information provided by CFMT and Hands on Nashville’s director of communications, Lindsey Turner.
Backfield in Motion is a nonprofit organization in East Nashville focusing on education through mastery of literacy and numeracy skills of at-risk youth that leads to a high school diploma, a foundation for higher education, and the on-job skills needed to enter the world of work, while using athletics as an incentive for academic improvement. The organization has received a $30,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund to support the relief efforts in the aftermath of the 2020 Middle Tennessee tornadoes.
Backfield in Motion received a $30,000 grant to support the delivery of food and educational supplies to ensure students are “educated, engaged, and empowered” during March 2020 Middle Tennessee tornado relief efforts.
Cardboard boxes filled with groceries pack Backfield in Motion’s bus, front to back. The East Nashville nonprofit, located on Woodland Street mere blocks from Five Points — one the hardest-hit areas of the areas by tornadoes early March 3 — are part of the supply chain for door-to-door delivery of much-needed food relief.
Backfield in Motion’s Anthony Ellison pops out of the bus, his arms loaded with a couple of sizable boxes.
Knock-knock-knock-knock … knock-knock-knock-knock.
A dog barks.
After several moments, someone opens a heavy door and peeks through the opening.
“Help you out with something to eat …”
“Thank you very much.”
And on to the next stop.
In conjunction with relief efforts from The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Metro Nashville Public Schools. The Jones Mission, NAZA (Nashville After Zone Alliance), and many other people and organizations Backfield in Motion has been delivering food, literary books, educational games such as flashcards and color-by-number books, and other items that would keep students and families engaged in just trying to keep things as ‘normal’ as possible.
“We have always been and will continue to be fully dedicated to making sure our students are Educated, Engaged, and Empowered,” says Todd Campbell, Backfield in Motion’s executive director, “and right now is when we show that commitment the most.”
The organization has been involved in food distribution of breakfasts and lunches in recent weeks at several processing hubs and distribution sites. The young people couldn’t do it without help, of course.
“Our kids are dependent on not only their parents to help them get through this, but others as well,” Campbell says.
The former English teacher said that In addition to the ongoing door-to-door deliveries, Backfield in Motion has added the the popular video conferencing app Zoom to interact with the students for 40 minutes per day to deliver the organization’s character education program, Rites of The Passage, which is offered through a collaboration with Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Campbell took time to respond to a few questions from The Community Foundation.
CFMT: Give a favorite example or two of your staffers or volunteers stepping up to make a difference to help people through these disasters.
BIM: “My best example of my staffers is when last Tuesday it was raining very hard, and there were potential thunderstorms coming. We were scheduled to deliver food boxes, along with instructional games, and books, but I felt like the weather was just too bad to do it and told them we would wait until the next day or later in the week.
CFMT: Give a favorite example or two of your staffers or volunteers stepping up to make a difference to help people through these disasters.
BIM: “My best example of my staffers is when last Tuesday it was raining very hard, and there were potential thunderstorms coming. We were scheduled to deliver food boxes, along with instructional games, and books, but I felt like the weather was just too bad to do it and told them we would wait until the next day or later in the week.
“They all looked at me and said, ‘We know you’re the boss, but these kids need this stuff today, so we will get it to them today.’ So they braved the elements to make sure our students were cared for. As they sent me videos and pictures of their interactions with the kid. I felt terrible for them because they were all soaking wet, but at the same time was very proud of them for having more concern for those kids than themselves. Plus, all my guys had huge smiles on their faces as they were greeting the kids.”
CFMT: In terms of tornado relief and recovery, what needs remain in your community or communities for tornado relief and recovery?
BIM: “The main need in our community is to continue to be able to provide the kids with food and instructional materials. The food is very essential, because a lot of these boys depend largely on getting their nutritional needs met by eating breakfast, lunch, and our evening meal at the school. The instructional material is important because it is needed to keep them on a routine of learning and growing intellectually. Our issue has been able to find the funds to continue to purchase these instructional materials for the [Backfield in Motion] boys.”
CFMT: Define the word “hope” for you and your organization.
BIM: “Hope means that we will be able to look at this double-whammy that we were given in 2020, and be able to use it as a point of reference, to even 50 years from now be able to say, ‘I made it through a tornado and [coronavirus] pandemic. and I am still standing. So everything from here on out can only get better for me and us.’”
Follow up with Todd Campbell, Chief Executive Officer, Backfield in Motion (BIM)
CFMT: From your organization’s perspective, what progress has been made since the March 2020 tornadoes, and what more still needs to be done for survivors?
BIM: From our perspective, although the tornado was an awful occurrence for our community, it was also an instructional awakening for Backfield in Motion. When East Nashville was hit, it forced us to change how we deliver academic instruction and other family services to our students and their families. We began using Zoom classes long before the pandemic forced changes to our ‘normalcy,’ so by the summer and definitely at the beginning of the school year, our students were already well-acclimated to remote learning.
Due to MNPS [Metro Nashville Public Schools] students learning remotely for most of the year, BIM created learning pods to keep our most at-risk students from falling behind. The students enrolled in our learning pods were required to attend every day of their scheduled school day and participate fully in the instruction they received from their respective school and teacher. The students were also provided breakfast and lunch, as well as one-on-one instruction with our certified teachers during their asynchronous instructional times.
We have found that the attendance, behavior, and academic level of achievement was improved greatly for those students who we were able to accommodate in the learning pods In addition, the rest of the students on our program received instructional enrichment and character education each day through our virtual engagement program after their regular school time.
Continuing needs are for those students and families to have access to better technology, such as hotspots and internet access. Additionally, there is still a great need for families to receive nutritional donations and help from those who initially were dedicated to help improve the situation for them.
Learn More About Backfield In Motion
Online at www.BackfieldInMotion.org