Join Hands On Nashville and the Strobel family to celebrate volunteer heroes who selflessly give their time and talent to improve our community. You are invited to help them choose the recipients of the 37th Annual Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Awards with your online vote!

Their team of screeners has narrowed down more than 165 nominations to 20 finalists. Sonny Nichols, a valued TWK disaster ministry volunteer is one of those 20! He is very deserving of the Disaster Response award. Please vote for him!

Public voting is open through April 15. You can vote once per day, and all voters will be entered to win a one-night stay at the Thompson Nashville hotel in the Gulch!

Here is Sonny’s story:

Sonny Nichols 
Volunteers with Disaster Recovery Connection

For three years, Sonny Nichols has been working with Disaster Recovery Connection as a volunteer in several roles. He has volunteered during community walkabouts, worked as a third party between disaster case managers and survivors, and called identified survivors when a disaster struck to learn their needs and connect them with community resources.  

Sonny volunteered at the first walkabout in Wilson County in July 2020 following the March 2020 tornado. He returned for the October 2020 walkabout and continued to volunteer after the March 2021 and August 2021 floods. Most recently, Sonny worked for the Long-Term Recovery Groups after the December 2021 tornadoes, an extensive process that has continued into 2023. Part of Sonny’s job is also to call survivors and identify their needs. In a short amount of time, he has reached out to nearly 650 individual survivors, offering them assistance and compassion.  

Through his work in these myriad roles, Sonny has been identified by colleagues as one of their strongest case workers, ensuring that survivors’ needs are always met during times of crisis and chaos.  

“We know Long-Term Recovery Groups and the community are in good hands and stronger with Sonny Nichols volunteering,” said a colleague.  

Please add your vote

We encourage you to read ALL the stories of the wonderful volunteers in Middle Tennessee and to vote in all the categories! However, at the very least, please scroll down to Disaster Response, and vote for Sonny Nichols. The TWK Disaster Recovery team appreciates your support.

https://www.hon.org/strobel-ballot

Recipients of Strobel Volunteer Awards will be announced on May 12, 2023.