Impact
Working to improve the lives of children with special needs
Since 2011, Team Hunt has raised over $500,000 to support life-changing initiatives locally and nationally. We want to spread the message of hope and create awareness of what’s possible regardless of circumstance through a combination of fundraising to support therapy programs and providing resources to families to make exposure to the outdoors more accessible.
From donating supplies and building new treatment rooms to funding electronic medical record systems and partnering with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, our goal is to support children and families with special needs however we can. We are proud to partner with the following organizations in our shared mission to serve families whose lives are affected by diagnosis of disease or disability.
Ellie's Playground: Franklin all inclusive playground
Franklin’s future Inclusive Playground will be housed within the new Southeast Municipal Complex located on Carothers Parkway. The park is on 3-acres and will include five football fields, miles of walking trails, concessions, ADA accessible restrooms, a pavilion and the first public inclusive playground within the Franklin Parks System.
Nashville ZOO All inclusive playground
At the Nashville Zoo, Thisbe & Noah custom designed and built an all-inclusive playground for ALL children, called Thisbe & Noah’s Promise Park.
All-inclusive playgrounds:
• Prevent Isolation in children with disabilities
• Foster Empathy and Compassion
• Encourage Philanthropy and more
The best part is that Promise Park has equipment designed for children with and without disabilities, promoting side-by-side play.
Nashville Dolphins
It is the Nashville Dolphins’ mission to improve the health and quality of life for children and adults with special needs and combat the alarmingly high statistics of drowning deaths. The Nashville Dolphins provide adaptive aquatic lessons ranging from water safety and survival through competitive swim team programming for participants at no cost.
In addition, they empower their swimmers to experience the joy and pride of being a lifetime member of the Nashville Dolphins family. The programs they offer aim to enhance the quality, health, and safety of the daily lives of both participants and their family members, within a safe and socially supportive community environment.
National Ability Center
The National Ability Center creates opportunities for individuals with disabilities to engage in adaptive recreation and adventure activities, fostering personal growth and unleashing their true potential. Their carefully designed programs provide safe and inclusive environments tailored to the unique needs of each participant and type of disability.
Their mission is to create a society where everyone, regardless of ability, can enjoy the life-changing benefits of adaptive recreation and educational programming.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt
We granted funds to the Children’s Hospital for iPads for the waiting rooms, and research specific to the genetics department. We granted money to the Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, the Children’s Hospital’s primary volunteer group. The Friends organization’s mission is to support the hospital through fundraising, outreach and patient support and education.
High Hopes Pediatric Therapy Clinic
We have donated food and supplies for the Feeding Therapy Clinic for 5 years during our Team Hunt Giving Thanks Run on Thanksgiving Day. We have stocked the cabinets at High Hopes which allows their funding to go to other important initiatives. We have granted the funds and built the Team Hunt Feeding Therapy Clinic for 5 new treatment rooms, supplies, scales, and a waiting area at High Hopes in Franklin, TN. We granted funds for a new electronic medical records system allowing High Hopes to go paperless and be more efficient.
Make-A-Wish Foundation
We granted a wish for a child in Middle Tennessee with a life threatening disease. A wish come true empowers children with life-threatening medical conditions to fight harder against their illnesses. When wish kids are granted a wish, they get more than just a great experience for a day, two days, or a week. That experience improves the quality of life for them and their entire family. Health professionals treating them say the wish experience is an important adjunct to medical treatment, and they observe their patients feel better and comply more readily with treatment protocols when they experience their wish come true.
The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation
We granted scholarships for the Annual United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation Symposium. The UMDF symposium is designed to enable families to network with other families while gathering the latest information about diagnosis, treatment, therapies, and living with mitochondrial disease.The need for discounted registration fees for affected individuals and their families is immense as almost all the families attending are under significant financial burden with mounting medical bills as they face this devastating disease. We granted funds for research projects to find a cure for mitochondrial disease and explore new treatment paths. We also granted a research project to find new diagnostic measures and testing protocols. This was all granted through a fundraiser we started called “Crushing Mito.” We planned and sponsored the Energy for Life Walk-a-thon in Nashville for the UMDF. The yearly walk raises money and awareness for mitochondrial disease.
Important Note Regarding Funding
Team Hunt and Team Hunt Adventure are the driving force and fundraising efforts behind The Hunt Michael Hollis Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle TN. The Hunt Michael Hollis Fund supports families who have loved ones with mitochondrial disease, developmental delays, and special needs through raising awareness and money to help find a cure and to provide various therapy programs. We are a 401c3 non-profit and none of the money we raise goes towards Hunt’s therapies, medical needs, or our travel.