It Started with a StyleBlueprint Story — Now This Nashville Nonprofit Is Turning 10!
Nashville Community Connections is celebrating 10 years of supporting MNPS students and their families. And it all started with a StyleBlueprint story! Image:
Ten years ago, in a beautiful twist of fate, a StyleBlueprint article sparked something far bigger than anyone could have imagined. After reading a FACES profile on Catherine Knowles and her work with Metro Nashville Public Schools’ HERO Program, Nashville resident Jami Oakley reached out with a simple question: How can I help?
That one email led to the creation of Nashville Community Connections, a nonprofit that now supports thousands of local students experiencing homelessness or economic hardship. Today, Nashville Community Connections is celebrating ten years of serving families across the city, and we’re honored to have been a small part of that journey.
In 2014, Jami Oakley was new to Nashville, navigating life with her young sons and looking for ways to feel connected. “I moved to Nashville with two small boys and knew no one,” Jami says. “A neighbor forwarded the StyleBlueprint email to me and encouraged me to subscribe as a way to learn about things going on in town that would be helpful as I figured out my place.”
One story, in particular, stopped her in her tracks.
“When I read Catherine’s profile and learned that there were more than 3,000 students in Nashville in unstable housing situations, I was shocked,” Jami says. “This incredible statistic — more than 3,000 kids without a home or bedroom to call their own — made it feel like there could be space to lean in, learn, and share some of her needs.”
At the time, Catherine — who leads Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Homeless Education Resource Office (HERO Program), which supports students experiencing homelessness — simply hoped the story might reach a few new people.
I was excited to be connected to the StyleBlueprint community through the FACES article, as the audience was outside of my work bubble,” Catherine says. “I had hopes of raising awareness and inspiring a few collections of gently used donations. But I never dreamed it would lead to the creation of a new nonprofit to support our work and our families.”
Jami and Catherine met for coffee to discuss what collaborating might look like, and it began with a simple question: What is a need that the students you serve have and that the Nashville community could work together to provide?
At the time, the answer was clear: school uniforms. From that conversation, UniCycle was born — a program that collects gently used clothing and redistributes it to students who need it. It didn’t take long for the idea to take hold, and it has only expanded from there. Last school year alone, the program distributed more than 42,000 clothing items to students across Metro Nashville Public Schools.
“All of the ways we grew were organic, led by need and into a space that was filling a gap not being addressed by another nonprofit in our community,” Jami says.
Today, that effort has evolved even further. Nashville Community Connections now supports students through a wide range of programs, including clothing, hygiene items, food, transportation, and flexible funding for families navigating housing instability — all in close partnership with the HERO Program.
That support can take many forms: covering apartment application fees, funding small but critical car repairs, supplying dorm essentials for graduating seniors, or even outfitting students with sports equipment so they can participate alongside their peers. Each need is different, but the goal is the same: to remove barriers so students can show up, engage, and move forward.
A decade in, Nashville Community Connections has grown far beyond what either Jami or Catherine imagined, but the heart of it hasn’t changed.
“Central to it all is a drive to ensure that children have the necessities they need to be present and ready to learn and grow each day at school,” Jami says.
And it all traces back to connection.
“Connections change lives, and I never could have imagined how my coffee with Jami following the FACES article all those years ago would impact my life, my work, and our community,” Catherine shares.
One article led to one email. One email led to one conversation. And that conversation became ten years of showing up for thousands of families across Nashville.
What started as a single story became something much bigger … and ten years later, it’s still growing.
Catherine sums it up best: “One quick read changed things. The story of our work broadened perspectives, sparked empathy, and reminded us that meaningful impact is happening every day, often right in our own neighborhoods. That kind of storytelling doesn’t just inform — it connects us. Forever grateful.”
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Jenna von Oy Bratcher
Jenna von Oy Bratcher is StyleBlueprint's Editorial Operations Manager and Lead Content Editor. The East Coast native moved to Nashville almost two decades ago, by way of Los Angeles. She is a lover of dogs, strong coffee, traveling, and exploring the local restaurant scene bite by bite.