TN Governor's Faith-Based and Community Initiative

10/07/2026

Three regions. One table. 1,000+ leaders.

This year's Faith & Community Summits brought pastors, mayors, business leaders, philanthropists, and nonprofit leaders together in East, Middle, and West Tennessee around one question: what can we do together for Tennessee's children and families that none of us can do alone?

Leaders took on the "wicked issues," the problems no single sector can solve, and left with new partners, real conversations, and next steps for their own counties.

Watch and share the recap of all three Summits.

Thank you to every speaker, table host, award honoree, and partner who showed up. The work doesn't end at the summit. It continues in your community.

10/01/2026

342 incarcerated men and women in Tennessee have raised their hand and asked for a mentor.

They've asked for someone to sit with them once a month. Someone who will listen, show up, and help them plan for the day they walk out.

The application is in. The willingness is there. What's missing is you.

Volunteer mentors with the Volunteer Mentorship Initiative commit to regular visits with one mentee and walk with them toward reentry. You don't need a background in corrections. You need consistency and a willingness to be present.

If you've been looking for a way to make a measurable difference in someone's life, 342 people are already waiting for you.

Learn more and apply at mentortn.org.

09/30/2026

1,030 Tennessee leaders. Three summits. One shared question: what could we do together that none of us can do alone?

This year's Faith & Community Summits in East, Middle, and West Tennessee brought pastors, public officials, nonprofit leaders, and philanthropists to the same tables. The focus was "wicked issues": problems like child and family well-being that are too tangled for any one sector to solve on its own.

The goal was never a full room. It was what happens after people leave: new partnerships and shared plans that reach Tennessee's most vulnerable neighbors.

Thank you to everyone who pulled up a chair. The work continues in your county.

09/29/2026

336 individuals from 141 community-based organizations. 3 pilot counties. One growing network of care. 🤝

Houses of worship, nonprofits, state staff, and local providers across Tennessee are now trained and enrolled in the Human Flourishing Initiative Alliance. Together they're building county-led ecosystems of care so families can find help close to home.

09/29/2026

342 community-based organizations. 3 pilot counties. One growing network of care. 🤝

Houses of worship, nonprofits, state staff, and local providers across Tennessee are now trained and enrolled in the Human Flourishing Initiative Alliance. Together they're building county-led ecosystems of care so families can find help close to home.

09/28/2026

Every week in Tennessee, a family reaches a breaking point. A caseworker sees what's missing, whether it's a bed, a car repair, or a month's rent. Every week, foster and kinship families take in children and need people beside them for the long haul.

Across our state, 556 faith communities have answered both calls.

Through CarePortal Tennesseel, congregations respond to real-time needs posted by caseworkers, delivering practical help that keeps children safely with the people who love them.

Through Tennessee Kids Belong churches are trained and equipped to surround foster and kinship families with wrap teams. These are volunteers who bring meals, provide respite, and offer steady friendship, so that no family carries this alone.

That's 556 congregations, in cities and small towns, who have decided that vulnerable children and the families caring for them are their neighbors.

To every faith leader, volunteer, and wrap team member who has said yes: thank you. If your house of worship isn't connected yet, there is a family near you waiting for someone to step in.

09/25/2026

The momentum is real, and it's because of you. 💛

9,057 vulnerable children in Tennessee served through CarePortal Tennessee. A bed. A car seat. An electric bill. Small needs, met by neighbors, so families can stay together.

Thank you for showing up.



Every Child TN

08/27/2026

One thousand Tennessee businesses have now said yes.

Tennessee Kids Belong has reached more than 1,000 Foster Friendly® businesses across the state — restaurants, salons, photographers, gyms, and family businesses offering meals, discounts, services, and moments of relief to families fostering Tennessee children.

Governor Bill Lee joined Every Child TN Director Kathleen Clancy in recognizing the milestone, presenting an award to Tennessee Kids Belong Executive Director Kristin Allender in honor of the entire TKB team and the communities that made it possible.

Foster Friendly was never designed as a discount program. It's an invitation for the private sector to carry part of the weight — and 1,000 Tennessee businesses have accepted it.

Tennessee Kids Belong leads foster family retention for Every Child TN, an initiative of the Governor's Faith-Based and Community Initiative in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Children's Services. Retention is where the foster care system holds or breaks. Families who feel supported keep saying yes.

Congratulations to Kristin and the entire Tennessee Kids Belong team.

Every Child TN Tennessee Kids Belong

08/26/2026

When Every Child TN was unveiled, more than 1,700 Tennesseans filled Belmont University's Fisher Center for the Performing Arts — foster and adoptive parents, caseworkers, faith leaders, nonprofit staff, state officials.

Dolly Parton graciously recorded a message expressing her support for Tennessee's children, youth, and families in the foster care community. Dollywood later created a program offering Tennessee's foster children complimentary admission to the park.

That instinct ran through her whole life. A girl from Sevier County, one of twelve, who spent six decades using what she'd built to put books in children's hands, keep families standing after disaster, and make people who had been overlooked feel seen.

She used her platform for Tennessee's most vulnerable children, and she asked for nothing in return.

Thank you, Dolly.

Rest well. 🦋

https://youtu.be/gWeto2ZAH6A

Every Child TN is a statewide effort to mobilize everyday Tennessea...

08/20/2026

More highlights from last week's kick-off of the Human Flourishing Initiative in Shelby County ... gathering local leaders from non-profits, faith communities, state government, business, and civic organizations into an ecosystem of care for vulnerable families and individuals.

Find out more how you can get connected at www.flourishtn.org/shelby

Agape Child & Family Services