W E L C O M E !

Welcome to East Tennessee Cares, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization formed to enable the caring nature and volunteer spirit of East Tennessee to help those in need, both in the U.S. and abroad. Our focus is now on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

If you would like to view some "Survival Tips" to help spread awareness of the many different ways that the pandemic is affecting our lives and how we can take action, please click here. We hope these tips can help empower all of us to more effectively deal with the many challenges that we now face, and to encourage all to help our neighbors in need.

If you would like to view our online Art Gallery that we created to brighten, inspire, and unite our community during this crisis, please click here. Please also consider contributing to our Gallery - we will print selected works and mail them to those most in need!

Please connect with us and help show the volunteer spirit of East Tennessee to help those in need!

Mission

We strive to embrace, promote, and grow the volunteer and caring spirit of East Tennesse, be a good neighbor to those around us, and to help those in need!

About Us

We are a charitable, not-for-profit organization based in East Tennessee (Knoxville, Oak Ridge, Lenoir City, and nearby areas), and formed to help those in need. We have applied for our non-profit 501(c)(3) status, and are currently focussed on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

We sincerely hope you will connect with us and show the East Tennessee volunteer spirit!

East Tennessee Cares Team

Marie Xingxing Yao

With Masters Degrees from Peking University and Indiana University, Marie Xingxing Yao is a software developer with 10+ years experience and has lived in East Tennessee since 2009. She specializes in understanding users’ needs and collaborating with them to design creative solutions. Marie is active in the community and has taught a course on "Chinese language, history, culture and more" at ORICL since 2017.

Michael Smith

A Yale Ph.D., a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Presidential Research Award winner, Michael has over 10 years experience in organizing and producing not-for-profit commmunity events in East Tennessee, over 15 years in teaching martial arts to youths and adults, and 27 years of research management and mentoring researchers of all levels of expertise.

Hong Li

A resident of Oak Ridge since 2001, Hong Li is a senior Cost Analyst at Magna International, and has over 15 years experience as a Cost Accountant and Financial Analyst at JTEKT, Alcoa, and other firms. She has been an active volunteer in the community, teaching and directing the art programs at the East Tennessee Chinese School, working at the Knoxville Asian Festival, and serving as Treasurer of the Oak Ridge Atomic City Aquatic Club.

Huiqin Hao

An Inventory Account Manager for the past two years, Tina (Huiqin) Hao also has 7 years experience in accounting and preparing tax returns. Tina is passionate about volunteering to help those in need, and urges all in the area to work with us for relief of the coronavirus outbreak.

East Tennessee Cares