Big Payback ‘pays back’ Maury County nonprofits

Members from 12 area nonprofits gathered at Firefighter Park at Columbia Fire Station No. 1 on Thursday for the second annual Big Payback 24-hour fundraising event. Citizens and city leaders spent the day stopping by the park, feasting on some of the area’s most popular food trucks while enjoying local live music. The main reason, however, was to learn about what each nonprofit group does for the community. Maury Regional Health Foundation also had its mobile unit onsite for on the spot check ups, vitals and other health information. Columbia Fire Chief Ty Cobb said the Big Payback is something he hopes to see grow bigger every year, with more nonprofits and businesses getting involved. “I thought we had a good event, and it’s a really big deal,” Cobb said. “We had 12 nonprofits here at station 1, food trucks and we had a good turnout, especially around lunchtime. We had good weather and it’s good to see the support of the community. The number of volunteers that help the nonprofits keep on working were really shown out there.” Nonprofit groups like Center of Hope, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Maury County, The Family Center, Maury County Senior Center and FreshSTART Recovery Church rely almost entirely on donations, whether it comes by way of sponsorships, individual contributions or grant funding. Events like the Big Payback, they say, are what allows their programming to happen each year.