Vendor Spotlights
A man wearing a gray coat and warm hat smiles and gives a thumbs up.

It’s a crazy world out there —and Pedro Lopez is off to see it

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When Pedro Lopez goes out to sell The Contributor, he appreciates what he gets — but he relishes the chance to give. More than just letting that paper go, he tries to pay forward as many little blessings as he can. “A lot of people don’t know what you’re going through,” Lopez said. “And I wanna shout out the people who bless me with the paper. I give them gifts — even if it’s small, little things, I give ‘em.

Vendor Spotlights
A man in a red hat and a woman with brown hair take a photo together wearing fabric face masks. The woman's mask reads: Happy to Contribute. The man's mask is orange with the University of Tennessee logo.

More than a Customer: Quick Connections

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At Pedro L.’s selling spot on Broadway and 14th Ave N, the light is so short that there’s not a lot of time to talk. But that doesn’t stop him from bonding with his customers. In the early mornings and mid-afternoons, Pedro’s sunny disposition is a welcome respite on three very different commutes. Shannon Meadors, minister to children at Nashville First Baptist Church, hopes to get a red light on her way to work so she and Pedro can catch up. She hears about his brother in Florida, his upcoming new teeth, and makes sure he has a safe place to sleep.

Vendor Spotlights
A man wearing a Contributor winter hat and a yellow Contributor vendor badge smiles and gives a thumbs up.

Pedro’s work here isn’t done

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Pedro unfolds a piece of paper he pulled out of his wallet. It’s delicate, and has a hole in the middle, but the key piece of information is still intact. It lists his former salaries. That was back when he worked in a steel mill in Texas, after he cleaned up the 2010 flood damage in Opry Mills, but before his leg was severely injured in an accident. After working for seven years in pain, he couldn’t take it anymore.