East Tennessee's Straight From The Heart moments in 2020

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — 2020 was...well...2020. In a year marked by uncertainty, we wanted to celebrate by taking a look back at some of our area's most Straight From The Heart moments.

A lot was thrown at us this year with the pandemic, but we made it through together.

JANUARY

The Vols brought home a Gator Bowl win!

RELATED: "The decade of the Vols" | Tennessee Football shares Gator Bowl highlights

A Tellico Plains man made a giant topiary chicken.

RELATED: Small town seeks big boost in tourism with a room-for-rent inside a giant chicken

A Knoxville woman cured her chronic shaking with CBD oil.

RELATED: CBD oil curbs woman's uncontrollable shaking, restores her quality of life

FEBRUARY

Families reclaimed their ancestors' stolen stories.

RELATED: Stolen Stories | Reclaiming the lives of Tennessee slaves

This Walland basketball team won a championship in honor of their late coach.

RELATED: "We did this all for him" | Walland boys basketball team wins championship to honor late coach

A Knoxville teacher got a life-saving gift from a fellow educator.

RELATED: Knoxville teacher gets second chance at life after fellow educator donates her kidney

MARCH

Tennesseans big and small did their part to help after the deadly Middle Tennessee tornadoes.

RELATED: "That's what God wants us to do" | Little boy rides his tricycle to help tornado victims

Neighborhoods set up "bear hunts" to keep kids entertained during lockdowns.

RELATED: Knox County neighborhood puts on teddy bear hunt for families to entertain kids stuck at home

A Blount County bakery made sure kids in foster care had a birthday cake.

RELATED: 'They are loved' | Free birthday cakes for Blount County kids in foster care

APRIL

Crafters helped us all mask up and stay safe.

RELATED: 'We're so grateful' | Crafters make masks to protect essential workers in Tennessee, Kentucky

A photographer found a way to do socially distant senior photos.

RELATED: Pay It Forward: Photographer visits high school seniors to take their portraits

War medals helped connect to families.

RELATED: Service & Sacrifice: Medals earned by first Knoxville soldier killed in Vietnam unite two families

MAY

We honored the class of 2020.

RELATED: To the class of 2020...

UT Athletics honored our local healthcare heroes.

RELATED: Perfect 10: All healthcare professionals working to keep communities safe

Communities joined together for equality and justice.

RELATED: 'Say their names' | Peaceful protesters gather in Knoxville after George Floyd's death

JUNE

A Maryville teen started a lemonade stand for first responders.

RELATED: Maryville teen runs Chaz's Lemonade and Produce Stand

Yassin became a U.S. citizen!

RELATED: "The dream come true": Yassin is now officially a US citizen

JULY

A Knoxville woman started offering outdoor cello lessons.

RELATED: Outdoor cello lessons breathe life and harmony into out-of-work North Knoxville musician's life

A visually impaired student became a Claiborne High School drum major.

RELATED: “Yeah, I can’t see. That shouldn’t stop me from what I want to do” | Blind drum major leads Claiborne High School marching band

A Knoxville family sold everything to try "road schooling."

RELATED: Knoxville family sells everything, buys RV, heads west to home school

AUGUST

Knoxville teachers did a Bitmoji group photo to kick off a strange school year.

RELATED: Bitmoji teacher photo is the cutest thing we've seen during this strange school year

A Fountain City woman started painting rocks to sprinkle some sunshine in her community.

RELATED: From rock bottom to rockstar | Fountain City woman paints rocks to spread joy

A Corryton couple made lunches for the homeless in memory of their daughter.

RELATED: Love, Jenny. Husband and wife deliver over 1,000 lunches to homeless in honor of late daughter

SEPTEMBER

We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month virtually.

RELATED: Hispanic Heritage Month: Celebrating our Latino leaders

Literally, just the phenomenon that was the Knoxville Tiger.

RELATED: The "Knoxville Tiger" might vanish into legend as TWRA suspects a bobcat was to blame

A dad walked a marathon in honor of his daughter's cancer battle.

RELATED: 'Childhood cancer is a marathon' | Father walks 26.2 miles to honor sick daughter

OCTOBER

A man gave his VFL dad a checkerboard grave.

RELATED: Son paints Tennessee checkerboard on father's grave to honor his love for the Vols

The "Germ Busters" helped keep their fellow students safe.

RELATED: "Germ Busters" at Alcoa City Schools spray away COVID-19

We found creative ways to trick or treat during a pandemic.

RELATED: Celebrating Halloween and trick-or-treating in a pandemic

NOVEMBER

A woman reminded us to be kind during the election with her signs.

RELATED: Sweetwater shop sells election signs centered on kindness

A baby broke records with her birth after being frozen as an embryo for more than 27 years.

RELATED: East TN baby breaks record after being born from embryo frozen more than 27 years

The Oak Ridge 85 were finally recognized 65 years after becoming the first to integrate public schools in the southeast.

RELATED: The Secret in Scarboro: The Oak Ridge 85

DECEMBER

A Knoxville woman sent 850 letters nationwide to spread joy.

RELATED: Knoxville woman writes more than 850 letters to send smiles to others

Local nonprofits got help from a billionaire's donation.

RELATED: "It couldn't have come at a better time" | Billionaire donates millions of dollars to Knoxville nonprofits

A boy's hot chocolate stand brought Christmas to kids in need.

RELATED: 'Secret Santa' matches hundreds of dollars 5-year-old boy raised selling hot chocolate

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