Field note 001 Nashville & Middle Tennessee

Melanoma is beatable when you catch it early.

We are a Nashville nonprofit run entirely by volunteers. We help people find melanoma early, pay for the parts of treatment insurance leaves behind, and get in front of a dermatologist without waiting months.

I was just diagnosed Find a free skin check

What we do

Three ways we show up for Nashville.

We would rather do a few things properly than many things thinly. Everything below happens here, in Middle Tennessee.

Find it early

Free skin checks with volunteer dermatologists, in ordinary places — not clinics. Plus straight talk about what to look for on your own skin.

Carry the cost

Needs-based help with what insurance does not cover: getting to treatment, staying near it, co-pays, medication gaps, and income lost while you are in care.

Open the door

A spot you are worried about should not sit for four months waiting on an appointment. We use our relationships to get people seen.

Just diagnosed

Start here. You do not need to know anyone.

A melanoma diagnosis arrives with a hundred questions and no map. Call or write and a volunteer will get back to you. We will not ask you to explain yourself twice.

What we can do: Help you get a dermatology appointment sooner. Help with travel, lodging, co-pays, medication costs, and lost income during treatment. Point you to programs that cover what we cannot.
What we cannot do: We are not doctors and we do not give medical advice. We cannot diagnose you, read your scans, or tell you which treatment to choose. Those belong to your care team.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Middle Tennessee being treated for melanoma. Help is needs-based and decided against the same written standards for everyone.
How to reach us: Call (901) 229-4337 or email help@tonyroserangers.org. A volunteer answers every message.

Free skin checks

A ten-minute look that can change everything.

We organize and pay for free skin cancer screening events staffed by volunteer licensed dermatologists. We are not a medical provider — the dermatologists provide the care, and we get everything else out of the way.

What happens at a screening

You fill out a short form when you arrive.
You are seen in a private room.
A dermatologist checks your skin. It takes about ten minutes.
You leave with what they found, in writing.
If something needs a closer look, we help you get that appointment.

Free. No insurance required. No one is turned away.

Dermatologists

Screening days run on donated clinical hours. If you practice dermatology in Middle Tennessee and can give us a morning, that is the single most useful thing anyone can give this organization.

Volunteer your hours

Our story

It started the way these things usually start.

Tony Rose is a Nashville native. He has spent his life here, and a good part of this city knows him.

In February 2026 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma. He is in treatment, and he is doing well.

What he learned early is that the hardest parts of this are often not the medical ones. They are the logistics, the money, and not knowing what comes next — and they land hardest on people who do not have a room full of friends making calls for them.

So Tony started the Rangers, with a group of his friends, while he was still in the middle of it himself. The name is the point. A ranger knows the ground and walks it with you.

The hardest parts of a cancer diagnosis are rarely the medical ones. They are the logistics, the money, and not knowing what comes next.

Who we are

Five volunteers. No salaries.

The Tony Rose Rangers is a Tennessee nonprofit public benefit corporation and a 501(c)(3) public charity. Nobody here is paid — not the directors, not the officers, nobody.

Adam WillPresident & Chairperson

Anthony Rose Jr.Director · Custodian of Contributions

Michael HaasSecretary

Jason JacquotDirector

Henry BrockmanDirector

Give

Where your money actually goes.

We have no payroll, no office, and no paid fundraisers. What we raise pays dermatologists' costs for screening days and goes directly to people in treatment — for gas, hotel rooms, co-pays, prescriptions, and rent that came due during a month somebody could not work.

Funds raised here stay here. Every dollar is spent on someone in Middle Tennessee.

Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows. You will get a written acknowledgment for any gift of $250 or more.

Other ways to help

Dermatologists — donate a morning to a screening day.
Space — a room we can screen people in.
Employers — bring sun-safety education to your crew.

Get in touch