​The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the 40 Middle Tennessee counties it serves, announces $2,379,000 in grants to 365 nonprofit organizations as part of the 2019 annual grantmaking process.
 
Progress has received a $5,000 grant to provide training to 31 staff who will be supporting people with intellectual disabilities and seniors.
 
“The work of our nonprofit partners has never been more important as we watch needs emerge and evolve in this community,” said Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. “The Community Foundation is honored to connect generosity with need through these annual grants and other avenues throughout the year, but we couldn’t have an impact without the array of quality nonprofits offering solutions to our community’s needs and vital services to our neighbors.”
 
The Community Foundation awards discretionary grants annually from its unrestricted and field-of-interest funds through an open application process to Middle Tennessee nonprofits organizations addressing community needs and benefiting the well-being of citizens through valuable programs and innovative services.
 
More information on the grant process is online at www.cfmt.org.
 
About Progress
Founded in 1971, Progress promotes health, happiness and safety for people with disabilities and senior adults needing care. Progress provides a variety of programming to help people with intellectual disabilities and seniors live independently. Programs include Residential support, Employment training, Senior Services, Community-Based Day programming and Smart Art + Craft Supplies, a social enterprise that sells upcycled arts and crafts materials while providing employment and training to people with disabilities. Through these programs we serve approximately 250 people throughout Middle Tennessee.
 
About The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
The Community Foundation exists to promote and facilitate giving in the 40 counties of
Middle Tennessee and beyond. It does this by accepting gifts of any size from anyone at
any time and by empowering individuals, families, companies, nonprofits and
communities to respond to needs and opportunities that matter. The Community
Foundation works with people who have great hearts, whether or not they have great
wealth, to craft solutions that reflect their intentions and goals. For more information, call
615-321-4939 or visit www.cfmt.org. 

Progress has now launched Quarterly Deliveries for the Taking Care of Business program! Taking Care of Business provides pre-vocational training for people with disabilities. Progress Ambassadors deliver a dozen donuts to local businesses, and during the delivery have an opportunity to practice shaking hands, introducing themselves and work on communication skills. The program aims to provide exposure to many different types of business settings to people who are interested in learning to work, while encouraging local businesses to interact with and consider candidates with disabilities for roles within their companies. Deliveries help the people Progress supports connect further with the local community, and helps the local community get to know their neighbors with disabilities better. 

Quarterly deliveries are just that - deliveries made on a quarterly basis for businesses who sign up. Quarterly deliveries consist of different items that offices may need or enjoy, including office plants, beverage mixes, and more. 

The first quarterly deliveries took place on June 12th, and ambassadors made deliveries to The Nashville Predators, Warner Elementary and Crichton Group. 

To sign up for a one-time donut delivery or the quarterly delivery program, sign up here. 

We are so proud of Jamal for winning The Arc's Work Initiative Award! The Work Initiative Award is given to one individual who is an employee with a disability who has positively contributed to a workplace setting.

Jamal has worked in janitorial services at Progress since 2017. In just two and a half years he grew exponentially and is now a vital part of the Progress team. Jamal began his role with a job coach, Chris Carr, who supported him as he learned the ropes of the job. Within months, Jamal was working without a job coach and able to be completely independent throughout his day. He empties trash cans and recycling, cleans the bathrooms, shreds documents, and keeps Progress looking tidy throughout the week.
 
In addition to his exceptional work ethic, Jamal greets every single person with a big smile and “Hello, how are you?” When anyone responds with “Good, how are you?” he always responds with “Blessed. Thank you!” During the holidays, Jamal even decorates a tree in the day program for all of us. It is one of his favorite projects throughout the year, and staff and other people we support always look forward to seeing the final results. This is not a requirement of the job at all, it’s just something he likes to do for us. Jamal always has a pep in his step and brings smiles to everyone’s day. He is thorough, polite, and does an outstanding job. We are a better organization with Jamal on our team. He works tirelessly, is always happy to help, and goes above and beyond to bring happiness to our workplace.

Congratulations, Jamal, we are so proud of you!

Thanks to a generous donation from Connie and Mike Schingle and in honor of Connie's aunt Patricia (a former client of Progress for many years) 75 of the people we support and their staff enjoyed a day at the Nashville Zoo on  May 8th! Everyone had a great time, and enjoyed seeing all kinds of creatures great and small. We are extremely grateful for this generous contribution that made such a special day for our folks!

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, and Progress recognized the month with a "See Me for Me" campaign. We asked people we support to describe themselves in one word. See the results below!

We were pleased to be featured in a video by TNCO ACTS that will be used to recruit Direct Support Professionals throughout the state! The video follows Progress DSPs and people they support throughout their day. Filming took place during the summer of 2018, and the video will be shared with legislators, on social media, and through a variety of other formats. DSPs are truly heroes, and we hope the video encourages many more to join the field!

Kelly Fisher with The Ashland City Times wrote an article about the DSP Staffing Crisis, and how it has affected Cheatham County specifically. She spoke with longtime Progress live-in companion Chris Luallen and his challenges in supporting Jimmy when staffing is so difficult. Read the full story at:
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/cheatham/2019/01/11/direct-support-professionals-needed-cheatham-co-care-adults-disabilities/2547733002/

Progress just received an additional $100,000 grant from the Frist Foundation toward the Capital Campaign, matching their previous lead contribution towards the project.  Pete Bird, President and CEO of the Frist Foundation, said, “We believe in Progress and the important work that you do.”  The foundation was one of Progress’ earliest supporters, in addition to being among the first donors to the Capital Campaign.

The Progress administrative currently houses twice the staff that it was intended to accommodate. With new programs, a growing staff, and the need for a larger conference and training area, space is at a premium. So a $1 million expansion was planned, never anticipating poor soil conditions and skyrocketing construction costs amid Nashville’s building boom.

The unhappy surprises boosted the project cost to $1.3 million, which prompted The Frist Foundation to come back with an additional gift. We now have $1,010,000 in case and pledges, but still need additional funds to reach our goal.

If you have already made a gift to the capital campaign, thank you. If you haven’t made a gift or would consider additional support, please consider this unique giving opportunity. All donors to the Capital Campaign will be listed on a permanent wall display in the new building. Additional naming opportunities are also available (see page 7), and all gifts, no matter the size, will be listed on a special wall display.
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To make a lasting impact that will be celebrated for years to come, please consider helping us reach our goal. We cannot thank you enough.  

To make a gift to the Capital Campaign, please contact Kelly O'Connor at 615-577-4726 or K.O'Connor@progress-inc.org. 

First, we have raised more than $900,000 in cash and pledges towards our $1,000,000 goal and we actively continue to solicit donations and pledges. 
 
Through the site preparations last fall, we learned that the soil that the building will be built upon is worse than expected (we are located on top of a former landfill so it is more complicated than normal bad soil) which have impacted construction costs.  With the current state of construction costs in Nashville, coupled with the additional construction costs relative to the poor soil conditions, the cost of the project has gone up dramatically. At one point the project was estimated at 1.6 million dollars and Progress explored the option of reducing the size of the building.  Unfortunately, the cost savings would be negligible and the smaller size would not serve organizational needs.  Both the architect and the contractor have worked tirelessly with us, making further revisions and asking the sub-contractors for help in reducing our cost.  With cuts and further cost-savings, the project came back to us at $1,302,790 and includes a contingency of 10% which we have been assured is more than sufficient given our soil and building conditions. 

We are currently looking at a timeline of 9-12 months and we expect to see soil moving onsite within the next 60 days, permits allowing.
 
Again, thank you very much for your generosity and patience through this long process – we are so very grateful for your support.  We will continue to keep you informed.  Thank you again for all that you have done to support Progress.
 
Please know that through your generosity, you are improving the lives of seniors and people with disabilities.  You provide compassionate supports so that people can live as independently as possible.  You are changing lives and changing the world.  Thank you – we are so very appreciative.

We are pleased to announce that ART CLASH, presented by Lightning 100 and held on Friday, June 15th at the Texas Troubadour Theater was a roaring success! Art Clash was Nashville’s first live upcycled art making competition (think "Iron Chef" for artists). Funds raised will support SmART! Supplies, the social enterprise of Progress that sells donated arts and crafts materials and employs people with disabilities.

During the competition, five teams created one-of-a-kind artwork out of upcycled materials in two hours. Teams were required to incorporate a selection of upcycled materials provided by SmART! Supplies, including wine corks and crayons, and were also permitted to bring their own materials from an approved list.

The event featured a panel of judges consisting of some of Nashville’s most notable artists and leaders in the art community. Judges included Beth Inglish, founder of Nashville Creative Group, Éva Boros of Nashville Walls Project, Brian Sexton of Nashville Creatives’ Day, Colin Pigott of Creative Mornings, Metro Council Member Jeff Syracuse, and critically-acclaimed artists Wayne Brezinka and Randy Purcell. The event was hosted by Torri Yates-Orr, CW58 Nashville multimedia host and actress.

“Art Clash has proven that a live, upcycled art making competition has a strong place in Nashville’s art scene. The event raised important awareness for SmART! Supplies. We brought something entirely new to the community, participants and spectators had a blast, and we are thrilled with the results,” shared Kyle Graden, Marketing and Outreach Manager for SmART! Supplies.

Teams included Post Future (1st Place), Minds Unchained (2nd Place), Trash Mob (3rd Place), Team Blend and the Weary Easel. More than 50 attendees viewed the live competition, and winners received comprehensive prize packages.

Planning for Art Clash 2019 is underway, visit www.artclashnashville.com for details about this year’s event.