Nashville, TN – The Kharis Foundation recently awarded Progress Inc. a $200,000 grant in support of the agency’s capital campaign. The capital campaign seeks to raise $1million dollars to fund a new building on Progress’s campus at 319 Ezell Pike. More than $860,000 has been raised thus far; Progress aims to break ground on construction of the new building this summer.

The Kharis Foundation’s generous donation to Progress, Inc., a non-profit serving people with disabilities and seniors for more than 45 years, has made a large impact on the realization of adding a new building to the current campus.  “The Kharis Foundation has largely closed the gap for us in terms of making the new building a reality, and we are incredibly grateful for their support,” said Progress Executive Director Donna Goodaker. The planned building will include offices and meeting rooms for employment program initiatives which will enable the organization’s employment and senior divisions to expand and respond to increased need for service.
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The capital campaign was launched in the fall of 2014 in order to address the growing need for more space at the agency’s current location. Progress provides a variety of services to people with disabilities and seniors, including community and respite services, residential support, employment training, social enterprise Smart Supplies and others. The administrative offices at Progress are currently house twice the number of people that the building was originally designed to hold.  The new building will provide a space for growing employment services to people with all types of disabilities.

The Kharis Foundation was established in 2008, but has a long history of service in Middle Tennessee and in the Presbyterian Church, USA. Funds for the Kharis Foundation were established from the sale of Park Manor Retirement Center, which began as a “vision by members of a Sunday School class at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Nashville first to help retired ministers and then to minister to the needs of the area’s elderly citizens. Support for the idea grew and, in 1962, Park Manor Retirement Center was opened as Nashville’s first retirement living community.” Progress is incredibly grateful for the support of the foundation. ​
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The Kharis Foundation is an independent, non-traditional foundation which supports churches and nonprofit organizations in Middle Tennessee and is committed to finding innovative ways to affect positive change.

SmART! Supplies was honored to host the 2016 Innovo Fest! The festival brought together artists and fans of Innovo Music Management during a day-long music festival on Sunday, November 6th. The festival helped raise awareness about the mission of SmART! and needs of people with intellectual disabilties as well as creative reuse. 14 music acts as well as food trucks, vendors, sponsors, artists, puppies, and more all came together to celebrate Innovo Music Management's two year anniversary. Watch the video below for a recap of the day's events!

​Progress was one of two agencies in Tennessee to receive funding from Sprouts Farmer’s Market Neighborhood Grants. The grants are funded through Sprouts’ “Round Up for Our Community” program, which takes place annually in stores across the United States. The Neighborhood Grants Program encompasses three focus areas: Health Nutrition and Education, Food Security and Hunger Relief, and Disabilities and Health Concerns. This funding will support Day and Employment Programs at Progress. This includes Project Search, Ticket to Work and Community Based Day programs. Progress is extremely grateful for this funding and looks forward to partnering with Sprouts Farmer's Market. More information about Sprouts Farmer’s Market and grant recipients can be found at www.Sprouts.com. Sprouts locations in Middle Tennessee include Franklin and Murfreesboro.

NASHVILLE, TN – August, 16 2016 – Progress received a $30,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program to assist with employment support for people with disabilities.   Specifically, this grant will positively impact the local community by providing a variety of services including internships and placements for people with disabilities, helping them to successfully acquire and retain employment. Through the Employment Services Program, Progress uses a multi-pronged approach. The Employment Services Program is comprised of several categories - Project SEARCH, Ticket to Work and Job Training/Placement.
 
“The Walmart Foundation has demonstrated that they have dedicated themselves to bettering our community, in this case specifically supporting people with intellectual disabilities and employment skill building.” said Progress Executive Director Donna Goodaker. “We are extremely grateful for this gift; the foundation understands the magnitude of the disparity in employment for people with disabilities versus the rest of the population. The people we serve want to work, they just need the supports behind them to excel, and the Walmart Foundation understands the need as much as we do. ”
 
The Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program supports organizations that create opportunities so people can live better, awarding grants that have a long-lasting, positive impact on communities across the U.S. 

​SmART! Supplies, a social enterprise of Progress Inc. will launch a new series of monthly arts and crafts classes beginning in August 2016 at 4 Buchi Court, Nashville TN 37204. 

Classes will range in price from $15-$30 including materials, and will cover a wide range of upcycled arts and crafts projects. SmART! Supplies sells reclaimed arts and crafts materials at discount prices, while employing people with disabilities. Proceeds from SmART! Supplies support Progress Inc., a non-profit organization serving people with disabilities and seniors in Middle Tennessee for more than 40 years.

Kyle Graden, Marketing and Outreach Manager of Smart Supplies aimed to create a highly diverse and affordable selection of classes. “We are thrilled about the launch of our new class program, and are excited about being able to provide a platform for highly skilled artisans, crafters and businesses to share their skills with our loyal customers and fans. We wanted to offer classes that were affordable for everyone while also being unique, and our upcoming roster of classes truly reflects that. ”

Classes include Greeting Card Creation, Wire Viking Weave, Button Making, Beginners Knitting, Sip & Collage, Tapestry Weaving, Artist Tributes, and many others. Paper Source, located in Green Hills, will be leading the Greeting Card Creation class. Classes range in size, and early registration is encouraged. More information and a full class schedule can be found on the Smart Supplies website at www.SmartSupplies.org 

Since opening in 2014, SmART! Supplies has sold more than 200,000 items originally destined for landfills. The store offers an upcycled art boutique, hosts a variety of sales throughout the year and also provides volunteer opportunities for non-profit organizations, including Friends Life Community and Girl Scouts. SmART! Supplies supports people with intellectual disabilities through employment and job training; store proceeds fund the many programs of Progress, including day programs, residential support and employment training. 

Full details with class information can be found on Smart Supplies' website at www.SmartSupplies.org 

Two graduation ceremonies were held for Project SEARCH graduates of the 2016 graduating classes of both Embassy Suites and the Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital. Graduates spent the past year gaining valuable employment training and real life experiences to help them work independently and be self-sufficient in their future employment goals. At each of the ceremonies, graduates gave speeches about their experiences and thanked their families, program staff and donors for their support throughout the program.

Project SEARCH provides individuals with disabilities tuition-free job training and educational, developmental, and employment opportunities. Project SEARCH is a nine month unpaid internship, and at the completion of the program graduates are employment ready. Of the most current graduating class, 92% achieved employment at graduation time. The goal of Project SEARCH is to fill a business need with qualified individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities.

One graduate explained, “Project Search was great because we got to train on different job sites before we applied for the positions. Also, the job coaches were wonderful. I also liked that we learned about things such as Credo, safety in the workplace, and good ways to spend money. I want to thank everyone at Project Search.”

Project SEARCH is a national program with various sites managed by non-profit organizations around the country. Progress operates the two Project SEARCH sites in Nashville, which are located at Embassy Suites and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. More information about the national program can be found at http://www.projectsearch.us/

​For information about Project SEARCH in Nashville please contact Pam Hollingsworth at 615-399-3000 or via email or visit the Progress Project SEARCH webpage.

Progress hosted the 4th Annual Golden Years at the Fairgrounds Nashville on Tuesday, May 3rd 2016. More than 400 people attended the event, setting a new attendance record. The day was filled with a variety of free activities and services including fitness instruction, bone density scans, arts and crafts classes, massages, manicures, makeup tutorials, and much more.

Attendees were able to speak with a variety of vendors offering services needed by seniors. Stage demonstrations took place throughout the day, including cooking, gardening, Zumba fitness, dancing groups, and a special fashion show by Couture for a Cause. A representative from the Mayor’s Office also spoke, and was available for questions afterwards.

Progress is incredibly grateful to sponsors Amerigroup, Baptist Healing Trust, Delmar Medical, HCA/TriStar Health, Subway and Windlands for making the event possible.

More information about Golden Years can be found at ​http://www.progress-inc.org/golden-years1.html

ECF Choices is a new program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that will be introduced in the State of Tennessee on July 1st, 2016. A few points outlining these new waiver services is below. Please contact us should you have any questions about the new ECF Choices program, or any other programs of Progress at 615-399-3000.

• The name of the new Medicaid Waiver programs is ECF Choices.  ECF stands for Employment and Community First.  These Waiver programs are for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who currently do not receive services.
• These programs will not affect anyone who is already getting services, or their staff, but there will be changes in how we deliver new services.  For example, we don’t currently provide personal assistance, but this will be a more needed service in the new programs and will be more adequately reimbursed so we can afford to provide it.
• ECF Choices will be managed by Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), starting with Amerigroup and Blue Care.
• ECF Choices will be the only programs offered after July 1, unless for some reason the start date gets delayed.  The Waiver programs that we know now will be closed to new participants.
• ECF Choices will have three different programs: one for people who live at home and need fewer services (low cost), one for people who need primarily employment and other non 24 hr. services (mid range cost and the program that will be most emphasized), and one for people who have more complex needs and may need 24 hour services (highest cost).
• The system as a whole will provide far fewer 24 hr. services.  This is a national trend.
• The system as a whole will emphasize employment, employment, employment!
• DIDD will have a diminished role in the new programs; they will continue to provide licensure functions, quality assurance, protection from harm, and some intake.

 
More to come; stay tuned!

Donna Goodaker
Executive Director

Smart Supplies was recently featured in a Pay it Forward segment on WSMV Channel 4 News in Nashville! Reporter Terry Bulger covered the story and spent time at the store interviewing staff, customers and artists. This is a great segment about Smart Supplies, and we are thrilled with the opportunity to share our mission with the community. Click below to watch the video.

​It takes a special kind of person to work with people with intellectual disabilities, and Progress employs some of the best in the business. One of these employees is Ron Houston, who has been the Day Program Manager at Progress for nine years. Ron is hard working, down to earth, and is quick to laugh at any joke thrown his way. He manages a variety of aspects of the day program, and overall ensures that staff and clients are successfully participating in community activities throughout the day. He considers the many clients of Progress his friends, and when asked what he likes most about his job, he explains that it’s “being able to interact with the clients and meeting their needs” that brings him the most joy in a day.

Staff have admired his tenacity and devotion to the clients for many years, as he is often the first to be recommended for awards nominations or employee accolades.  One staff member shared the following:
 
“Ron is one of those managers that rarely misses a day of work, even when he sick. He arrives very early every morning to get extra work done so he can focus on each individual and their needs once they arrive to the day program. He is always client focused when it comes to the individual’s needs. He works hard to ensure that the staff he hires will be compatible with the individual’s needs and personality. He is constantly juggling many roles here at Progress and does each with professional attitude. If you ever walk into the day program it is clear to see that the individuals and all the staff, pretty much everyone just “loves” Ron. He gives those who need attention his time and listens when there are any concerns. He is an outstanding manager and truly has a heart for the work that he does.”
 
Progress is incredibly grateful for Ron and all that he does. For more information about Progress or the programs and services provided, please contact us at 615-399-3000 or visit www.Progress-Inc.org