Celebrate Valentine's with SMART! Scrap Made Art Supplies & Urban Green Lab - Feb. 5

This fun workshop will be hosted by SMART! Scrap Made Art's Kelli Monday. Urban Green Lab and Team Green will also sponsor these two events.

Lightning 100's airs Progress Interview Sunday, Oct. 13, 2013

Turn your dials to Lightning 100 Sunday morning, and you'll get to hear Progress Executive Director Donna Goodaker and PR/Events Manager Stephanie Toone shed light on the agency's mission and two upcoming fundraisers A Purpose to Pour and the East Nash Dash.

Donna Goodaker preparing for the interview with Nicole Cowan Buckley on Lightning 100.

There was much to share about  Progress, since this year has been a year of exciting beginnings for the provider agency for seniors and people with disabilities.

In the interview, Donna speaks about Progress' 43 years as a leader in supporting people with intellectual disabilities, and the success of the division of Senior Care that allows Progress to keep even more folks healthy, happy and safe. Our exciting soon-to-open recycled art supplies store SMART! Scrap Made Art, which will enhance Progress' mission and employ the folks we support, was also a major topic of discussion.

 SMART will hold its first fundraising soiree "APurpose to Pour" this Sunday, which will raise funds for the opening of the retail store. To purchase tickets, visit www.purposetopour.eventbrite.com.

On Saturday, Oct. 19, Progress will hold its second annual 4-miler East Nash Dash, which supports Progress daily programs. To participate, visit www.eastnashdash.org/register.

The  interview will air at 7 a.m. on WRLT Lightning 100, and will be available on SoundCloud after the interview airs, so please support Donna and Progress by listening in!

Progress Asks: Who wants to walk/run with us WEDNESDAYS to battle obesity?

Step-by-Step: Progress' new walking/running initiative to get us Lean in 2013!

 

Walk, run and just get moving to beat the odds in Tennessee!

In Tennessee, 3 in 10 people are considered obese. At best, there are only 11 states that rank lower than we do in overall health.

Progress is responding to these challenging numbers by taking part in the state's Healthier Nashville Wellness initiative. We have partnered with Governor Bill Haslam's office and launched Working for a Healthier Tennessee. This is a companion initiative dedicated to improving the health and well-being of our employees. 

We welcome ALL of Progress supporters, friends and family to join us in our new walking challenge Step-by-Step: Path to the East Nash Dash. The weekly walk/run challenge will gradually get participants to the distance of 4 miles, which is the same distance of Progress' Oct. 19 benefit run East Nash Dash at Five Points.

Every Wednesday, a team of Progress employees will begin walking/running at the Metro Parks Soccer Field track (across from our campus at 319 Ezell Pike) at 8:15 a.m. and 4 p.m. 

We're encouraging everyone to attempt some walking or running  three times per week. If you'd like to know more about our Step-By-Step Walk/Run program, contact Bonnie Sanders at 615-429-5014.

To sign up for the East Nash Dash, visit www.eastnashdash.org/register. 

SMART! Appearance on NewChannel5: Repurposed Jewelry

Life Style with Denise Simons has featured Six pieces of SMART! Scrap made Art. This is a  repurposed necklace created by Sally Mills, Local Jeweler/Progress Director of Fiscal Services.

Life Style with Denise Simons will once again feature a beautiful piece of repurposed art provided by SMART! Scrap Made Art tonight! The NewsChannel5 program, which is available on Comcast Channel 250, will air a short segment  at 9 p.m. tonight on how to create the beautiful necklace above with everyday items. The show will re-air Tuesday afternoon, so check your local listings.

Progress' Director of Fiscal Services Sally Mills created the artisan jewelry above with upcycled copperwire, coins and other items.
Denise & NewsChannel 5 have been so supportive of Progress' social enterprise, which will be a retail store for recycled art supplies. SMART! will also eventually serve as a space where students and everyday people can learn how to create upcycled art pieces. SMART!'s goal is to provide a revenue stream to Progress, which supports seniors and adults with intellectual disabilities. The retail store will also provide job opportunities for individuals Progress supports.

  We're working on an exciting project that will help raise funds for this new venture. Check back here to learn more about this big news for SMART! And don't forget to check the SMART! tab on the blog to find out what you can donate to help our mission.

SMART! Featured on NewsChannel 5+ Life Style with Denise Simons TONIGHT!

Handmade coasters designed with broken glass scraps, wall tiles and grout by SMART Scrap Made Art's Kelli Monday.

SMART! Scrap Made Art  , Progress' social enterprise that will offer recycled art supplies and materials, will be featured in a series of Repurpose segments on Life Style with Denise Simons, which will air TONIGHT, Monday, April 22 and 9 p.m. on NewsChannel5+ (Comcast 250, Charter 150 and Digital 5.2) and re-air Tuesday, April 23 at 12:30 p.m.

The above stylish coasters will be featured in tonight's episode. Last week, the beautiful stepping stone crafted by Progress Executive Director Donna Goodaker was featured in the Repurpose segment last week. Life Style, hosted by Denise Simons, a local interior decorator,  is an hour show that gives insight on design ideas and features interviews with home decor and art experts every Monday night. 

Denise has been kind enough to feature items made from our stash of recycled materials from SMART! on her show over the next few weeks. Other SMART! Scrap Made Art creations will be featured for the next 4-5 Mondays, so if you miss this week's segment, please plan your DVR for the Repurpose segment of Life Style with Denise Simons over the next few weeks.

We greatly appreciate NewsChannel5+ and Denise for giving our upcycled creations a platform to be viewed by the community. 

Please Watch & DVR the segments to show your support for our social enterprise, which will open soon.

Holiday Trash 101: Regift, Recycle & Reclaim

Now, that the holidays are coming to end. You're probably looking for ways to get rid of gifts, holiday cards, wrapping paper and everything else under the sun. Progress has just the solution. Donate your holiday items, materials around the house filling up space or an array of other items to  SMART!  Scrap Made Art. Our repurposed arts & supplies store, which will officially launch in the New Year, is accepting donations now.

Reclaimed holiday cards.

Reclaimed holiday bows.

The reclaimed items, from wire hangers to greeting cards, will be sold in bulk at affordable prices to artists, teachers & craftspeople looking to reduce Nashville's waste and make art from scraps. We already have a large inventory of fabric, buttons, yarn, metal scraps and much much more. We can schedule appointments for drop off, so before or after the New Year, we're here to help!
We'll have a store opening soon, but we are already storing our inventory, so if interested in donating items or learning more, please contact Kelli Monday at k.monday@progress-inc.org. 

Here's an idea of items you could donate to SMART! today:
• Recycle wrapping paper, card stock type gift tags, cards and envelopes along with all the holiday catalogues and promotional mail.
• Boxes, ribbons, bows and other gift decorations
• Save used Christmas cards that can be used as gift tags for next year

New Arts & Crafts Program @ Progress Volunteer Now!

Want to give back in a personal & rewarding way this holiday season?

Volunteer your time to make beautiful pieces of art alongside our Progress clients at Progress . The newly launched arts & crafts program at our Day Center gives our adults with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to express themselves freely and enhance their days. 

The weekly one-hour Arts & Crafts session is a blast for our folks. The crafts class take place every Friday from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

If you'd like to get involved by helping assist our folks with painting, pasting & crafting, please contact Stephanie Toone at s.toone@progress-inc.org.

Progress' SMART! Holds First Donation Day -Oct. 2.

Progress Inc. will soon open an innovative social enterprise called SMART! - Scrape Made Art. On Oct. 2, you can help this new green business by coming by Progress and donating useful, recyclable items.

WHAT IS SMART!?

SMART! will be an art reuse center where artists, school teachers, craftsmen, seamstress and anyone in between can purchase unique, recycled items for any arts and crafts project. Customers will be able to purchase these recyclable items - from Popsicle sticks to plastic water bottle tops - in bulk for their projects at affordable prices. Along with providing a cool new art store for Nashville, SMART! will benefit Progress Inc.'s mission of giving adults with intellectual disabilities meaningful employment opportunities. The clients we support will eventually work at SMART! with the assistance of management staff.

Here are some neat examples of art created from recyclable items found across the web: 

Mini Magnet Craft Courtesy of letsgochipper.wordpress.com

Balls of string created with newspapers Courtesy of news.softpedia.com

How can you help get SMART! going?

SMART! Project Manager Kelli Monday has devised a list of items that will be needed for SMART!'s inventory. 

We welcome anyone and everyone to bring the items (listed below) in bags or boxes to Progress' office, 319 Ezell Pike on Tuesday, Oct. 2. It will be the first of many donation days, where Kelli collects a variety of items that will be used for future works of art. If you have questions or want to know more about SMART!, please contact Kelli Monday k.monday@progress-inc.org. 

SLIDESHOW: HCA CARING COMMUNITY DAY AT PROGRESS

We cannot thank David Cannady and his crew of HCA employees enough for all their help during the HCA Caring Community Day 2012.  The annual event has helped Progress in so many ways. This year, the employees moved furniture, filed documents, helped assemble emergency kits that will be used at the homes of our clients, gardened and spent time decorating pumpkins with our day program clients. Please view our slideshow dedicated to the day of volunteering.

Progress Inc. 4-miler Coming to East Nashville Nov. 3

Progress Inc. is gearing up for the inaugural E.N.D. East Nash Dash - a 4-miler and bash that will benefit the programs that support seniors and adults with disabilities. There will be free food, drinks and music from East Nashville's favorites.

Please learn more and register for the 4-miler at www.eastnashdash.org and take a peek at the video from our PSA shot in the heart of Five Points last week.

Progress Inc. client's artwork on display at Vanderbilt

Ebony in Ivory Pool by Jerry Adams Courtesy of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

Happy midweek everyone.

Wanted to share some exciting news about one of Progress Inc.'s longtime and talented clients Jerry Adams.
Jerry's oil painting "Ebony in Ivory Pool" will be featured in the Creative Expressions XVI exhibit at Vanderbilt University's Kennedy Center for the next week as a part of the center and the Mayor's Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities annual exhibit. The exhibition features a variety of media by artists with a wide range of disabilities and a wealth of talent. Check out a slideshow of all the artists work here.

Vanderbilt has put the display on since 1976, promoting public education and awareness and advocacy for artists with disabilities. The Kennedy Center will also feature 12 of Jerry's works, including a portrait of him, in a exhibition beginning next month, which will run until May.

Jerry, a Cheatham County resident and Tennessee native, has been painting for more than 30 years, and in that time he has been named Disabled Artist of the Year by the city and been featured in galleries at the Frist Center, TPAC and other venues across the area.

We hope that everyone can go out and support Jerry's work, and we hope to share some photos of his work for next month's exhibition soon.



Jerry Adams

 To view more of Jerry's work, please visit his website http://midtnads.com/Adams.shtml .