Middle Tennessee Newsletter

Dear Friends,

We are excited to share some incredible updates and highlights from our work here in Middle Tennessee. Thanks to your ongoing support, Inspiritus continues to empower individuals and families on their journey from surviving to thriving. Here are just a few examples of the impact you’ve helped us achieve recently:

Exciting News: Groundbreaking Soon for the North
Nashville Senior Housing Initiative!

We are just weeks away from the groundbreaking of our new North Nashville Senior Housing Initiative! Major construction will kick off within the next quarter at the corner of Rosa Parks and Garfield Blvd. Thanks to the generous contributions from individuals, foundations, churches, and state, federal, and local government, we are proud to announce that we are 97% funded for this $31 million project, which will provide essential housing and support services for older adults and the wider North Nashville community.

Stay tuned for the announcement of the groundbreaking ceremony date—we can't wait to celebrate this important milestone with you!

Empowering Our Volunteers

This year, we were honored to have Jason, one of our amazing volunteers, named a finalist for the 2024 Mary Catherine Strobel Volunteer Award. Jason’s dedication to our Nashville Food Pantry has been instrumental in serving vulnerable families, and we couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishments.

Thriving Through Our Refugee Services

Our Refugee & Immigrant Services program continues to grow, and we recently hosted a World Refugee Day celebration in Nashville. The event brought together refugees, community leaders, and supporters like you to celebrate the vibrant cultures and resilience of our new American neighbors. It was a day filled with music, food, and powerful stories of hope.

Thriving Spotlight: Barbara & Dennie

The word “thriving” is everywhere these days, and when we chose it to describe Inspiritus’ mission of helping individuals and families on their path from surviving to thriving, we couldn’t have anticipated its popularity. Thriving and flourishing in our surroundings brings inherent hope, but what does that look like in Empowerment Services in 2024?

Our friend Barbara has sparked many discussions about the urgent need for affordable housing. Thanks to collaborative efforts from partner agencies, Barbara is now thriving in her new apartment in North Nashville. With support from Inspiritus and generous donors who furnished her space, she can finally lay her head down in her own bed after 25 years. “I’m so happy,” Barbara said. “It’s so peaceful here.”

Dennie’s story is another testament to resilience. “I’m free!” she exclaimed in a DHS office recently. Two decades before this day, after a series of traumatic events, Dennie and her daughter ended up on the streets. Although Dennie has been housed and flourishing for years, she still owed the state back child support when her daughter went into state custody while they were unhoused. Every paycheck for the last 10 years has taken out a portion of her small income to pay back the state. Thanks to a generous donor, that debt was cleared this month, lifting a weight off her shoulders.

Policies often fail to reflect the realities faced by those living on the margins. Thriving can seem out of reach when low wages and debt weigh you down. Yet, with the support of Inspiritus, Barbara, Dennie, and many others thrive and inspire against the odds.

We look forward to continuing these important initiatives, and we’re grateful to have you as part of the Inspiritus family. Together, we’re making a real difference in the lives of those we serve.

If you’d like to learn more about our upcoming events or opportunities to get involved, please feel free to reach out to us. Your support is essential to our mission, and we couldn’t do this work without you!

If you are interested in making a monetary contribution to support our efforts in Middle Tennessee or would like to learn more about this impactful work, click the buttons below.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Inspiritus and the Middle Tennessee community!

Warm regards,

Janet Arning
Executive Director of Middle Tennessee
Inspiritus