2025 Volunteer Impact Report

We are excited to share the 2025 Volunteer Impact Report and take a look at how much impact you have made in our Middle Tennessee communities in the last year! While this report focuses only on GNRC opportunities directly, we are grateful for our partner agencies and all of you, who have connected with them, through our volunteer portal. Every act of service-big or small-helps make our community stronger. 

Thank you for helping build a stronger, more connected Middle Tennessee!

2025 Overview

Last year, 1,722 volunteers contributed 18,075 hours of their time towards service opportunities through GNRC. According to the Independent Sector, that time translates to an incredible value of $629,000 to our communities. We also welcomed 518 new volunteers to the portal.

The average volunteer hours per volunteer have again increased 10% year over year to 22.37 hours. An impressive 31 volunteers contributed 100+ hours of volunteer service.
 

Thank you for sharing your time, skills, and heart with our community. Your commitment continues to make a lasting difference, and we are grateful to have you on board.

Helping Older Adults and Disabled Individuals Thrive

Volunteers are strong and crucial partners in providing Aging and Disability Services in Middle Tennessee. Only in tandem can traditional programs and volunteer services meet the demand in the community and make meaningful impact possible. Volunteers directly supported the lives of 21,224 individuals through volunteer opportunities with the Aging and Disability Services Department.

Friendly Visitors

Friendly Visitors with the Guardianship Program bring compassion and kindness to their clients. In 2025, 15 Friendly Visitors made 251 visits to 18 clients, contributing a total of 377 hours to provide connection, comfort, and companionship.

Friendly Neighbor Program

GNRC launched the Friendly Neighbor program, supporting isolated individuals in their own homes. 9 Friendly Neighbor volunteers made a meaningful impact in the lives of 7 clients by supporting them with errands, conversation and companionship through their visits. In total volunteers gave about 70.75 hours making visits. Thank you for showing up for our neighbors!

Angel Tree for Older Adults

42 amazing volunteers donated items toward the Angel tree and helped us fulfil the wish lists of 28 individuals in the Guardianship and Meals on Wheels programs as well as support 35 low-income older adult residents at Trevecca Towers with personal hygiene items, cleaning supplies, winter coats, hats, gloves and cozy blankets and grocery gift cards. Thank you so much for your support in making the holidays special by providing much needed items to older adults in need.

Medicare Counseling Program

Medicare is quite complicated to navigate for the majority of eligible individuals. The Medicare Counseling Program at GNRC, also called State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), provides counseling to help beneficiaries make sense of their options. Assistance is free and unbiased for anyone who has questions.

In 2025, Volunteers provided one-on-one counseling to 7,753 clients. Counseling sessions took on average 44.8 minutes. Broken down by day, volunteers counseled about 31 clients per business day. The counseling sessions lead to 212 enrollments in Prescription Drug Plans or Medicare Advantage Plans by the volunteer counselors, which saved an estimated* $810K total, which breaks down to an estimated annual savings of $3,800 per beneficiary in insurances premiums. 

In addition, volunteers gave 51 community presentations that reached 1,538 people and staffed 120 booths at community events to spread awareness of the program and chat with event attendees. Through the events 9,653 people learned about SHIP.

Volunteers contributed a total of 9,585 hours to the program, ensuring we were able to reach around 5.8% of the eligible Medicare population in Middle Tennessee.

*Medicare savings are based on initial internal estimates and have not yet been validated by ACL.

Letter Writing Campaign

Your letters continue to brighten lives across Middle Tennessee! In 2025 volunteers sent 20,156 letters, offering encouragement and connection to nursing home and assisted living facility residents. Since launching the campaign in April 2020, we've now reached a grand total of 127,440 letters sent! Your words truly help older adults and disabled individuals feel seen and cared for, one letter at a time!

Digital Literacy Classes for Older Adults

Thanks to 12 wonderful volunteer trainers and 22 amazing partner sites, we were able to host 33 digital literacy class series in 2025 providing their class participants with confidence to use a computer. 380 older adults completed the classes learning basic computer skills and functions to operate a Chrome Book and Google applications. After completing 15 hours of training, participants received a free Chrome Book to take home through GNRC's partnership with Tech Goes Home.

Thank you to the patient volunteers who gave their time to teach the classes to help empower older adults to be successful and stay connected in this digital world.

Aging Advisory Committee

The Aging Advisory Committee (AAC) is a locally appointed committee that convenes no less than quarterly to advise GNRC in its role as the Area Agency on Aging and Disability (AAAD). Comprised of individuals who represent the needs of older adults and the organizations that serve them, the AAC is responsible for reviewing, commenting, and making recommendations on the Area Plan on Aging.

In 2025, the 14 active committee members spent a combined 52.5 hours dedicated to the goals and responsibilities of the committee. During the quarterly meetings, the AAC focused on how access to transportation, nutrition and healthcare impact older Middle Tennesseans. Invited guest speakers included representatives from Vanderbilt University, Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency, and GNRCs Transportation and Infrastructure team. 
Learn more about the AAC here.

TennCare Satisfaction Surveys

TennCare satisfaction surveys are a required part of a contract GNRC has with TennCare. We were extremely fortunate to have one dedicated volunteer help with that process, attempting 16 surveys and completing 12 comprehensive surveys with clients in nursing homes.
Want to help with this opportunity? Sign up here. 

Administrative Assistance for Aging & Disability Programs

GNRC staff are highly appreciative of the 23 volunteers who spent 181.75 hours supporting administrative tasks with the Aging and Disability Department. Volunteers helped with scanning and digitalizing files, shredding files, data entry, preparing informational folders for partners, and assisting the Quality Assurance Program with satisfaction surveys for the home delivered meals programs.

Building Community Through Volunteer Service

Volunteering is at the heart of building strong, connected communities. It's about more than just giving your time - it's about making a lasting impact that can be felt across neighborhoods, organizations, and entire regions. Our dedicated volunteers have demonstrated just how powerful their contributions can be, all while helping to shape the future of arts, community engagement, and planning. Here's a look at how our volunteers stepped up to make a difference:

Arts Build Communities Grant Reviews 

Each year, GNRC Art Volunteers help to review grant applications for art projects in Middle Tennessee counties. Their expertise in the field plays a crucial role to score each application, ask applicants relevant questions about their proposed projects, and make recommendations to the Arts Commission on which projects should receive funding. 9 volunteers spent 130.5 hours reviewing and scoring 62 grant applications, helping the Tennessee Arts Commission award funding to 34 local arts projects. Thank you for lending your expertise to support creative projects across our region!

Photography for Local Planning Projects 

Special thanks to Vicente Herrera who generously donated 14 hours capturing landscape photography for local planning initiatives. His photographs were featured in the City of Portland's Comprehensive Plan and Wilson County's Master Land Use Plan. Thank you for the outstanding photographs!

Thank You to All of Our Incredible Volunteers!

The time and expertise you share with your communities are truly invaluable and help shape decisions that impact the arts, community planning, and the lives of many for years to come. Whether you're reviewing grant applications, writing letters, or counseling Medicare beneficiaries, we are grateful for your commitment, compassion, and dedication.

Thank you for helping build a stronger, more connected Middle Tennessee!