2026 First Quarter Volunteer Impact Report

May 4, 2026

by Rebecca Nofi

Special Edition: Q1 Volunteer Impact Report

Thank you for an incredible Volunteer Month! Keep making a difference, sharing your stories, and inspiring others to volunteer! Thanks to everyone who participated, served, and logged their hours this month. You are what makes our community truly special.

To close out this amazing month of celebration, we're excited to announce the winners of our Global Volunteer Month Prize Drawing! As promised, we entered everyone who entered volunteer hours for the month of April into a drawing for eight gift cards valued at $25. If you are one of the winners, please look out for an email from Rebecca Nofi.

Congratulations to Robert Nardini, Nancy Parker, Bob Neaderthal, Ana Chicas, Lauren Little, Luumuno Chileya, Katherine Wise and Kay Kerby!

We are also excited to share how your impact in the community made a difference for the first quarter of 2026. It is always incredible to see what happens when we add up our individual efforts to see what we accomplished together. We hope you enjoy exploring the highlights, numbers, and photos in the impact report below.

First Quarter Overview

Last quarter, 438 volunteers contributed 4,011 hours of their time towards service opportunities through GNRC. According to the Independent Sector, that time translates to an incredible value of $126,026 to our communities. We also proudly welcomed 107 new volunteers who brought their talents, passion and unique skills to our shared work.

Letter Writing Campaign

Your letters continue to brighten lives across Middle Tennessee! In Q1, we sent 5,573 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 133,013 letters sent! Your words truly help older adults and disabled individuals feel seen and cared for, one letter at a time! Thank you!

Friendly Visitor and Friendly Neighbor Programs

Friendly Visitors with the Guardianship Program and Friendly Neighbors provide meaningful connection, compassion, and companionship to clients across our communities. In Q1, 14 volunteers made 63 visits to 12 clients, contributing 104.75 hours of service. Through their consistent visits, volunteers helped reduce isolation and brought comfort and companionship to our neighbors.

Medicare Counseling Program

Throughout the year, Medicare volunteers not only counsel beneficiaries one-on-one, but also deliver presentations, visit senior centers, attend outreach events, all to ensure beneficiaries receive free, fair, and unbiased information to make confident Medicare decisions, and we are so appreciate to have them as part of our team.

Altogether, our Medicare volunteers:

Provided one-on-one counseling to 1,665 individuals.
Gave 10 community presentations that reached 222 people who learned how to make informed decisions about their Medicare options.
Staffed 22 events and reached 1,099 people.

Admin & Communications Volunteers

Admin and Communication volunteers helped GNRC with shredding, making folders, labeling, putting together mailings, assembling goodie bags for events, event photography and translating materials into Spanish.

Thank you to the 7 wonderful volunteers who supported us in this way, giving 122 hours of their time.

In honor of Older Americans Month (OAM), the Greater Nashville Regional Council and AARP Tennessee invite the community to a special event celebrating the contributions and vitality of older adults.

The celebration will take place on Tuesday, May 19, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the GNRC Office, 44 Vantage Way, Nashville, TN 37228.

Sponsored by AARP Tennessee, the open-house style event will feature informative learning sessions, valuable community resources, and onsite services to help individuals stay active, safe, and engaged as they age.

Highlights of the event include:

Musical BINGO!
Blood Pressure Checks
Document Shredding Service: A mobile shred truck will be available to safely dispose of personal documents containing sensitive information.
Medication Disposal: A prescription medication drop box will be on-site for safe disposal of unused or expired medications.
Learning Sessions, including AARP Fraud and Scams Workshop

RSVP is encouraged but not required. You can do so at gnrc.org/rsvp/oam.