JULY 2017 ISSUE
THE WHISTLESTOP
Metro Council Approves $150,000 for FiftyForward in 2017-2018 Budget On June 21, the Metro Council approved a $ 2.2 billion budget which included $150,000 for FiftyForward’s five centers in Davidson County—$30,000 for each one, including our Madison Station! Thanks to the board members, staff, volunteers, center members and other FiftyForward supporters who took time to contact members of the Metro Council over the past several weeks. This would not have happened without your support. Shout outs to Councilmember Nancy VanReece for leading this effort. Thanks also to Nancy and Councilmember Scott Davis for stepping up with amendments to include FiftyForward after the Budget and Finance Committee did not approve our request in their meeting prior to the Council Meeting. In the Budget Committee discussion more air time was spent on the FiftyForward amendment during the 3 hours I was there than any other amendment discussion and everything said about FiftyForward was extremely positive. Again, thank you all for your support, and thank your council members and the Mayor for their support of FiftyForward! Janet Jernigan, Executive Director
Thank You for Your Contributions! FiftyForward held our matching campaign in June, where donations of any size were matched dollar for dollar by a generous donor. Even though we were short of our $5,000 goal—at press time we had raised approximately $2,500—every dollar that you gave makes a difference at this center! Thank you so much for your generosity.
More New Stuff!
We Have a New Office Manager! After a long search for our new Office Manager, we feel we have found the right person for the job in Samantha Caroway! Samantha is originally from North Carolina and is happy to be the first person our members see when they come to FiftyForward. She comes to us from the teaching profession, having taught elementary school for 10 years. She enjoys reading, traveling, and sign language. Samantha has enjoyed getting to know our wonderful FiftyForward members. She is proud to work for a great organization like FiftyForward! If you haven’t met her yet, please be sure to stop by and say hi!
Thanks to an anonymous donor that awarded Madison Station a generous grant, we will soon have a new parking lot, an awning over the front entrance, and 400 new chairs! The parking lot construction should begin soon and will include: Cutting safe paths through the concrete parking barriers so walkers can get through easily; Adding accessible parking places, approximately doubling the number of available spaces; and resurfacing and repainting the lines in the parking lot . The chairs have been ordered and should arrive soon. We anticipate the awning over the entrance to be installed by the end of summer.
Our Mission FiftyForward supports, champions and enhances life for those 50 and older. 301 Madison St. Madison, TN 37115
(615) 860-7180
www.fiftyforward.org