Monthly Service Challenge

Each month, a new mission will be posted as motivation for us all to roll up our sleeves and serve our communities. Be sure to keep the Office of the First Lady in the loop by posting on social media using #TennesseeServes for a chance to be recognized as a Service Spotlight. Grab your friends, family, classmates or colleagues and join us as Tennessee Serves!

June

Tennessee Serves Supports Rural Tennessee

From every corner of Tennessee, we see flourishing and growing success each day. We cannot celebrate our state’s prosperity without recognizing and honoring elderly Tennesseans who devoted many years working hard to pave the way for the good of Tennessee.

Throughout the month of June, Tennessee Serves is supporting our state’s seniors and encouraging Tennesseans to do the same. Elderly men and women in Tennessee deserve to live joyful, fulfilling lives but can sometimes lack the health, wellbeing, and opportunity to do so.

We encourage you to take a step back from your own busy life and devote time in June to caring for elderly individuals in your community. Check out some of Tennessee Serves’ volunteer resources below for ideas on how you can serve older Tennesseans in your life and community.

Service Opportunities

Tennessee Nonprofits that Serve Seniors

East
Blount County Community Action Agency
Second Harvest of East TN
Senior Foundation Inc
Johnson City Housing Authority
Music for Seniors
Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center

Middle
Mid Cumberland Human Resource Agency
Senior Citizens Center of Hendersonville
Fifty Forward
Music for Seniors
Age Well Middle Tennessee
Senior Citizens Awareness Network
Senior Ride Nashville

West
Creative Aging Mid-South
Enchanted
Golden Cross Senior Ministries
Alzheimer’s and Dementia Services of Memphis

Statewide / National
Find A Senior Center Near You: Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability
Meals on Wheels
MyRide TN

Suggested Service Opportunities

**Please note that First Lady Maria Lee and the TN Serves team will not be attending these specific projects in-person, but we encourage you to get involved with these great opportunities to serve this population**

Second Harvest of East TN, Maryville, Tues-Sat, 9 am-12 pm and 1 pm-4 pm: Volunteer responsibilities include
sorting donated items, packing food boxes, distributing food at Mobile Pantries, and helping at special events.

Mid Cumberland Human Resource Agency, Nashville, Mon-Fri, morning-afternoon: Mid-Cumberland services need volunteers to help improve the health, well-being, and economic opportunities of people needing critical support

Senior Citizens Center of Hendersonville, Hendersonville, Mon-Thurs 9 am- 12:30 pm and 12:30 pm- 4 pm, Fri 9 am-12 pm and 12 pm-3 pm: Amongst other volunteer opportunities, the office is looking for a volunteer office assistant

Meals on Wheels, anywhere, anytime: You can cater around your schedule. The most common volunteer job is delivering meals and friendly greetings to homebound seniors. Most typically, this involves picking up meals at a central location and delivering them along a pre-determined route directly to the homes of several seniors in your area. Once you’re done, you return the delivery packaging items.

Tiptonville Senior Center: Tiptonville, anytime:  Help with an arts & crafts project, activities and games, a special event, etc.

Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability (TCAD): anytime: Fill out the form and TCAD will connect you with a local program coordinator 

Everyday Ways to Serve

  • Volunteer to drive a senior you know who no longer can drive themselves
  • Stop by an assisted living center near you to play games with residents
  • Help an elderly neighbor shop for groceries, mow their yard or clean their home
  • Send an encouraging note to a senior from your town or church
  • Volunteer to help clean or organize at your local senior citizen center
  • Plant flowers in small pots and deliver them to residents of a nursing home to brighten their day
  • Offer to paint fingernails, style hair, or teach a craft to residents of a local assisted living facility
  • Use your God-given gifts and talents (music, teaching, baking, or other trades) to bless the senior ministry at your church
  • Sign up to bring a meal and some companionship to a home-bound senior through organizations like Meals on Wheels or TCAD’s feeding program
  • Contact your local Senior Citizen Center to see what needs you could fulfill
  • If you need help finding your local center, click here.