ANNUAL REPORT | 2013
First StepsBoard ofDirectors2012-2013
Eric R. Bergesen Pres ident
Hayes Br yantTreasurer
Anne C . Mar t inSecretar y
Amy Dunlap Shannon Goff Kukulka
Ken Hinman Mel issa HouckMaureen Joyce Amanda Knight
Michelle McWhorterDan Muir
Mary Ruth RaphaelJon SundockJef f Tanner
Mike Umphres
The mission ofFirst Steps, Inc.is to educateand care forchildren withspecial needsand medicalconditionsalongside theirtypicallydeveloping peersin inclusiveenvironmentsand supporttheir families.
Our Vision
Enhance the quality of life for children
and their families.
Eliminate barriers to services for children
with special needs.
Empower families as they seek to meet
the needs of their children.
Improve the community as a whole;
child by child, family by family.
Celebrate each child’s unique potential.
The 2012 Vino on the Veranda was
held at Flyte World Dining and Wine on
October 4.The wine tasting and silent
auction event was chaired by board
members Amanda Knight and Anne Martin.
We were excited to have Highlands Winery
on site as our guests enjoyed their
selection of wines as well as over 40
other wines from around the world.
We are grateful for the support of our
sponsors, patrons, auction contributors,
guests and volunteers.Without them, this
event could not be
successful.Thank you for
attending our exciting
evening of wine and
good company to benefit
First Steps!
Art Show and SaleFirst Steps hosted its Second Annual Art Show and Sale on April 26 at the McWhorter
Family Children’s Center. Following the success of the first event, we invited parents,
grandparents, extended family and friends back to celebrate our students and their hard
work. Represented this year were works inspired by Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock,Andy
Warhol and Claude Monet. Many thanks to the Wrapper’s Delight food truck and Tree
Branch Cakery for providing food, to our Center Staff for volunteering, and to Anne
Friedland of the Junior League for her continued amazing support.
SPECIAL EVENTS
First StepsGraduation
On July 26, First Steps families and staffgathered at First Presbyterian Church tocelebrate our McWhorter Family Children’sCenter Pre-K graduates. Students wereawarded diplomas as they prepare to enterKindergarten.They sang songs, performedskits and recited poetry. Thanks to all whojoined us for this special occasion and wewish our First Steps graduates the very best!
On September 12, the Community OutreachProgram celebrated it’s “3rd Birthday.” Over60 families gathered at the Center to enjoythe company of their peers and play gameswith the developmental therapists and volunteers. This program continues to be a huge part of First Steps.
Foundation PartnersBaptist Healing Trust
Community Foundation ofMiddle Tennessee
Dan & Margaret MaddoxCharitable FundEBS FoundationEzell Foundation
First Tennessee FoundationFrist FoundationHCA Foundation
Jackson National Life FoundationMcLeroy Foundation
Nashville Bar FoundationNashville Predators Foundation
Protestant OrphanageFoundation
Purity FoundationT & T Foundation
Cal Turner Family Foundation
Corporate Partners
ARC-NashvilleAT&T
Bone McAllester Norton, PLLCCeridian
Charlesbridge PublishingComdata
HCA/TriStar HealthSwaim & Swaim
TargetThe Rowland-Bradford Group
Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis
Community Partners
Books Are FunJunior League of Nashville
TN Dept. of EducationTN Dept. of Human ServicesUnited Way of Metropolitan
NashvilleUnited Way of Williamson
CountyVanderbilt University Medical
CenterVanderbilt University School of
Nursing
We gratefully acknowledge thecontributions of the following individual,corporate, community and foundation partners through June 30, 2013.
Duncanwood SocietyIndividuals with a minimumcontribution of $1,000
Dr. and Mrs. John GreerMs. Maureen Joyce
Mrs. Carolyn Loudenslager andMr. Dan Muir
Mr. and Mrs.Will MorrowMr. and Mrs. Jon Sundock
Mr. Mark SwaimMr. Richard Vaughn
Mr. Blake WattMr. and Mrs. Karl D. Cox, III
Ms. Cheryl AbernathyMs. Michaela Anderson
Mr.Terry AndersonMs. Stephanie Apa
Mr. Philip ArmstrongMs. Patricia Ayers
Mr. and Mrs. Eric BergesenMr. Richard BergesenMs.Amanda BillingsMs. Nicole BinkleyMs. Stacy BlackwellMs. Mary Bowen
Ms. Johnnie BrandonMs. Barbara BrazzellDr. McCall Bryant
Mr. and Mrs. Hayes BryantMr. Barry BuxkamperMs.Ashley CaldwellMr. Saowapa Cassidy
Ms. Kay CaudleMs. Diane ClarkMs. Lisa Collier
Mr.Vashon CovingtonMr. and Mrs. Karl D. Cox, III
Mr. James DavidMs. Sheri DavisMs. Julia Dean
Ms. Jackie DixonMr. and Mrs. Ben R. Doubleday, Jr.
Ms.Amy DunlapMs. Donna Dunlap
Dr. and Mrs.Webb EarthmanMr. and Mrs. Bob Eskew
Ms. Joy FarmerMr. and Mrs. Jerry Faulkner
Mr. and Mrs. Merrick FrancisMs. Barbara French
Ms. Kimberly M. Davis FutrellMs. Kathleen German
Mr. and Mrs. Harris GilbertMs. Lana Grant
Ms. Carissa GravesMr. and Mrs.Tim GreeneDr. and Mrs. John GreerMs. Polly Payne Gregory
Ms. Ellen HallMs. Shannon Hamlin
Mr. and Mrs. Charles HammondMs. Kimberly Harbour
Mrs. Kim HardinMs. Shelly Cox Harris
Mr. and Mrs. John HazenMr. and Mrs. Ed Higgins
Mr. David HillMr. Ken Hinman
Ms. Stephanie HollandMr. and Mrs.William Hook
Ms. Barbara HotzMr. and Mrs. Darren Houck
Mr. Jared HumphreyMrs. Glenda Darlene Hurst
Ms. Delores IvyMr. David JamesMr. Marc Jenkins
Ms. Mallory JohnsonMs. Betty Jones
Ms. Maureen JoyceMs. Elizabeth KleparekMr. and Mrs. Jon Knight
Mr. and Mrs. Jason KranholdMr. and Mrs. Steven Kukulka
Ms. Lisa LandonMr. Don L. Lee, Jr.
Ms. Erin LeeMs. Sharon Loftis
Mr. and Mrs. Chris LongMs.Ann T. Loyd
Mr. and Mrs. Bill MahlerMs.Anne MartinMs.Teresa Mason
Ms. Paula McClendonMr. and Mrs. James L. McElroy
Mr. and Mrs. Michael McMillenMr. and Mrs. R. Clayton McWhorter
Mr. James MitchellMr. and Mrs.Will Morrow
Mrs. Carolyn Loudenslager and Mr.Dan Muir
Ms.Ann M. MusickMr. and Mrs.Tirrill Parker
Ms. Melody PattersonMs. Denise Phillips
Mr. and Mrs. Chad RaphaelMs. Kay Raybin
Ms. Kathleen ReedMr. Zack L. Register
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall RichardsMs. Kelly Richardson
Mr. and Mrs. Jon RomaMr.Terry RoneyMs. Rose Rowe
Mr. Irv RubensteinMs. Diane SausedaMs. Sally Schenker
Ms. Jill StoneMr. and Mrs. Jon Sundock
Mr. and Mrs. Barrett SuttonMr. Mark SwaimMr. Jeff Tanner
Dr. and Mrs. Paul TeschanMr. and Mrs. Michael Umphres
Mr. Richard J.VaughnMs. Deanna Wallace
Ms.Amy WareMr. Blake E.Watt
Ms. Rebecca WebbMr. and Mrs. John White
Ms.Valerie WhiteMr.William WhitmerMs. Donna Wilson
Mr.T. Cooper WoodsMs. Mary Ann Young
Individual Contributors
Revenue FY 2012-13Government
49% United Way6%
Other1%
Fundraising14%
Tuition26%
Expenses FY 2012-13
ProgramServices
4%
ProgramServices
78%
Fundraising4%
Management &General
18%
Sebastian’s Story
Sebastian initially came to First Steps as a part ofour Community Outreach Program. He now attendsour Child Development Center and receives therapythrough our Therapy program, proving that FirstSteps can truly help a family with a child with specialneeds meet all of their goals while allowing for astress free transition.
The first time a First Steps Developmental Therapist in the CommunityOutreach Program met Sebastian, she and the service coordinator had some initialconcerns. He wasn't walking, talking, or showing any signs of social interaction orcommunication. If he was happy, he played alone. Sebastian would just cry if hewas sad, hungry, or in pain. Much time was spent trying to figure out what heneeded or wanted. From the beginning, he not only had our DevelopmentalTherapist provide Developmental Therapy but he also needed several othertherapies as well. First Steps, along with his parents, wanted to cover all of thebases because it was unknown what Sebastian truly needed. In just a fewmonths, after integrating Sebastian into the therapy program along with hishome services, Sebastian went from a shy, frustrated little guy to a walking, talking,social butterfly. He was no longer afraid to walk without support. He was singingsongs and counting from one to ten (in English AND Spanish) with his parentsand older sister. He was suddenly labeling animals, shapes and vehicles. Followinghis successes in the Outreach Program, Sebastian was transferred over to theFirst Steps Therapy Program, where he began with Occupational Therapy.
When he first started Occupational Therapy, Sebastian had difficulty transitioningand was having numerous tantrums. He required frequent redirection and assistanceto stay seated for functional activities. He would also get stuck on certain preferredtoys becoming overly upset when it was time to put them away. Sebastian hadbelow average fine motor skills and challenges with feeding himself on top ofbeing a picky eater. Sebastian’s mother was very involved and was able to givethe pediatric therapists at First Steps some good insight into daily life at homeand how these issues affected their life as a family. She was able to attend sessionsand observe treatment and as a result of her follow through with suggestedactivities, she began seeing many improvements in Sebastian's behavior, self-helpskills and fine motor skills.
During this time, Sebastian was enrolled in First Steps' Child DevelopmentCenter.The teachers and therapy staff were able to communicate and as a resultgoals were carried over to his classroom day. Because of the ability to work soclosely with the family, teachers and outreach staff, Sebastian was able to makesignificant progress in many areas in a relatively short period of time. He is afunny, witty little boy who loves to make you laugh. He is always full of smilesand everyone enjoys being around him.
First Steps could not be happier with the amazing results of this early intervention into the young life of Sebastian.We believe he will continue to grow and learn and will be successful in Kindergarten and beyond.
The following honorarium giftswere made to First Steps.
In honor of Miles Hunter
Ms. Susan HammondMr. Marc Jenkins
Ms. Jill StoneMr.T. Cooper Woods
In honor of Susan Brownie
Ms. Danielle Gilbert
First Steps would like to recognizeand thank the following volunteers for their service:
BB & T Bank GroupFRA Student Volunteer GroupAnne FriedlandRyan HazenHCA EmployeesIBM Employees
Junior League of NashvilleLipscomb University StudentsUnited WayVanderbilt Nurse
Practitioner ProgramAlex White, FRA Turner Fellow
1900 Graybar Lane Nashville, TN 37215
615.690.3091firststepsnashville.org
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