When a Metro Council Member is really in touch with her district (knows who’s who, what they care about and what they can do about it) great things can happen, even without legislative action, even if the councilperson is new to her job.

The best recent example of this happened at Charlotte Park Elementary School. Because new Metro Council Member Mary Carolyn Roberts knew that the founder of Tennessee’s largest consumer finance company has strong ties to the school and the neighborhood it serves, Charlotte Park students no longer have to stand in the rain when boarding school buses.

Last week, a shelter was erected in the bus waiting area at the school that didn’t cost taxpayers a dime. The entire cost was underwritten by Nashville-based Advance Financial, which paid for the $13,180 in materials and arranged for the labor to be generously donated by Adams Signs, another Nashville owned and operated company.

Charlotte Park Elementary celebrated the gift from Advance Financial and Adams Sign by unveiling a plaque on the new shelter recognizing the two companies’ generosity.

“I knew that Mike Hodges, chairman of Advance Financial, grew up in the Charlotte Park area. His mother, sister and uncle still live in the area and the Hodges family has strong ties to this part of town. And I knew that Advance Financial has a reputation as a generous supporter of the Nashville community,” Roberts said.

“So when I learned that the school needed this shelter, I thought that this was something that the Advance Financial Foundation could help with, and I was right. It’s a great illustration how the private sector can address a public need. We are very grateful for this generous gift.”

In addition to paying to build the new shelter, the Advance Financial Foundation also donated 10 Lenovo tablets to the school. Students will use the tablets as a learning supplement in their classes. “As a Nashville-based business, it’s our pleasure to give back to the community in any way that we can,” said Tina Hodges, chief executive and chief experience officer of Advance Financial.

“With our VP of Community Outreach, Shantrelle Johnson, at the helm, the Foundation has been able to extend support to several organizations in Nashville who support our areas of focus and we couldn’t be more delighted.”