We are so excited to be a part of The Amazing Give, now only 5 weeks away!

The Amazing Give, taking place on April 21^st from 7am to 7pm and hosted by the Community Foundation, is an online giving day where local nonprofits have the opportunity to raise funds for their cause. It is the CIL’s biggest fundraiser of the year!

This year, we are once again setting a goal of $10,000! Will you help us reach this goal? ALL donations will be put towards our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program, which has been hit the hardest during the pandemic.

Please consider donating through our Amazing Give platform, scheduled to launch the first week in April. Thank you for helping the CIL continue to make a difference for families in need of a ramp to access their homes and community! Stay tuned for more information and success stories leading up to the event! #TheAmazingGive

Image Description: Graphic includes a square collage of 8 images on a white background. There are two images in each corner, one representing a different home before a wheelchair ramp is installed, and one representing the home after the ramp is installed. “Before” images are smaller than “After” images and slightly overlap them. The top two “After” images show homeowners being happy while using their wheelchair ramp.

The CILNCF turned 40 on October 22nd of last year! In celebration of this milestone, the CIL will be highlighting one program every month this year. Read all about this month’s program highlight below!

In High School High Tech (HSHT), high school students with all types of disabilities aged 14-22 are given opportunities to explore STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math), through real-world experiences! During the past month, HSHT students had the opportunity to job shadow some of Santa Fe College’s Career and Technical Education programs for the day. Aidan and Ethan gained hands-on experience as they learned about their HVAC and Carpentry programs. Check out the video for a small glimpse of their day!

To learn more about HSHT, please visit The Able Trust website: http://www.abletrust.org/youth-programs/florida-high-school-high-tech/about-hsht

Video Description: Video begins with title slide. Title slide has a red background with white text reading “High School High Tech job shadowing with Santa Fe College’s Construction and Technical Programs”. The CIL logo is in the top right corner. The Able Trust Florida High School High Tech logo is in the bottom center. A graphic of a hammer and wrench is in the bottom left corner and a cartoon of a businessman wearing a hard hat is in the bottom right corner. In this 1-minute video, images flash of students standing outside of a Santa Fe construction building and taking a look at a wooden house frame with a supervisor explaining the work to them. In another scene, an instructor is showing students a piece of electrical equipment. The final scene is an ending slide with black background and white text reading: “Thank you, Santa Fe College’s construction and technical programs, for your continued support of High School High Tech!”

We hope everyone had a great weekend! 

The CIL recently received an awesome donation from the CIL in Broward of 10 brand new manual wheelchairs!  What a blessing!!  Special thanks to Lenny and CIL Broward for partnering with our DME Closet Program to provide these resources for our consumers.  If you or anyone you know is in need of a wheelchair, please give our Community Specialist, Sada, a call at 352-378-7474 ext. 2044 or email at sahmed@cilncf.org.  We currently have 16, 18 and 20-inch manual wheelchairs in stock. 

Image Description: Picture of Lenny in the CIL storage unit standing by the 10 boxes of donated wheelchairs, and giving a thumbs up with his right hand, with his left hand resting on one of the boxes.   

The CIL is hosting an Emergency Preparedness Expo for people with disabilities in Marion County on Wednesday, March 30th, and Alachua County on Thursday, April 14th!  Learn how to prepare, respond, and recover from disasters from emergency preparedness professionals. Check out the video below to learn more!

Video description: Video features Tony and Kevin standing in front of a brick wall with the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida sign in the middle of them. Tony is standing to the left of the sign wearing a short sleeved grey collared shirt and khakis and Kevin is standing on the right in a blue short sleeved collared shirt and jeans. 

A new month is almost here! Please join us for our weekly online classes in March!

Come join us on Tuesdays for Youth Leadership & Social Group from 3:30 -5:00PM and on Wednesdays for Independence Hacks from 10:30AM – 12:00PM. The meeting sign-in is the same for each class and is 352-378-7474 and the password is cilclass. Please share this with anyone who may wish to participate. We hope we are LUCKY enough to have you with us!

Image description: Dark green background with CIL logo in top right corner and golden horseshoe in top left. Heading is in golden bolded font and reads: “March Online Calendar”. Underneath are two pots of gold with “Tuesdays” and “Wednesdays” in each pot. The class titles and meeting times are next to their corresponding weekday and the meeting ID and password is written at the bottom of the image.

Happy Saturday!  We hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Many thanks to our FYCS intern, Bailey and all of the Family, Youth & Community Sciences Club for inviting the CIL to be represented at the FYCS Networking Fair!  It was wonderful connecting with other community organizations, as well as meeting some fabulous prospective interns and volunteers.  Special thanks also to our Community Specialist Sada for attending and helping spread the word about the CIL and our internship program!  Until next time!

Image Description:  Picture of Sada wearing a mask, sitting at the CIL table that has a royal blue tablecloth.  CIL brochures and swag items such as stress balls, hand sanitizer, notepads and pens, are on the table, and the CIL standing banner is to the left when facing the table.

This past week, our Community Specialist, Sada, and Health Disparities intern, Daniela, attended UF’s annual HHP internship fair. It was an amazing opportunity to meet prospective interns and to connect with various community organizations. Thank you Sada and Daniela for helping to keep our internship program strong!

Image description: Image is a picture of Sada and Daniela sitting in the UF gym at a table covered with a blue tablecloth. A tall CIL banner is on the left side of the table and there are informational materials spread out across the table.

The CIL turned 40 late last year, and as our way of celebrating, we will be highlighting one of our programs each month. For the month of February, we are highlighting our CIL youth program!

In the CIL Youth Leadership & Social Group, individuals with disabilities between the ages of 14 and 24 who are interested in having fun and creating friendships explore different activities to improve their social skills and learn with one another. Last week, participants celebrated Valentine’s Day. Destiny, one of our interns, educated participants on the history of Valentine’s Day and played a guessing game. Next week, the group is going to watch a movie together on Zoom!

Image Description: Background is a pastel pink. In the top center is red bolded text reading: “Youth Leadership & Social Group”. Beneath is an image of an open laptop. On the laptop screen is a snapshot of a PowerPoint slide reading “What are some common things/activities that you can do on Valentine’s Day?” with images of chocolate, flowers, dancing, teddy bears, and cards. Images of program participants are on the right hand side of the laptop screen. The CIL logo is located on the bottom right side of the screen.

Please join a Family Network on Disabilities/North Central FL CIL collaboration!

Kathy Powell will provide a presentation via Zoom on, “Your Guide to an IEP That Works” and discuss developing and implementing an IEP (Individual Education Plan) on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 6:00 PM. Click on the link below for the zoom meeting!

https://www.smore.com/czbj5-your-guide-to-an-iep-that-works?fbclid=IwAR39vc33vwQhbQQfmu9EVMBQ1_sVPkBRxW_952Db2h4zjPS2hoWSatA8-PU

Image description: Light purple background with a dark blue title at the top that reads “Your Guide to an IEP that works!”. Underneath the title is a smaller paragraph that says: “Developing and implementing an IEP (Individual Education Plan) is the equal responsibility of educators, parents, and other members of the IEP team. This workshop explains the IEP process and the importance of parental participation. Learn helpful tips for writing effective IEP goals and strategies”. There’s a fuchsia line with a rose in the middle separating this paragraph and the next. Underneath it is a long oval with the date of the event written inside (Wednesday February 23rd, 2022 6 pm) and then there’s another line with a rose in the middle in dark blue. The last line reads: “Click the link below for the zoom meeting”. The CIL logo is in the bottom right corner and the Family Network on Disabilities logo is in the bottom left corner.

The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is still accepting applications for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services program (JPPAS)! The JPPAS program provides monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who require personal assistance services for daily living.

Read Christina’s comment below about how JPPAS has helped her achieve her career goals!

“I cannot say enough about how JPPAS has impacted my life in the most positive ways. The ability to employ an assistant to support me in my daily work activities has enabled me not only to work a 40-hour week, but to excel and achieve a promotion to a supervisor position. As supervisor, it is not only being up and working at your desk, but also attending conferences, trainings, and outreach functions. In the past I would have to request accommodation and pass on many activities, but with JPPAS those days are in the past.”

Image description: Pink background with a picture of Christina in her office sitting at her desk and smiling. There are dark pink and green leaves peeking out of the borders of the image and a green striped semi-circle at the top of the picture and in the bottom left corner of the graphic. In the top right corner, there’s a light green squiggly line. The FACIL logo is in the bottom right corner and the JPPAS logo is in the top left corner.