Friends, we are one week away from the Amazing Give and every donation matters. YOU can make a difference in our community by supporting our farmers. Give today at: https://www.theamazinggive.org/…/center-for-independent….

Please join us on Zoom for a FAAST Program presentation on April 19^th at 10:00am!  John Palmer from Magnifying America will be showing off the Patriot Magnifier, Reader Tablets, as well as other devices.  He will discuss how their technology limits the digital divide for people who are low vision or legally blind by helping them read documents out loud, magnify real world media, and more.  Please pass along to anyone who will benefit from this demonstration!

You can join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone.  To join please click on the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3523787474?pwd=Wk5lVUt6RzBNU0NhdFRtb0xLYjFpQT09

Zoom ID:  352-378-7474; Passcode:  cilclass

For more information about the Zoom meeting, please contact Brandon Palermo in our Ocala office at bpalermo@cilncf.org  or call (352) 363-3788, or please contact Claudia Avendano in our Gainesville office at cavendano@cilncf.org or call (352) 378-7474.

The Amazing Give is just 2 WEEKS AWAY on April 20th, and we wanted to share more about where your donation dollars will go!  This year, all funds raised will benefit our brand-new program, AgrAbility! 

Our work here at CILNCF is all about supporting individuals with disabilities to live independently and fulfill their goals. To gain a better understanding of AgrAbility, please read below:

Farmers and workers within the agricultural fields are more likely to have a disability than the general population due to hazardous conditions of their profession. It is estimated that nearly a third to half of farmers have a disability compared to a quarter of people in the general population. Farmers are more likely to have physical disabilities which prevents them from continuing to farm and work in agriculture. Many farmers with physical disabilities need adaptive equipment to keep working; however, they often cannot afford this equipment. Farmers experience high rates of mental health issues, have high rates of mental health issues and have six times the rate of suicides compared to the general population. Unfortunately, farmers rarely seek out mental health services and often to not have access to these services if they do with to utilize them.

The CILNCF started a brand-new collaboration with the University of Florida called the Florida AgrAbility Project. AgrAbility aims to serve farmers with all types of disabilities to ensure they secure, maintain, and sustain meaningful work in agriculture through:  offering worksite and home-based assessments; providing Assistive Technologies; modifying equipment and work sites; restructuring farm tasks; identifying resources and services that can aid their independence; and assisting them with inclusion in their communities through offering social opportunities that are essential for a high quality of life.

To donate on April 20th to our Amazing Give fundraiser, please visit: https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/center-for-independent-living-of-north-central-florida

VD: Video begins with showing the logos for: CILNCF, AgrAbility, and The Amazing Give. It then shows Lindsey Head at a farm/ranch speaking about Florida farmers. It then shifts to various videos of Mika Hardison speaking about her farm, The Herbal Bee. There are various scenes of bees and farming throughout the video as Mika speaks. Towards the end of the video, Tony Delisle speaks about the services that CILNCF provides. The video ends with logos for AgrAbility, CIL, The Amazing Give, and the following text: To donate to CILNCF’s Amazing Give, please visit: https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/center-for-independent-living-of-north-central-florida

In mid-March, CIL Staff Claudia and Sada went out to the Bradford Community Partners Health & Wellness Resource Hub. They talked to several community members about services available through CILNCF and assistive technology available through FAAST. It is so great to get to meet the people of Bradford County in their community! If you live in Bradford county and are looking to learn more about The Center for Independent Living, please come visit us. We will be represented at the Hub on the third Thursday of each month from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. The Hub is located at the Bradford County Faith Community Center until the official location is made available. The address is 721 Old Lawtey Rd, Starke, FL 32091. We hope to see you there! 

We just have THREE WEEKS left until The Amazing Give on April 20, 2023, from 8 am to 8 pm! All of your generous donations will be used towards our newest program AgrAbility. You can learn more about the program by clicking on the link below to the latest episode of our podcast, The Independent Life, featuring our AgrAbility team. It’s a great listen, so please check it out and discover where your donation dollars will go!

Listen Now: Supporting Farmers with Disabilities through AgrAbility with Dr. Serap Gorucu and Lindsey Head

Thank you for your support and stay tuned for more updates!

ID: Blue and gold sparkle background with pink wording that states, “3 weeks until..” at the top. In the middle is The Amazing Give logo, containing the date and time of the event, written in black with a white background, and the date is in a red, rectangular box. At the bottom is a red banner flag with black wording that states, “Join Us for a Day of Giving”.