Please enjoy a video below, highlighting our two High School High Tech (HSHT) seniors in the Alachua Rural HSHT Program. Congratulations to you both! All of us here at the CIL wish you the BEST in your future endeavors!
Image below video is a picture of Aidan and Ethan in posing in front of the Charles R. Perry Construction Institute at Santa Fe College during one of their job shadowing experiences.
Our Consumer Specialist Kevin Towles recently represented the CIL by attending the 36th Annual Governor’s Hurricane Conference. He was able to participate in various workshops with Volunteer Florida and FEMA, and learned new strategies to assist people with disabilities in an emergency. He tabled for two days, providing CIL resources to all attendees throughout the state of Florida. Additionally, Kevin joined a panel discussion and shared resources and checklists to remember in an emergency situation, especially for people with disabilities. He made several new partnerships throughout the week, and was able to reconnect with past and current business partnerships. Thank you so much Kevin for helping the CIL prepare our community and people with disabilities for the upcoming hurricane season!
Images Include two pictures: Kevin tabling at the conference and Kevin representing the CIL on a discussion panel.
The JP-PAS Program continues to change lives by providing monthly stipends to qualified Floridians with disabilities who are employed and require personal assistance services for daily living. Please read JR’s testimonial below about how the JP-PAS Program empowered him to live a more independent life.
“Are you working? Sitting on the sidelines of life and watching it go was very frustrating. The possibilities of a full and active life are endless through gainful employment! JPPAS Program is a fantastic Florida tool to help you move from dependency to self-sufficiency, empowerment, and a world of choices. Try work, you might like it!”
If you or anyone you know would benefit from this amazing program or if you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program!
Image description: Two pictures of JR with a light blue background. The top picture shows JR driving and smiling in his fully accessible vehicle, and the bottom picture shows JR on a boat, smiling and sitting at the helm with his friend Erika, also smiling and standing to his right with her arm around his shoulder.
Happy Team Tuesday!
We wanted to give a HUGE shout out to our High School High Tech (HSHT) team members Niusha and Pepper! During last month’s HSHT Annual Conference, Niusha achieved the Able Trust Quality Program Award for the Alachua County HSHT Program, and Pepper achieved the Able Trust Quality Program Award for the Putnam County HSHT Program! Congratulations to you both and thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to your programs and our high school students with disabilities. Great job!! #FloridaHSHT
Image Description: Two pictures with light blue background. The first is at the top left of the graphic, and shows Niusha holding up her award with Joey D’Souza, Vice President, External Engagement with The Able Trust to the left, and Coleen Agner, HSHT State Director with The Able Trust to the right. The second picture is at the bottom right of the graphic, and shows Pepper holding up her award with Coleen Agner, HSHT State Director to the right. They are all standing in a banquet room, in front of a table with a blue tablecloth and Able Trust banner, smiling at the camera. The CIL logo is to the bottom left.
We hope everyone is having a great day celebrating with their families. Please enjoy some of our staff’s favorite Mother’s Day memories below!
Debbie: My favorite Mother’s Day memories, if I had to choose, would be my first Mother’s Day as a mom to Alan. Memories of my mom was looking forward to a family dinner every year with siblings and grandkids. I really miss my mom the most. We lost her to breast cancer. Between my sister and my mom, I have learned to fight, not sit back and waste away.
Lauren: In 2017, my daughter brought home a small plant, “Mother of 1000 Daughters” that her 2nd grade teacher had the students put together for Mother’s Day. It is a very beautiful, unique and hearty plant that, just like its name, can produce 1000s of little baby plants in a short amount of time. We love plants at our house, so this was an amazing gift that I have to be careful with where I put it, as the babies will fall off the leaves and seed themselves ANYWHERE with the slightest movement of the plant. In the concrete, aluminum siding, porch cracks, and certainly all over the yard if I put it outside. Needless to say, I have several growing from the mother plant, and probably hundreds more that I’ve pulled up since then, but it’s the gift that’ll keep on giving, and I’m reminded of this every time I see a new one popping up somewhere random.
Drew: My favorite Mother’s Day memory is when I made a picture slideshow for my mom with family pictures, music, etc. and surprised her with it!
Image Description: Background includes a clear blue sky, a couple of thin, white clouds, with fuchsia and light pink flowers at the bottom growing out of green grass in a field. The CIL logo is to the bottom left, just above the flowers. The blue text at the top reads, “Happy Mother’s Day!! Moms deserve all the flowers in the world! With love from The CIL.”
On Earth Day, April 22nd, our CIL Team came together and enjoyed a day of spring cleaning! CIL staff from our Gainesville and Ocala offices worked hard to clean and organize their own offices, as well as the entire CIL. Special thanks to everyone for their help and making the CIL smell April fresh and look lighter and brighter! You are all awesome and appreciated!
Image Description: Includes six total pictures, three at the top of the image showing various CIL staff posing and smiling during the cleaning day, and three at the bottom showing the clean activity room and lobby.
We’re sending a BIG THANK YOU to all of our amazing Alachua County Emergency Preparedness Expo donors, sponsors and vendors, as well as our venue host, the Senior Recreation Center!! We could not have done this without all of your support and we are so very grateful. Thank you for making a difference in the lives of people with disabilities in the Alachua County community!
Donors: Clay Electric Cooperative, Inc., Herr’s Chips, Publix, Sam’s Club, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jimmy John’s and PDQ.
Vendors: Department of Business & Professional Regulation, Shine/Elder Options, Gainesville Fire Rescue Community Resource, Community Hospice & Palliative Care, Alachua County Supervisor of Elections, UF Health Psychiatric Hospital, Alachua County Emergency Management, FAAST, Clay Electric Cooperative, Servpro of Gainesville, Gainesville Opportunity Center and Disability Rights.
Image Description: Graphic of 4 pictures with light blue border from the Alachua County Emergency Preparedness Expo at the Senior Recreation Center. Top left is CIL staff Sada and Mark sitting at the sign-in table, top right is CIL staff Brandon and Claudia manning the FAAST table, bottom left is an overview of the stage and podium with Anna Prizzia, County Commission, welcoming everyone to the event and bottom right is CIL staff member Eric manning the CIL table. “Thank you!” is written in the middle in white cursive text.
Happy Friday!
Please enjoy this Amazing Give thank you video from our Executive Director, Tony Delisle. We truly appreciate everyone who helped make this day a huge success!
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!
We made it over the hump, and in this last week of April, just sending a reminder that the Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) is still accepting applications for the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services and Employment Assistance (JP-PAS) Program!
Our very own Mark Brisbane, Five Core Program Manager, has been utilizing JP-PAS for years, and he wanted to share a few words again about the difference that JP-PAS has made in his life:
“JP-PAS has enabled me as I’ve gotten older to sustain myself to be able to continue working full-time at the age of 55! It’s vital for me to be able to afford dependable PCA care to get up everyday to start my day off the right way and be productive! Without JP-PAS, I would struggle to remain independent and be able to work full-time!”
If you or anyone you know would benefit from this amazing program or if you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program!
Image description: Light blue background with the top of the image reading: “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services and Employment Assistance Program” in large dark blue lettering. In the bottom center of the graphic, there is a 2014 picture of Mark sitting in his wheelchair, in his old office and smiling at the camera. He is wearing a burgundy oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The FACIL logo is in the center of the graphic on the left side and the JP-PAS logo is in the center on the right side. In between them is the program’s website, written in the above paragraph.
We wanted to give a BIG shout out to our awesome Emergency Expo duo, Kevin and Sada! Thank you so much for all of your preparation, hard work, and helping to make our 1st Annual Emergency Preparedness Expo for Alachua County such a wonderful success!
Many thanks also to our vendors, sponsors, venue hosts and attendees! This all would not have been possible without your support. We are already looking forward to next year!
Image Description: Picture of Sada and Kevin, both wearing grey CIL polo shirts and black pants. They are standing next the CIL sign at the Gainesville office, with green bushes in front of them. Sada is to the left and Kevin is to the right. They are both smiling and posing, leaning towards the sign with their arms outstretched, one up and one down.
