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 this story below about how JPPAS has allowed this individual to keep his independence: 

“I am a fifty-year-old Puerto Rican man with cerebral palsy that grew up in the South Bronx, New York and later moved to Florida in 2006. At that time my girlfriend had been providing my personal care until her own disabilities prevented her from caring for me. It was a life-changing experience when I was introduced to FACIL and the JPPAS Program. I have been on the program for twelve years and just celebrated twenty-four years with the company I am employed with. I would like everyone to know that without the support and guidance of this awesome program, I would have had to move back up north close to my family. This program has given me the support that I need to maintain my employment and have full control of my life. I employ my own personal care attendant, am totally independent and am proud to be a productive disabled citizen in society. I look forward to working for many more years thanks to the JPPAS Program.”

Image description: Image features a blue background that fades into a soft, eggshell white towards the top. The top of the image reads: “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services & Employment Assistance Program” in large black lettering. In the bottom center of the graphic, there is a picture of three men looking at one computer screen as they work on a project together. The man on the right is in a wheelchair and he’s pointing and showing his colleagues something on the screen. The FACIL logo is in the center of the graphic on the right side and the JPPAS logo is in the center on the left hand side. In between them is the program’s website which says: http://www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program. 

The United Spinal Association is looking for enthusiastic, up-and-coming individuals living with spinal cord injuries or disorders who are passionate about advancing their abilities to reach new levels of success to join the #StrongWheeled community! If you believe that you or someone you know is a great representative of this community, click the link below to submit a nomination. The deadline for submissions is May 1st, 2022, and the winner will receive a grant to help them pursue their goals!

Image features a picture of 5 people in wheelchairs smiling as they pose for a photo outside on a sidewalk, and one man sitting on the ground in the middle of them smiling and holding up his arms. The picture takes up the top half of the graphic and the bottom half is a solid light blue background. The United Spinal Association logo is in the bottom left corner of the image. In the center of the image, there’s a black text box and the words, “Join the #StrongWheeled community!” are written inside of it in a white colored font. 

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!”

Recently, the Knights of Columbus Council 9649 from Queen of Peace Catholic Church, donated a brand-new manual wheelchair to the CIL’s Ocala satellite office for our Durable Medical Equipment (DME) Loan program.  We are so grateful for this partnership and to have received this much needed gift.  Special thanks to the Knights of Columbus for helping the CIL make our DME Loan program even stronger! 

Image Description:  Picture shows Ocala Satellite Office Manager Andrea Melvin receiving the wheelchair from Grand Knight Cary Melvin; they are both smiling, shaking hands and standing behind the wheelchair.  Andrea is to the left wearing a short-sleeved, royal blue top with black slacks, and Cary is to the right wearing a long-sleeved, blue and white checkered oxford shirt with black pants.

Save the date and spread the word! 

The Amazing Give is the CIL’s biggest giving day of the year, taking place on April 21^st from 7am to 7pm. 

Our fundraising goal this year is $10,000 and all donations will be put towards our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program.  This is one of our programs that has been hit the hardest during the pandemic.

Please consider donating through our Amazing Give platform, and help us continue to make a difference for these families in need of a ramp to access their home and community!

Stay tuned for more information and Wheelchair Ramp Building success stories leading up to the event!

Image Description:  Solid black background with colorful star shaped confetti shooting upwards and all over the graphic.  The Amazing Give logo is at the top in a white box that states the name, date and time of The Amazing Give.  “Save the Date” is written in white text in a red, rectangular shape that spans all the way from the left to the right, and “Join Us for a Day of Giving” is written below in black text in a white, rectangular shape just below.

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.