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.

Happy Valentine’s day from all of us here at the CIL!

Image Description: Background is a pastel pink with dark pink border lines. In the upper left corner is an envelope with hearts bursting out and a box with heart balloons attached to is. In the upper right corner is the CIL logo. In the center are the words “Happy Valentine’s Day” in black, bolded text. Beneath this text is a paragraph, reading: “We adore our consumers, staff, volunteers, donors, and community partners! Thank you so much for contributing to our mission and purpose. You hold a special place in our hearts.” At the bottom is a signature line in pink bolded text, reading: “XOXO, CILNCF”.

Our very own Sada Ahmed, CIL Community Specialist, will be hosting an informational virtual program on the history and services we provide to our community. All adults 19 years and up are welcome. Come join Sada via zoom on Thursday, February 17th at 12:00 p.m! Click the link below to learn more about this event!

https://attend.aclib.us/event/5654801

Zoom meeting ID: 885 0486 8483

Image description: Light green background with pale flower outlines and blue and brown butterflies on the left and right borders. The CIL logo is at the top of the image and the Community Partners Present logo is in the top right corner. Underneath it, a block of text reads, “Learn about the history and the services that the Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida provides to our community!”. In the center of the image, there is a gilded dark green box with the date of the event: Thursday, February 17^th from 12 pm-1 pm. The Alachua County Library District logo is in the bottom left corner of the image.