Greetings | The Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida welcomes you! If you have any questions about the center or the services we provide, please contact us at 352-378-7474. Our number again, is 3, 5, 2, 3, 7, 8, 7, 4, 7, 4.
Many thanks to Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Community Paramedicine Program for the opportunity to attend their third annual Community Health Fair! Our Community Specialist, Sada Ahmed, was able to represent the CIL, and it was a beautiful day to spread the word about our services.
Also, we were thrilled to learn that 15 vaccinations and 35 tests for COVID-19 were administered at the event! Until next year!
Image description: First image is a picture of Sada posing in front of the CIL table that includes brochures and information, with a huge field in the background and a blue sky.
Our Executive Director, Tony Delisle, wanted to share a message with you about his hopes for the new year, as we continue to navigate through the pandemic. Please read below!
It is my wish everyone has a healthy and happy New Year. I am hopeful we will have a year of progress and unity. I also recognize as a society we continue to face challenging circumstances.
Adaptability, resiliency, and perseverance are some of the important virtues people with disabilities develop throughout their lifetime to live independently. All of us will need to hold these virtuous close as we welcome and navigate the year 2022; a year the world is expected to continue living in the midst of a pandemic, see increasing inflation, and more social unrest. I believe all of us can triumph over these adversities if we learn the virtues people with disabilities embrace in their daily lives. In doing so we will adapt and accommodate to the obstacles before us; enduring through them with unstoppable resilience; overcoming division through the unity of our commonalities; and persevering as we always have throughout the history of humanity. People with disabilities posses all the world needs and it is up to us to lead the way by showing who we are as a united and resilient community. The CILNCF is committed more than ever in supporting those we serve in continuing to be the change the world needs.
Image is a picture of Tony posing with his arms up behind the Center for Independent Living sign posted to the side of 36th Terrace, near the Gainesville office.
ION Gainesville is back for 2022, and they will be hosting their monthly virtual bingo nights every third Friday through May!
The first bingo night of the year will be THIS Friday, January 21st, from 7 pm to 8:15 pm. All young adults with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 30-ish are welcome! Check out the flyer for more information and we hope to see you there!
Image Description: Light pink background featuring the ION Gainesville logo in the middle of a tick tac toe pattern that looks like a bingo card, with Bingo images and stickers surrounding the logo that say the word bingo, the date and time of the upcoming bingo night in the top left box that reads, “January 21st, 7pm to 8:15pm”, and the dates of the upcoming bingo nights in the top right box that reads, “February 18th, March 18th, April 18th and May 20th”. The top of the flyer reads, “Bingo Friday Night Fun” in large pink bubble letters and below it in smaller, dark pink print it says, “Join us for Virtual Bingo, prizes, and friends for young adults with disabilities ages 18-30”. On the bottom of the flyer, the text reads, “If you want to join the bingo nights, email or call Trish Thoburn at: iongainesville@gmail.com; (352) 339 – 6278”.
All of us here at the CIL would like to celebrate and honor Martin Luther King Jr. today and his fearless fight for justice through peaceful protests. Remember that your voice is powerful. Remember that you can make a difference. Spread love today, and every day.
Image Description: Solid light green background featuring the CIL logo at the bottom right corner, a graphic of MLK in the bottom left corner, and an MLK quote in the middle of the image that reads, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Our condolences go out to the family of Stephen Hardy. Stephen passed away on Saturday, January 8th and was a friend and former board member of the Center. He was a huge advocate for people with disabilities, especially for people who are deaf. Stephen was very influential in the Deaf community and taught Deaf studies at the University of Florida. He will be missed by many in the community including his students at UF. Our thoughts go out to his family at this difficult time.
Please click on the UF link below to learn more about Stephen Hardy:
Happy 2022 from all of us here at the CIL! We hope this year will bring lots of love, luck, peace and happiness!
Image Description: Light grey background with gold stars and circles hanging from the top of the graphic and two gold fireworks at the bottom on the left and right, with the CIL logo at the bottom, between the two firework images; gold text is in the middle and states, “All of us here at the CIL wish you a very Happy New Year! Cheer to 2022!”
In December, the Toys for Tots program and CIL once again partnered up, to help families with disabilities make their children’s dreams come true this Christmas. The CIL assisted 18 families and a total of 45 children in Alachua County, as well as 4 families in Marion County, with an additional 10 children! That is a total of 22 families and 55 children that we helped serve this holiday season!
We can’t thank the Toys for Tots program enough, for what they do for all of our children in need during the holidays! Special thanks also to our ILS Coordinator, Terri Poucher, who organizes our Toys for Tots partnership!
Images are pictures of Toys for Tots families picking up their bags of toys and bikes, with Terri Poucher.
A new year is almost here at the CIL! Please check out our latest January calendar of online activities!
On Tuesday, the Youth Leadership and Social Group runs from 3:30 PM-5:00 PM. On Wednesday, Independence Hacks (ILS) runs from 10:30 AM-12:00 PM. Everything can be reached on Zoom through the meeting ID: 352 378 7474 and password: cilclass.
If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Terri Poucher at 352-378-7474 or tpoucher@cilncf.org. We hope to see you there!
Image Description: Light blue background with CIL logo at the top left; four blue snowflakes are in the image, with one towards the top right, and three across the bottom. The text includes all of the information listed above. “January Online Calendar” is at the very top in blue text; Tuesday is in blue text in the middle of a white oval shape to the left, and the class title and time is in white text to the right. Wednesday is in blue text beneath Tuesday, in the middle of a white oval shape, and the class title and time is in white text to the right; the meeting ID and password information is at the bottom.
All of us here at the CIL wish you a very joyous and peaceful holiday season, filled with the love of your family and friends! Be sure to take a moment to relax and appreciate those little, precious moments that create lasting memories. 💕
Image Description: Red background with colorful holiday presents stacked on top of each other starting at the bottom left/middle, and stacked to the upper middle, with one present at the top of the pile. The CIL logo is in the bottom right, and text at the top states, “From all of us here at the CIL, Happy Holidays! We wish you a safe and happy holiday season!
We hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season! During this busy time of year, please remember that the Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) continues to accept applications for participation in the James Patrick Memorial Work Incentive Personal Assistant Services program (JP-PAS). The JP-PAS Program provides a monthly stipend to qualified Floridians with disabilities who are employed and require personal assistance services for daily living. If you or anyone you know would benefit from this program, please check out the link below to learn more and view the application!
Image Description: Light blue background with large, centered text at the top that reads, “The JP-PAS Personal Attendant Services and Employment Assistance Program”, with the centered website address, www.floridacils.org/pca-services-program, beneath that text. The FACIL logo is to the left of the website address and the JP-PAS logo is to the right. At the bottom is a centered picture of two people sitting in an office, facing each other. An African American woman is sitting to the left holding papers up in her right hand, and has an open laptop on her lap. She is wearing a white headband, glasses, an off white, long sleeved shirt with white polka dots and teal capris. An African American man is sitting in a wheelchair to the right, with hands folded and resting on the arms of the wheelchair. He is wearing a brown, long-sleeved shirt with beige pants.
