Sunday, July 26th marked the 30th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act! Here is a word from our Executive Director, Tony Delisle, about what the ADA means to him!

“The ADA is for all people because nearly everyone is touched by disability. The ADA provides access to a door where people with disabilities can enter to achieve their full potential. It is up to us as individuals, communities, and organizations to go through this door together and live up to the ideals of the ADA by creating a society that is just for all.” – Tony Delisle

The CILNCF is distributing Emergency Kits to our consumers in need! The kits were put together by Kevin (pictured below), Shera and CIL interns, and include first aid supplies, masks, hand santizer, a File of Life card, and a special gift from St. Leo! Special thanks to the following regional coalitions! Through funding from them, we were able to include first aid supplies in each of the kits:
North Central Healthcare Coalition
NE Florida Healthcare Coalition
Coalition for Health and Medical Preparedness (CHAMP)

All of us at the CIL would like to give a huge THANK YOU to the following organizations and individuals who have so generously donated PPE supplies during this past month:

Eric Dresser, Diane Owens and the entire UnitedHealthcare Team for the donation of 500 reusable masks and 50 small hand sanitizers!

The Florida Department of Health, as well as Alexandra Boswell with the Department of Emergency Management and Peter Newman with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for the donation of 22,000 masks! Wow!

Carla Lewis-Miles, Khadijah Camps and another woman who would like to remain anonymous, for making masks that were distributed to the CIL, the Greater Duval neighborhoods and throughout Gainesville where there is the most need!

As we continue to work day by day to re-open our doors to consumers, the CILNCF will be in crucial need of PPE supplies, so we are extremely grateful for these donations and community partnerships! Thank you all for helping keep our consumers and community safe and healthy!

After a long wait, the CILNCF Ocala office will officially be moved into their new office location on June 29, 2020! At this time, the office will remain closed to consumers and the public. However, staff will be available by phone, e-mail and video conferencing. We are so excited and happy for our Ocala Team!

At the beginning of this month, after several years of trying, the Center for Independent Living was officially declared the WINNER of the May Charity of the Month contest from Sunstate Federal Credit Union! All of us at the CIL wanted to give a big THANK YOU to Sunstate Federal Credit Union for offering this amazing opportunity to us and all of the wonderful charities in our community, and of course, to everyone that voted for us! Thank you all for making this possible!

Believe it or not, the hurricane season is just around the corner! Florida is having a Disaster Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday from Friday, May 29th through Thursday, June 4th. Be sure to start early and stock up on disaster preparedness supplies exempt from tax! Check out the detailed list of items below!

The CIL has recently become a supplier of food in partnership with Feeding Florida and Bread of the Mighty. Through this partnership, we have had hundreds of boxes of non-perishable food delivered to the CIL this month, as well as several 50 pound bags of potatoes and carrots! This service helps so many people in need during these challenging times, and we are extremely thankful for our community partnerships that allow us to provide this essential need to those we serve.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UF Florida Disability and Health Program Annual Meeting will be held virtually via a series of four webinars on Zoom. Our Executive Director, Tony Delisle, will present, “Disability and Disasters, Preparing for the Worst and Not Just Hoping for the Best” from 11am – 12pm on Tuesday, May 5th. Please check out the flyer below for details about all four of the webinars and registration information!

We wanted to give a shoutout and thank you to our own Kevin Towles for his hard work in Tallahassee at the States Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) recently. Kevin has been working with state directors who are in charge of responding to the COVID 19 Pandemic. We have heard a lot of positive feedback about his work throughout his time in the SEOC. Many have thanked Kevin for his awesome work and for helping to make a difference!

This is the first time that the Independent Living Network and CIL’s around the state are working with state officials, and finding ways together to help people with disabilities have access to food, personal protective equipment, transportation, contact information and other emergency needs. Special thanks to Bryan Russell with the Department of Health and Peter Newman with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation for your continued support during this time.

Thank you Kevin for all of your hard work and dedication, and helping our Center provide this great service to the state and people with disabilities throughout the state!

Here are some pictures of Kevin working and of the environment he was in! Thanks again, Kevin! Keep up the great work.