Congratulations to our High School High Tech 2018 Speech Contest winners! The students spoke about future careers they were interested in pursuing and how HSHT helped them explore those careers. The first place winner won a donated laptop, and second and third place won chocolate!

Our first, second, and third place winners, Myles Goodwine, Deonis Jackson, and Logan Tugman, will move on to Regionals in Orlando on April 18. The top three students from Regionals will then move on to the State competition in Tallahassee.

We are so proud of all our students!

We raised a total of $5,025 from The Amazing Give this year!

Thank you so much for supporting us in such an amazing way and caring about such an important cause. The donations will impact CIL programs such as Employment, High School High Tech, Wheelchair Ramp Building and Independent Living classes. We appreciate you being a part of our mission to help empower people with disabilities to live independently during this year’s Amazing Give!

The Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida will have a FREE Emergency Preparedness Conference for people with disabilities March 22 from 8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Marion County Sheriff’s Department in Ocala. ASL interpreters will be provided.

Emergency Management Director Preston Bowlin will present on behalf of Marion County’s Sheriff Department. He will verify that the special needs registry is up to par for each county, making sure special needs shelters are fully equipped in an emergency situation.

Ben Nelson, a national weatherman from Jacksonville, will speak on weather preparedness.

A representative from Ocala’s fire department will share how they prepare when emergencies threaten to strike.

The last session will be a panel of these speakers; Kevin Towels, a representative from the CIL; Kyle Drummer, Marion County’s communications manager; Randy Ming, from the Health Department for Shelters; Amy Brault, Marion Senior Services volunteer coordinator; and Andrea Melvin, CIL’s satellite office manager, who will host the conference. Attendees can ask any questions on the topics.

The vendors involved with the conference are: Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida, Marian County Sheriff’s Department, United Way, Ocala Fire, County Fire, Marion Senior Service, Shine, Seco Electric, Home Instead Senior Care, Visiting Angels, Kindred Hospice, Health South, Hearth of Florida, and Ocala PD.

If transportation is needed, contact Suntran (352-401-6999) or Marion Senior Services (352-620-3071). Say it is for the Emergency Preparedness Conference on March 22. Transportation should be free.

Registration is preferred and will be open until March 21, 8:30 a.m.

The CIL is once again participating in The Amazing Give, a 24-hour day of giving in the local community from March 21 at 6 p.m. to March 22 at 6 p.m., but don’t forget about our year-round fundraising opportunities! You can raise money for the Center just by voting in a contest, shopping for yourself and searching the internet.

The CIL enters SunState Federal Credit Union’s Charity of the Month contest every month for a chance to win $1,000. The contest also draws a random charity to win $500 each month, so if the Center isn’t #1, don’t get discouraged! The more you vote, the more likely it is to win the prizes. A random voter is also chosen to win $100 every month, and you can vote every day to increase the possibility of your name being drawn.

Search and shop online with Amazon Smile and Goodsearch! Amazon Smile donates 0.5% of your purchase when you go through smile.amazon.com, and Goodsearch, (powered by Yahoo!) donates a penny from each online search and up to 30% with each shopping purchase when you go through Goodsearch.com. Don’t forget to make sure the donations are going to the Center by entering “Transitional Living of North Central Florida” as your cause.

Thank you for your support!

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING LOCAL BUSINESSES WHO GENEROUSLY SPONSORED OUR OCALA OPEN HOUSE! 

• Publix
• Mojo’s
• Wiseguys
• Sonny’s BBQ
• Carrabba’s
• Bruster’s Ice Cream
• Ocala Civic Theater
• Betty Cakes
• Batton’s Auto
• Jimmy John’s
• Ruby Tuesday
• Smokin’ Swamp BBQ
• Shear Vanity
• Skate A Way South
• Morgan Brothers Plumbing Supply
• Paper Net
• A Better U Healthcare
• Painting with a Twist
• Bagelicious
• The Works Groomer
• Bittings Pharmacy
• Home Run Realty
• Gyro Grill
• Anytime Fitness
• Subway
• Zhang Gardens
• Ale House
• Wing House
• Lakis Restaurant
• Dance Alive National Ballet
• Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Many thanks from our awesome Ocala team!

The Center for Independent Living of North Central Florida (CILNCF), along with the Belleview Library and FEMA, are partnering up to help people with disabilities and residents of Marion County.  We are opening the doors from 11am to 5pm on October 5th, 2017, at the Belleview Library, located at 13145 SE Highway 484, Belleview, FL 34420. Residents will have an opportunity to register for financial assistance and receive direct help to repair damage to their home and property caused by Hurricane Irma.

Assistance available includes:
– Housing assistance; temporary housing, repairs, replacement and construction
– Personal property assistance and other needs

To complete registration on site, you’ll need to supply the following information:
– Social security number
– Address of damaged property
– Current mailing address and phone number
– Property insurance information
– Total household annual income
– Bank information for direct deposit
– Description of damage caused by Hurricane Irma

For more information, please call the CILNCF at 352-368-3788.

The Florida Association of Centers for Independent Living (FACIL) has started a fundraiser to help raise funds for people with disabilities in Florida impacted by Hurricane Irma.  All funds will go through a 501-C-3 non-profit and will be distributed to local disability organizations to help with recovery efforts.  Please give as you are able.  And please share as widely as possible.

https://www.youcaring.com/floridaassociationofcentersforindependnetliving-950903?utm_campaign=buttonshare&utm_medium=url&utm_source=copy&utm_content=cf_cp_01

The Summer Youth Program has been a wonderful success here at the Center for Independent Living. In this program, youth consumers learned about career exploration and valuable employability skills in order to better prepare themselves to enter the workforce.  The most important aspects of job skills that this group acquired was working together through team building activities, embracing diversity and understanding the rules of work.  Activities included learning about appropriate and inappropriate work behaviors, listening and providing feedback, interviewing skills, how their personalities and values play an important role in making the right career choice, and much more!  Some of the activities that allowed these students to work together were utilizing their unique talents while comprehending the material covered for job readiness; for example, we had students create rap songs about dressing for success.

The Summer Youth Program also had businesses such as Men’s Warehouse and Wells Fargo, come in and present important information pertaining to the job world. Men’s Warehouse prepared these youth by helping them understand the proper attire for dressing during an interview.  We divided the class into two groups and they had a mannequin provided by Men’s Warehouse.  Each group had to dress the mannequin appropriately for a job interview.  We also had students compete for being best dressed for an interview.  Wells Fargo conducted a presentation on how to write checks, open an account, create a spending plan and spoke about credit cards.  The youth created a rap on how they manage their money, which was really fun!

At the end of their experiences, some of our students were happy to provide comments about the program. Deonis said he made new friends and enjoyed the team building activities.  Nick felt really confident and comfortable with sharing his ideas in class.  Chad told staff about his appreciation for the program and Di’Armani recently had a job interview at Burger King and was grateful for having the opportunity to practice his interviewing skills.

We are confident that our students will be able to utilize what they learned throughout our Summer Youth Program to make positive contributions in the workforce. Congratulations to all 13 of our of our Summer Youth Program graduates!  We are proud of each of you and all you have accomplished!

Students receiving their certificates of completion!

Students rapping and learning together!