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.
At the end of February, the ADA Paratransit and Reception teams got
together for their Team Social, and enjoyed a fun time out traveling back in time and playing all kinds of pinball, videos games and carnival games from the times of yonder, and not so long ago. The place was Bragging Rights Arcade in Gainesville (@BraggingRightsGNV). We definitely recommend it! We enjoyed some delicious pizza and soft drinks from Peppino’s Pizza
(@PeppinosPizzaPasta), and started the rounds of playing games. There were all kinds of arcade games to satisfy any heart’s delight, but the best part of the event was to be able to spend time with co-workers and have some fun together!.
ID: Four pictures within the image. The top left picture is Sada (left) and Destini (right) playing the Dance Dance Revolution game. The top right picture is Destini sitting and playing a large piano game. The bottom left picture is Alex taking a selfie with (from left to right) Cammeron, Destini, Eric, Christie, Sada and Peter in the background. The bottom right picture is Cammeron (left) and Sada (right) playing the Dance Dance Revolution game. Each image is separated by lines with CIL logo colors of fuchsia, dark blue, and turquoise.
Early last month, Sada attended the University of Florida HHP Internship and Job Fair. Sada graduated from the College of Health and Human Performance, so it is always great to be back! She got to meet many prospective interns and connect with a diverse array of community organizations and businesses. We thank UF and the HHP college for inviting us back!
ID: Picture of Sada at the event, smiling and standing behind the CIL table with the CIL banner standing to the left. She is wearing a white CIL polo shirt with tan pants. The table is covered with a royal blue tablecloth, and displayed on top are CIL brochures, flyers and swag items such as pens, post-it notes and chip clips.
Fun Fact Friday: The Florida AgrAbility Project keeps Florida farmers farming. With our new partnership with the University of Florida IFAS Extension, we can serve farmers with all types of disabilities to ensure they secure, maintain and sustain meaningful work in agriculture. We can do this by offering worksite and home-based assessments; providing Assistive Technologies; modifying equipment and work sites; restructuring farm tasks; identifying resources and services that can aid their independence; and assisting them with inclusion in their communities by offering social opportunities that are essential for a high quality of life. Please support this impactful cause by donating to our Amazing Give campaign: https://www.theamazinggive.org/…/center-for-independent…
ID: Image is a blue square with the text “What is AgrAbility” in the middle. AgrAbility is written in purple with a white outline. The CILNCF and The Amazing Give logo are display at the top middle of the graphic.
ID: Image is a farmer using assistive equipment to get onto his tractor. The words “7 days!” is displayed on the center of the image in white, bordered in purple. The Florida AgrAbility logo is shown in the top right of the graphic. The CIL and Amazing Give logo is on the bottom middle of the graphic.
Please join us on Zoom for a FAAST Program presentation on April 19th at 10:00am! John Palmer from Magnifying America will be showing off the Patriot Magnifier, Reader Tablets, as well as other devices. He will discuss how their technology limits the digital divide for people who are low vision or legally blind by helping them read documents out loud, magnify real world media, and more. Please pass along to anyone who will benefit from this demonstration!
You can join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone. To join please click on the link below:
For more information about the Zoom meeting, please contact Brandon Palermo in our Ocala office at bpalermo@cilncf.org or call (352) 363-3788, or please contact Claudia Avendano in our Gainesville office at cavendano@cilncf.org or call (352) 378-7474.
ID: The image includes all the information provided above. The CIL logo is shown at the top left and the top middle of the image reads ” FAAST Program Presentation: Magnifying America” in yellow lettering. The background is blue, and wording below the title is separated into three different boxes; one is light green to the left, with one fuchsia and one teal that are smaller to the right. The FAAST logo is shown at the bottom left and the Magnifying America logo is at the bottom right.
Our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program continues to make a difference for our consumers!
Last month, Gail Bullock received a ramp through our Wheelchair Ramp Building Program. She was in a terrible car accident last year that caused bone and nerve damage on the right side of her body, causing difficulty walking and standing for long periods at a time. Gail let us know that without the help of the Center for Independent Living, she would be isolated in her home and would need help getting in and out. She is now able to go out independently into the community, as well as to important therapy and medical appointments! She is forever grateful to the CIL! Special thanks to Mark Brisbane, CORE Services Director and Custom Design Renovations, for making this ramp build possible!
ID: The video includes before and after photos of Gail’s ramp, as well as a brief video of Gail describing how she obtained the ramp and her experience with CIL.
At the beginning of March, CIL Staff Sada attended a Disability Awareness Month kick-off event at Santa Fe College. It was a wonderful time to connect with community members and students at Santa Fe to share information about the Center for Independent Living and its services. One of the participants even made this awesome balloon hat for Sada! We can’t wait to be back to Santa Fe’s campus for our Alachua County Emergency Preparedness Expo, set to take place on Friday,
April 14th, from 8:45AM-1:00PM. You can register for the free event by clicking the link below:
P.S. The balloon hat maker has signed up for the event so come on out and you may get one too!
Thanks so much!
ID: Image consists of two photos of CIL Staff Sada. The top picture is of Sada standing behind the CIL table which holds flyers for CIL services and CIL swag items. Sada is wearing a white CIL polo shirt, silver sunglasses, and a black lanyard that holds her CIL badge. The bottom picture is of Sada signing peace while wearing a balloon hat (blue, green, and white). The background is purple and blue up top, and turquoise and green at the bottom.
The Amazing Give is just 2 WEEKS AWAY on April 20th, and we wanted to share more about where your donation dollars will go! This year, all funds raised will benefit our brand-new program, AgrAbility!
Our work here at CILNCF is all about supporting individuals with disabilities to live independently and fulfill their goals. To gain a better understanding of AgrAbility, please read below:
Farmers and workers within the agricultural fields are more likely to have a disability than the general population due to hazardous conditions of their profession. It is estimated that nearly a third to half of farmers have a disability compared to a quarter of people in the general population. Farmers are more likely to have physical disabilities which prevents them from continuing to farm and work in agriculture. Many farmers with physical disabilities need adaptive equipment to keep working; however, they often cannot afford this equipment. Farmers experience high rates of mental health issues, have high rates of mental health issues and have six times the rate of suicides compared to the general population. Unfortunately, farmers rarely seek out mental health services and often to not have access to these services if they do with to utilize them.
The CILNCF started a brand-new collaboration with the University of Florida called the Florida AgrAbility Project. AgrAbility aims to serve farmers with all types of disabilities to ensure they secure, maintain, and sustain meaningful work in agriculture through: offering worksite and home-based assessments; providing Assistive Technologies; modifying equipment and work sites; restructuring farm tasks; identifying resources and services that can aid their independence; and assisting them with inclusion in their communities through offering social opportunities that are essential for a high quality of life.
VD: Video begins with showing the logos for: CILNCF, AgrAbility, and The Amazing Give. It then shows Lindsey Head at a farm/ranch speaking about Florida farmers. It then shifts to various videos of Mika Hardison speaking about her farm, The Herbal Bee. There are various scenes of bees and farming throughout the video as Mika speaks. Towards the end of the video, Tony Delisle speaks about the services that CILNCF provides. The video ends with logos for AgrAbility, CIL, The Amazing Give, and the following text: To donate to CILNCF’s Amazing Give, please visit: https://www.theamazinggive.org/organizations/center-for-independent-living-of-north-central-florida
In mid-March, CIL Staff Claudia and Sada went out to the Bradford Community Partners Health & Wellness Resource Hub. They talked to several community members about services available through CILNCF and assistive technology available through FAAST. It is so great to get to meet the people of Bradford County in their community! If you live in Bradford county and are looking to learn more about The Center for Independent Living, please come visit us. We will be represented at the Hub on the third Thursday of each month from 10:00 AM-2:00 PM. The Hub is located at the Bradford County Faith Community Center until the official location is made available. The address is 721 Old Lawtey Rd, Starke, FL 32091. We hope to see you there!
ID: Image includes a picture of CIL Staff Claudia (left) and Sada (right) at the event. They are each positioned at the opposite end of two tables, which are draped in the FAAST and CIL tablecloths. The longer table in front of Claudia contains different FAAST AT devices, and the smaller table in front of Sada contains information about CIL services. A CIL banner stands to the right of Sada, and a FAAST banner stands to the left of Claudia.
