This past week, some of our CIL team members took time out of their very busy schedules, to help make our Gainesville lobby, hallways and activity room a little bit brighter and festive this holiday season!  Special thanks to everyone who was able to help.  Our Center is now ready to celebrate the holidays in style! 

ID:  Images consists of five pictures:  first picture on the left is of Destini in the activity room wrapping a picture, smiling at the camera, second picture top center is of Tony in the activity room assembling the Christmas tree, third picture on the right is of Amy and Holly in the activity room, holding up decorations and smiling at the camera, fourth picture in the center is of the fully decorated CIL Christmas Tree in the activity room, and the fifth picture covering the very bottom is of the fully decorated front lobby.

The CIL tabled at this very popular community event in Ocala – Light Up Ocala, which is a longstanding community tradition to kick off the holidays that attracts thousands to downtown Ocala. This year marks the 38th anniversary of the holiday merry making event! Light Up Ocala had over 100 vendors including crafts, art and plenty of food options to choose from! Live entertainment filled the air with festive sounds and an interactive kids zone kept the whole family entertained. 

Kevin Towles, Brandon Palermo and Lucinda Haile (with the Ocala CIL) was at the Light up Ocala on November 19th. They passed out info about CILNCF and talked to old consumers, new consumers, giving out info about CILNCF and helping others. With the cold weather and getting around the event, it was the best time that everyone had in a long time!

The holiday season has officially arrived and the CIL is so grateful! We are so excited that in-person classes have been BACK at the CIL, so please join us this December! We are still offering one online class per week for those of you who prefer that option.

Independence Hacks (ILS) classes will be on Tuesdays in Ocala, Wednesdays on Zoom, and Thursdays in Gainesville. All classes will be from 10:30am – 12pm.

Youth Leadership and Social Group classes are still on Tuesdays from 3:30-5pm. So far, they will continue to be conducted online until further notice.

For every online class, the meeting username is 352-378-7474 and the password is cilclass!

Please be sure to share this with anyone who would like to participate, and contact Terri Poucher at 352-378-7474 or tpoucher@cilncf.org with any questions. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Please join us for a training event at the CIL in Ocala on Tuesday, December 6th, at 9:45 am! The CIL, in collaboration with Thera-mate AND Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology will be providing a training on Thera-Mate Pro, which helps those with limited mobility better take care of themselves and their hygiene needs.

Please call (352) 368-3788 to reserve a seat, space is limited!

DATE: Tuesday December 6th, 2022 at 9:45 am

LOCATION: The Center for Independent Living
2760 SE 17th Street, Suite 300 Ocala, FL 34471

The CIL wishes everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you are able to spend quality time with family and friends! These last few years have been extremely challenging for everyone, and we are so very grateful for all of YOU, our amazing CIL consumers, board and staff, our generous donors, loyal volunteers, and wonderful community partnerships. We are so thankful for the opportunity to continue to work and grow together for people with disabilities in our community! Enjoy the holiday!

Gobble Gobble! Thanks to Trinity Missions, and our amazing partnership, the CIL was able to continue to provide 20 Thanksgiving baskets for our consumers in need this holiday season! Frozen turkeys were BACK too and we could not be more grateful! Special thanks to Trinity Missions and all you continue to do for our community, especially during the holidays!

A warm message of gratitude from Tony for our community, and for each and every one of you who work tirelessly to serve and give back to those who need it most. Thank you for all that you do! Cheers to a week full of thanks and to the season of giving.

We are so grateful that the CIL has been back to in-person classes for our ILS consumers!

Our most recent ILS class last week was so much fun as consumers learned all about food safety in light of Thanksgiving fast approaching, such as how to cook a turkey and how long we should keep leftovers. They also learned about various leftover recipes and everyone talked about their favorite Thanksgiving foods. Everyone was well engaged and left smiling!

Special thanks to CIL team members Sada Ahmed and Eric Skanes, who helped out with class while Terri Poucher, our ILS Coordinator, was recovering from being under the weather.

The CIL recently won $1,000 in the Radiant Credit Union October Charity of the Month contest! Our very own Associate Director, Amy Feutz, nominated CILNCF as an organization making our community a better place. Those who nominate the winner also receive a $100, which Amy donated right back to the CIL for a total of $1,100!

We are so grateful to everyone who voted for the CIL, and to our incredible staff for all the hard work they do to help our community thrive, every single day. What a wonderful way to enter into a season of giving and thanks!

Thank you to Radiant Credit Union for your continuous efforts towards giving back to our community. If you know an organization that is working to make our community a better place, nominate them at https://www.radiantcu.org/comm…/charity-of-the-month.shtml

It’s the season of gratitude and the CIL will be spreading tons of gratitude cheer throughout this holiday season!  Starting with this testimonial from Julie, daughter of John, a recent FAAST Program recipient who received a new power wheelchair!  Please enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

“Claudia with FAAST has been extremely helpful and accommodating. We would not have been able to get the power chair for my dad without her help.

“My dad is 84 and has just recently moved into a private home with the caregiver. We don’t have a lot of money, so we do need a lot of help. He has a deformity in one foot making it very difficult and painful for him to walk. Poor circulation and many other issues mean the power chair is life-changing for him.

“He can now get around the house to get his own food from the kitchen. He already feels more independent and happier.

“Thank you, Claudia and FAAST! You have made a huge difference in my dad’s life!”

ID:  Picture of John using his new power wheelchair in his kitchen at home. He is smiling and giving a thumbs-up.