50th Anniversary Kick–Off and Donor Appreciation Breakfast

The Center for Independent Living is an organization focused on supporting others and building community. To accomplish this goal, we also have our own support network. CIL wouldn’t be able to help as many people as we do without assistance from our donors and partners. CIL’s partners come from a large range of organizations. We work with medical organizations like AdventHealth and Orlando Health. We work with Disability assistance organizations such as FAAST. We even work with Walt Disney Resorts and their disability inclusion program. CIL also has many partners that help us in keeping our organization running, such as the IT company, iVenture Solutions, and the marketing company, Curly & Pynn. All of these organizations and many others are a vital part of the CIL community, and they give us the resources necessary to help our consumers.   

To thank and celebrate our donors and partners CIL recently hosted a donor appreciation breakfast. This event was a chance for our partners to enjoy good food, get to know one another, and for CIL to showcase the growth of our organization, and our accomplishments. This event was a special one as well, as this year is CIL’s 50th anniversary. We took the time to walk our donors through CIL’s history as an organization. We started with the beginnings of the independent living movement, in Berkley, California, in the 1960s. We then explored the establishment of CIL Orlando in 1976 by our founder, Beverly Chapman. We also highlighted many of our organization’s programs, such as our Aspire to Hire program, Deaf Services, Family Disability Navigator, and Foundations to Freedom.  

This breakfast was also a chance for our consumers and partners to speak and share how CIL has impacted them and their families. Theresa, who has worked with CIL and our Deaf Services program for twenty years, shared the story of how CIL helped her navigate tax payments. Tisha, a parent who is part of our Family Disability Navigator program, talked about how CIL helped her son grow more confident and taught him how to advocate for himself. Brian, a speaker from one of our partner organizations, iVenture, spoke about how CIL helped him and his wife develop a community they could rely on.  

This event places emphasis on our commitment to community and continuing CIL’s work. The breakfast closed with thanks to our donors and partners for their participation with CIL, and a hope for strong partnership in the years to come. We love the work we do at CIL, and we greatly appreciate the donors and partners that make it possible for us to do that work.