A Celebration of Purple Week!

The Center for Independent Living celebrated Purple Week this year from April 13th to 16th. We were excited to invite neighbors, leaders, advocates, and partners to join in a celebration filled with meaningful conversations, hands-on learning, and the promotion of true inclusion. Every single one of us at CIL is incredibly thankful to everyone who came to our events, including the Lunch Hour Virtual Disability Sensitivity Training, our Welcome to Ability Land Winter Park Tour, and of course, the Good Life Gathering Health Fair and Cookout. And not to forget our Legacy Cocktail Reception, a celebration of 50 years of making an impact within our disabled community.

Ultimately, we at CIL view Purple Week as a week about giving, as it supports all of the values of our mission: to promote and provide true inclusion for people of all disabilities by removing barriers, educating, providing resources, and training individuals to become truly independent. Community-based events like this build trust and support that other, more reactive efforts cannot quite reach. It creates a space for visitors, partners of our organization, advocates, and leaders to discuss meaningful issues, learn, educate, and build a more understanding community.

At our Good Life Gathering Health Fair and Cookout, staff, vendors, volunteers, and visitors shared their thoughts on the importance of Purple Week. Daniela Archbold, our program manager at CIL, spoke about why these events are so important and the true purpose they serve.

Daniela Archbold: This is a time to showcase what we do, the programs that we have here, the services that we provide, and to let individuals know that if they have a self-reported disability, there’s a community behind them to help them with anything that might come onto their plate that might be overwhelming.

When we spoke to our program director, Krupa Acharya, they spoke about the fun and collaboration that go into meaningful events like this.

Krupa Acharya: Purple Week is to unite all the different stakeholders in a week long activities that would entail community engagement and meaningful and collaborative learning for all the different stakeholders, our community partners, our donors, and our staff, to really ensure that we are engaging and empowering individuals with disabilities to live independently.

Our vendor, Luz Oquendo from Family Network on Disabilities, mentioned the accessibility to resources families and members of the community gain when they’re able to take part in events like this.

Luz Oquendo: Coming to these events allows the families that work with CIL to be able to connect with us so we’re visible in the community and so we can share our resources, and we can make sure that they have the support that they need to navigate systems.

And Maxine Moul, a volunteer from our board of directors, added on to what the Center for Independent Living’s primary mission is.

Maxine Moul: CIL helps people with both physical, mental, and various disabilities to live an independent life and not to minimize, but support and educate and empower people to do the best they can.

Purple Week reminds us that impact does not happen by chance, but through support. And everyone’s support, including yours, ensures that our work can continue beyond this eventful week. So now that you have seen and heard about the impact, what better way to continue your journey with us than by becoming a part of it? By clicking the link in the bio, you will be sent to a page where you can show your support for our mission by donating to our cause, which will help us continue our work toward a more inclusive and accessible world. Let’s create a lasting impact from the momentum of this year’s Purple Week! https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/50-years-of-impact-a-future-without-limits