News Flash!

GOVERNOR CUTS FUNDING FOR CIL's

SPRINGFIELD - July 10, 2008: Yesterday, Governor Blagojevich made massive line item vetoes to the budget before he signed it. He slashed disability services, including $2 million for Centers for Independent Living in Illinois. Of that $2 million, LIFE Center would have received $69,000. These funds would have been used to add critically needed staff to improve services that enable people with disabilities to live independently in their own homes instead of being forced into nursing homes and for our Center to keep up with rising costs without having to cut services.

Last year, LIFE Center served 5,944 individuals with disabilities and their families, providing services than enabled them to achieve or maintain independent lifestyles in the community rather than being forced into nursing homes. This year, LIFE Center helped eight individuals move out of nursing homes into their own homes at a huge savings to the state. In addition, LIFE Center provided 5,169 hours of community services such as free technical assistance on how to make homes and businesses accessible.

LIFE Center for Independent Living needs your support to stop these cuts! The General Assembly will be in session for three days next week to address these cuts. Call, write letters or email immediately to tell them how LIFE Center serves your community. Tell them how much money your Center was scheduled to get and what how the money was to be used. Ask them to work with their leaders to restore this cut. You can find a sample letter on this website by going to the Contact Your Legislators page. You can find contact information for your legislators on the Illinois General Assembly website at www.ilga.gov.

THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CANNOT WAIT! THEY MUST HEAR FROM YOU BY TOMORROW - FRIDAY, JULY 11! If have any questions or need assistance with contacting your legislators, please call us. LIFE Center for Independent Living appreciates your support! Thank you.

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We now accept Pay Pal for memberships, donations, and Wheel-A-Thon pledges!
Click on the icon below to make your payment.

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LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS

We're looking for volunteers who would be willing to train for a new puppet troupe. We are collaborating with Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department to implement the Kids on the Block program. This is a program to educate children about people with disabilities. To find out more about Kids on the Block, go to their website. The troupe meets Mondays at 6:00 pm in the Bloomington office conference room. Anyone interested should contact Marianne or call 309/663-5433 or toll free 888/543-3245 V/TTY.

Volunteer opportunity: Kids on the Block puppet troupe
Start/end dates: Ongoing – but anticipate most shows will be during school year
Skills needed: Enthusiastic, like to work with children, able to memorize scripts, able to manipulate puppets, and able to carry materials. All volunteers must be 14+ and complete a volunteer application. Drivers must have valid license and insurance.
Duties: Attend initial training, attend regular practices, memorize scripts, transport materials to and attend community education events.
Hours: Hours will vary greatly depending on requests for presentations. Practices to be set by troupe members. Presentations should last approximately 2 hours.

LIFE Center has reorganized their volunteer program. We are currently looking for volunteers who would be interested in the following positions:

Clerical Support
Custodian/Maintenance Support
Personal Assistants/Drivers
Workshop Facilitators
Peer Mentors
Accessibility Auditors
Board of Directors/Standing Committee Member

All volunteers are required to submit a completed volunteer application. Volunteer job descriptions and new volunteer applications are available by contacting Marianne.

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HAVING TROUBLE HEARING ON THE PHONE?

Illinois has a program to help! You can get a FREE amplified phone through the Illinois Telecommunications Access Corp. (ITAC). It's easy to qualify.

You must:

be a legal resident of Illinois;
have your doctor or audiologist sign that you are hard-of-hearing;
have standard phone service in your residence.

There are no age or income restrictions.

You can get more information and try the phones at either of LIFE Center's offices. To receive an application, you can contact either of LIFE Center's offices or go to the ITAC website.

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WHEEL-A-THON 2008

LIFE Center for Independent Living's Third Annual Wheel-A-Thon was held on Saturday, April 19th at IWU's Shirk Center Indoor Track. The center collected over $15,000 in sponsorships, raffles and donations. The money will be used to support LIFE Center's services throughout the four-county service area.

Thank you to all of the sponsors for the event! - WJBC, The Pantagraph, AirTran Airways, Sam's Club, State Farm, Bank of Illinois, Brady Property Management, Illinois Wesleyan University, LaGondola Spaghetti House, McDonald's, OSF St. James Hospital, Westminster Village, Caterpillar, Commerce Bank, Country Insurance, Misty Hall and Anne Stewart - Sign Language Interpreters, Americall Communications, CEFCU, Creative Technical Systems, DMi Technology Group, Doug Davis - Country Insurance Agent, Guitar World, Heartland Bank, Mid-America Insurance, PIP Printing, Select Screen Prints, Shive-Hattery, and Tom Brokaw - State Farm Insurance Agent.

Thank you to the churches and businesses who loaned wheelchairs for the event! Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped put together the event! Thank you to all of the local businesses who contributed donations for our raffle and prizes! We really value your generousity and support!

Click here to view pictures of this year's event.

Please take a moment to complete our Wheel-A-Thon survey. Thank you.

We hope to see you at next year's Wheel-A-Thon!

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Our Mission

LIFE Center for Independent Living advances equality and integration of all persons with disabilities. To achieve this mission, we:

Promote local, state and national advocacy
Educate persons with disabilities about their rights and responsibilities
Provide support services
Raise community awareness about disability issues

in DeWitt, Ford, Livingston and McLean Counties.

Who We Serve

LIFE Center for Independent Living serves persons of all ages with all kinds of disabilities in DeWitt, Ford, Livingston and McLean Counties in Illinois. We also provide community services that promote accessibility and break down attitudinal barriers.

Hours of Operation

LIFE Center is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. You may request appointments during evening hours if needed. LIFE Center also offers sign language classes and workshops, and hosts disability support groups during evening and weekend hours. Press the Center Activities button on the left to view our calendar of events.

More About LIFE Center

LIFE Center for Independent Living is a community-based, not-for-profit, non-residential organization that was founded in 1985. LIFE Center promotes disability rights, equal access, and full community participation for persons with disabilities. We empower individuals with disabilities to take charge of their lives and make their own choices and decisions in order to be as self-sufficient as possible. We lead efforts to break down barriers and prejudices within our communities. When these barriers are removed and prejudices are replaced with positive attitudes, persons with disabilities will have equal access to society. LIFE Center is associated with a national movement of almost 500 Centers for Independent Living. These Centers are advocacy-based organizations governed and operated by persons with disabilities for persons with disabilities.

Contact Us

Press the "Contact Us" button on the left to contact individual staff members.

Home Office

LIFE Center for Independent Living
2201 Eastland Drive, Suite 1
Bloomington, IL 61704

Phone: 309/663-5433 (Voice/TTY)
TTY Phone: 309/663-0054
Toll-Free Phone: 888/543-3245
FAX: 309/663-7024

Branch Office

LIFE Center for Independent Living
741 West Washington Street, Suite 3
Pontiac, IL 61764

Phone: 815/844-1132 (Voice/TTY)
FAX: 815/844-1148

A member of
Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living

Have comments about or problems with our website? Contact marianne@lifecil.org