Thursday May 9, 2018
Mark your calendars – it is time for Integrated Living Opportunities’ (ILO) 2nd annual Bike, Hike & BBQ! This year’s fun-raising event will take place Saturday, May 26th at the C&O Canal in Bethesda. Participants can bike or walk along the canal, or even just hang out with other ILO supporters at the picnic area; everyone is welcome!
Supporting ILO
Integrated Living Opportunities (ILO) is a non-profit organization devoted to helping families build supported communities that enable safe, productive, independent living options for young adults with developmental disabilities. ILO helps these individuals (whom we call self-advocates) become more self-sufficient and helps prepare them to live within the wider community.
ILO was founded in 2015 by Maedi Tanham Carney, our Executive Director. Since that time, our organization has helped 12 self advocates move into the community. This year, at least 6 more self-advocates will be transitioning into independent living. Our organization is hard at work building communities for our self-advocates, and creating the networks of support – professional, personal, and community-based – that are so vital to them. ILO community builders are on site to help self-advocates build relationships with each other, and to help peers take part in activities together. In order for ILO to continue to grow and thrive, we need the support of participating families, friends, peers, and self-advocates. We also need the support of community members such as yourself. Joining us at this event is an opportunity to learn more about our organization, and to experience first hand the impact that community can have. Should you not be able to attend, please consider supporting us with a contribution.
Hike Bike and Barbeque: Event Details
Time & Location
Participants meet Saturday, May 26th at 9:00 am at the Carderock picnic area. Once all of the participants are gathered (about 9:30 am), we will set off along the canal trail for the bike/hike portion of our event. The trail is 8 miles roundtrip, and participants can do the entire trail, or turn back whenever they choose. From 11:00 to 1:00, participants and supporters will all gather again at the picnic area for a celebratory BBQ and social.
Registration Info
If you are interested in attending this event, please register as soon as possible. The fee for each participant is $35, which includes a t-shirt as well as food and drink. To register, please follow this link. Questions/comments etc. can be directed to event coordinator Chris Snowber (chris@hamiltonsnoweber.com). If you are unable to attend this event but would still like to support ILO self-advocates, please consider donating to our organization – donations are tax deductible. Online donations can be made via ILO’s website, using this link.
Note: Want to bike the canal but don’t own a bicycle? Check out this company – you can rent a bicycle for the day and they will even deliver it to Carderock for you!
More information?
Thank you for taking the time to visit our blog today – we hope that you were able to learn a little about our organization and were inspired enough to head down to Carderock and join our fun-raising event. As mentioned above, any questions related to this event can be directed to Chris Snowber at chris@hamiltonsnoweber.com If you are curious about ILO in general and would like to learn more about our community building work, please contact us: info@ilonow.org.
