ILO Insights
Maedi Tanham Carney
Founder & Executive Director, ILO
We are Grateful!
I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful we are this year now that we can finally help our self-advocates get out and get going! They were definitely ready.
We have offered many fun and engaging activities and seen a lot of growth in self-advocates, and in our ILO POD communities over the last year.
Over the next two months each POD will be celebrating the holidays as ILO works to wrap up a wonderful, but challenging year.
Please keep us in your thoughts for year-end giving.
We are grateful for:
ILO Families that pitch in and help, whether for Hike, Bike, & BBQ; Bike to the Beach; the Teaming Up! Walk at Glen Echo with our partner The Arc of DC; throwing a pool party for our group; helping share our communications with others; or sharing their hopes, dreams, and realities with new families.
ILO’s Fantastic Self-Advocates building relationships with other ILO self-advocates to help each other; and stepping up to the plate to take on more responsibilities and be more flexible during staffing changes. It is so rewarding to see them reaching out to each other.
ILO’s Incredible Staff, who during this incredible global shortage of caregiver personnel, have pitched in to help one-another, to help maintain balance and support for all of our self-advocates.
ILO Staff
Jason Crowe – ILO Life Coach
Jason Crowe is a life coach for ILO working one-on-one with ILO Self-Advocates in all areas of independent living. Jason has always had a passion to help others since he was young.
Jason worked for Germantown Community Recreation Center offering his time teaching the youth how to play different sports. He also worked directly with individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities with the goal of integration.
Jason goes by the motto, “It does not matter how long it takes for the goal to get accomplished, just as long as it is accomplished.”
Now that Jason has been working in this field for some time, he honestly cannot see himself doing anything else. Jason receives so much joy seeing his Self-Advocates grow in their jobs, their self-esteem, and in building relationships.
“I personally think ILOs goals for the self-advocates are realistic and they work. Even though some of the SAs feel like they don’t need goals I feel those goals still need to be set.
One of the SAs I work with used to be very guarded and set in his ways and was holding onto his past. I feel like the chains have been broken because he’s now dressing differently. He’s more focused on school. Doing extra. Taking a non-credit class to get the info. He’s matured a lot.
The program allows you the opportunity for SAs to sit down with a Life Coach and vent and come to a solution.”
ILO Happenings
ILO’s RSVP Tool – Really Super Valuable Pass
ILO activities are intended to INFORM, INSPIRE and ENGAGE ILO’s Self-Advocates while building relationships and helping develop independent living skills.
The more you go, the more you grow, in becoming an independent, happy, productive member of your community!
We hope as many self-advocates as possible will jump into the swing of things by RSVPing for POD activities using our new RSVP tool!
This will be available from our New ILO Community Calendar – available only to ILO Participating Families, Self-Advocates and Community Group Members.
Information about how to sign-up for our new Family/SA Portal and Calendar will be sent out via email within the next couple of weeks.
Can We Assist YOU?
During this ‘new normal’ ILO is here to help YOUR family and SELF-ADVOCATE in every way possible.
- Overwhelmed and don’t know where to go for assistance?
- Lost your support (day programs, etc.), and need alternatives?
- Running out of ideas for dealing with social isolation?
ILO is here to help! Please reach out to me directly: Maedi Tanham Carney, ILO Executive Director at maedi@ilonow.org.
We Need Your Help Now! Will You Help Support ILO?
The services that we provide to our self-advocates are largely funded by fundraising events, and by donations. During this time we are not able to hold these events. Please consider a donation to help us continue providing support!
The CARE Act permits eligible individual taxpayers who do not itemize deductions to take an above-the-line deduction of up to $300 for qualified charitable contributions made during such taxable year, except for contributions to a non-operating private foundation or to a donor advised fund.