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The Florida Grantor, Fall 2003

Footnotes

Save the Date for the 2004 Emerging Workforce Event
LIFE, Inc. and the Florida Family Support Project: Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) are hosting the first-ever Emerging Workforce Conference, February 8 -10, 2004, at the Wyndham Bonaventure Hotel in Weston, Florida. The theme for this year's conference - "Dispelling Myths...It can be done"

The Emerging Workforce Conference is geared toward Employers, Consumers, Service Providers and Policy Makers. Presentations will address tips for best practices, useful resources and the keys to building effective relationships with employers and employees with disabilities.The conference will also include The Able Trust's Ability Awards, which recognizes employers, service providers, the media and individuals with disabilities for best disability employment practices.

The event is cosponsored by The Able Trust and Nova Southeastern University. For more information, call 954.920.0768 or email jilldh@bellsouth.net.

Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities
The Disability Funders Network (DFN) has launched a project that will give foundations and corporate giving programs information about including people with disabilities in emergency preparedness efforts and disaster grantmaking. The project is funded by The New York Community Trust and the Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation.

It will include grantmaking and raising awareness for emergency preparedness issues, as well as initiating foundation internal disaster planning.

The project's outcomes will include workshops for grantmakers and a manual that addresses these issues for corporate, community and private/independent foundations. To download a manual, visit DFN's website at www.disabilityfunders.org.

Three Able Trust Board Members Are Reappointed by Governor Bush
Governor Jeb Bush recently reappointed three members of The Able Trust Board of Directors. Each member was reappointed on October 17, 2003 and will serve a term through September 30, 2006. They include Sherra Payne, of Hollywood, Jim Saunders, of Tampa, and James Smith, PhD, MBA, of Gainesville.

These individuals are three of nine members of The Able Trust Board of Directors. Currently Saunders serves as Secretary and Smith serves as Treasurer of the Foundation.

Support the Bikers Care Tag
Starting in 2004, motorcycle enthusiasts will have an opportunity to show their colors and show they care wherever they ride. Florida's first motorcycle specialty license plate, the "Bikers Care tag" will be available for purchase at your local Department of Motor Vehicles office this spring.

Proceeds from the $15 additional fee will be donated to The Able Trust, who will distribute the funds evenly among the Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program, the Centers for Independent Living and Prevent Blindness Florida. The tag could raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for people with disabilities each year.

For information about where to purchase the new Bikers Care tag, visit www.abletrust.org.

Conference Will Focus on Adults with Learning Needs
The National Association for Adults with Special Learning Needs (NAASLN), in partnership with The Able Trust, will host a national conference from March 7 through 9, 2004, at the Wyndham Harbor Island Hotel in Tampa.

The conference will offer over sixty sessions that will address practical ways to serve adults with special learning needs, as well as up-to-date information on state and national initiatives. For more information, call 800.486.9222 or visit www.naasln.org.