On February 13th, ACI's Social Recreation Program held a Valentine's Day Movie Night! More than 25 people joined in on the fun as we watched 50 First Dates, played Valentine's Day trivia games, all while enjoying pizza and candy. We're glad that everyone had a great time!
Be sure to follow our Upcoming Events page for more Social Rec events!
ACI is pleased to be participating in the University of Montana Rural Institute research project, "Partnering with People with Intellectual Disabilities to Address Violence" otherwise known as "The Safety Project." The project, funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, will develop and test the efficacy of an abuse education program for adults with intellectual disabilities. ACI looks forward to collaborating on this important project.
On February 5th, ACI office assistant, Argenys Caba, testified at the Middlesex County Board of Freeholders meeting regarding installation of audio crosswalk signals along Amboy Avenue in Fords, NJ. The board approved the installation, which would allow people with visual and other disabilities cross the busy street safely and independently. Congratulations Argenys!
ACI, along with Portlight Strategies, Inc. and the Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, recently improved the accessibility in the homes of three New Jersey residents with disabilities. These improvements were made with the help of ACI's project director, Sue Pniewski, and financed with the help of the ACI Housing fund.
Virginia on her brand new steps!
Meet Virginia, a single woman who lives in Jackson, NJ. She is 76 years old and suffers from chronic, severe back pain, and it is because of this pain that Virginia is forced to use a walker to help her get around better. When she submitted her application to NOHFH, Virginia explained that she was in need of a better way to exit her home because she was so afraid of falling when she tried to use her walker. After discussing the options of either a ramp or widened steps with Virginia, she chose the steps because she felt the ramp would just be too much for her and she doesn’t feel she is going to require a wheelchair. Thanks to the partnership formed between Portlight Strategies, ACI and Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, Virginia is now able to safely exit her home with the assistance of her walker without fear of falling down her steps!
Completed bathroom entryway, grab bar and sink.
Meet the Marshall Sisters. Barbara is 72 years old and suffers from a broken left shoulder; her sister, Mary, is 76 years old and currently battling bone cancer that has left her unable to walk. When the Marshalls submitted their application to NOHFH in January 2014, they were requesting that the bathroom be made accessible because Mary’s wheelchair could not fit through the bathroom door. At the time they submitted, NOHFH’s A Brush with Kindness program had more applications than funding. Thanks to the partnership formed between Portlight Strategies, ACI and Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity, Barbara and Mary can now safely and comfortably utilize their bathroom and shower!
SaveAround is a family owned and operated company that focuses on helping various schools and organizations, such as ACI, raise funds for their causes.
Coupon books are $20.00 each and feature thousands of dollars in savings for many stores in either Central Jersey or along the Jersey Shore, including Kmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Bed Bath & Beyond, Michaels, Party City and many more! Offers are valid now through December 2015.
To order a coupon book, please contact Argenys Caba at acaba@adacil.org or 732-738-4388 ext. 113. Proceeds from all coupon book sales benefit ACI!
We are proud to have partnered with Rutgers University-Newark on this grant and looking forward to bringing Axis Dance Company to NJ in November 2015!
Rutgers University-Newark Receives National Endowment for the Arts Grant
Source: Axis Dance Company
Newark, New Jersey - National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Chairman Jane Chu announced this week, that Rutgers University is one of 919 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. Rutgers is recommended for a $20,000 grant to support the presentation of the Lula Washington Dance Theater and Axis Dance Company as entries in the Dance Symposium Series mounted by the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience, Rutgers University-Newark. The Series marks its tenth anniversary in 2015.
The Institute will present The Lula Washington Dance Theatre (Los Angeles) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center's Victoria Theater on February 26, 2015, in conjunction with the 35th annual Marion Thompson Wright Lecture Series on February 21. Lula and company members will also teach a master class for junior and senior students in the dance program at Newark's Arts High School. In November 2015, Axis Dance Company (Oakland), in partnership with the Alliance Center for Independence, a community-based organization that supports independent living for people with disabilities, and the Rutgers School of Health Related Professions, will explore perceptions of disability and its relationship to dance through physically integrated community dance classes and a performance at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
NEA Chairman Jane Chu said, "I'm pleased to be able to share the news of our support through Art Works including the award to Rutgers University. The arts foster value, connection, creativity and innovation for the American people and these recommended grants demonstrate those attributes and affirm that the arts are part of our everyday lives."
“We at the Institute on Ethnicity, Culture, and the Modern Experience are thrilled to receive this support from the NEA,” said Institute Associate Director Mark Krasovic. “We believe that the arts – in all their creative and critical rigor – have an essential role to play in cultivating a more livable city and world. This generous grant will help put this belief into action.”
Art Works grants support the creation of art, public engagement with art, lifelong learning in the arts, and enhancement of the livability of communities through the arts. The NEA received 1,474 eligible applications under the Art Works category, requesting more than $75 million in funding. Of those applications, 919 are recommended for grants for a total of $26.6 million.
For more information about the Dance Symposium Series at Rutgers University-Newark, visit the Institute’s website at ethnicity.rutgers.edu, and follow us on our social media platforms; Facebook: IECME, Twitter: @49Bleeker, and Instagram: IECME.
For our winter fundraiser, ACI will be selling $1.00 snowballs to be hung (with your name) on the ACI snowman or our office window! So if you are in the area, feel free to stop in and buy some snowballs! Can't get to the office? Buy your snowballs through our PayPal account and we will hang them for you! All proceeds go directly to support our programs.
