NJ Disability Pride Parade is now...NJ Disability Pride in the Park!

COME AS YOU ARE: New Jersey Disability Pride in the Park (formerly NJ Disability Pride Parade) has a new look and a new venue! Come and celebrate with us at this first-time festival that will take place at the Alvin P. Williams Park in Sewaren Peninsula, Woodbridge Township (Middlesex County), New Jersey on Friday, May 29th from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

The 2020 NJDPP, a grassroots effort hosted by the Alliance Center for Independence (ACI), will also commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) in a beautiful new and expanded venue, a 36-acre accessible park in the heart of Middlesex County that features an amphitheater, picnic areas, paved paths, gardens and playgrounds along the waterfront of the Arthur Kill, with plenty of parking for festival attendees!

ACI has proudly hosted and organized the New Jersey Disability Pride Parade and Celebration since 2011. NJDPP is the one event in New Jersey where the disability community comes together for a day to celebrate pride in each other and to appreciate our differences and similarities!

For more information, or if you would like to participate as a sponsor or entertainer, please visit adacil.org/njdpp

Ethan Ellis Memorial Service

Thank you, everyone, for honoring the life and work of Ethan Ellis at the memorial service on May 17th. Rest in power and peace 1933-2019.

ACI and Other Organizations Visit Congressman Pallone's Office to Support the Disability Integration Act (UPDATE)

On April 26th, ACI, NJ ADAPT, Atlantic County Center for Independent Living, SILC, NJ YELL and other disability organizations visited Congressman Pallone office in New Brunswick to hold him to his promise of co-sponsoring the Disability Integration Act. A meeting with the Congressman and our group is set for May 6th.

(UPDATE: 5/6/19): Advocates from several disability organizations in NJ met with Congressman Pallone at his district office in Long Branch on May 6th. The topic was the Disability Integration Act. Stay tuned...

ACI Brings Awareness to Sexual Assault During SAAM 2019

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. People with disabilities are sexually assaulted at nearly three times the rate of people without disabilities. ACI is committed to bringing awareness to this growing situation. Denim Day and the Clothesline Project are international movements to raise awareness of the pervasiveness of sexual assault.

Set the Table! Focus Group

ACI was host to a Set the Table! public forum on the future of Middlesex County services. Middlesex County’s Destination 2040 drew about 30 county residents with disabilities who gave input on the housing, transportation, recreation and public service needs of the county.

Making Milkweed Seed Bombs to Save the Monarch Butterflies!

In honor of Earth Day, ACI is helping to save the monarch butterflies by making milkweed seed bombs! Milkweed is the one and only host plant for monarch caterpillars. Follow your recipe below and make your own!!

The ratio is roughly: 5 parts clay, 1 part compost/potting soil/seed-starting mix, 1 part seeds.

Combine the clay and compost; if you’re using wet clay you won’t need water, if you’re using a dry clay add water sparingly until it’s moist enough to stick together. Add the seeds, form into golf ball-sized balls, and set in a dry place to harden for a few days.

Introduction to Microsoft Word and Excel Workshops

Thank you to everyone who attended the series of workshops on basic computer skills. The classes, taught by Ann Topping, a professor at Middlesex County College, featured lessons in using Microsoft Word and Excel. Thank you Ann!