Tips for Affording The Annual Family Cafe
Here at The Family Cafe, we are proud of our long tradition of making information, training and networking opportunities available to people with disabilities and their families at minimal cost. That's why we have never charged families a registration fee. It's also why we have always raised as much money as we could to provide for Financial Assistance for our attendees. Every year hundreds of families are able to participate in The Annual Family Cafe and stay at the host hotel at no cost, and we are very pleased that we are able to make that happen.
Of course, there are always more people that need Financial Assistance than we can possibly fund, despite all of our fundraising efforts. If you are one of the people that applied for Financial Assistance but were not selected through our lottery, we have something for you. One of our Delegates has put together a brief guide called Making The Annual Family Café More Affordable. It offers some ideas on how you can find funding in your community to support your family's participation in the event. If you need help to get to The Annual Family Cafe, but don't know who to ask or where to begin, check it out!
The second part of our Family Cafe afforability guide is now available as well. You can find it here. This part focuses on meals, and what you can do to feed your family in the most affordable way possible at The Annual Family Cafe.
The 15th Annual Family Cafe At-A-Glance
You can now view The 15th Annual Family Cafe At-A-Glance here on our website! To see the schedule for all three days at The 15th Annual Family Cafe in PDF format, just click on this link.
As you will see from the listing of activities and breakout sessions included in the At-A-Glance,we have a very full weekend planned, with sessions on a wide range of topics. The 15th Annual Family Cafe promises to be a fun, informative event for people with disabilities and their families, with something for every family! Why not take a few minutes to look through the agenda, and see which sessions interest you? A little planning now can help you get the most out of The Annual Family Cafe.
If you would like to plan what sessions you would like to attend, of if you would just like to get a sense of what to expect at The 15th Annual Family Cafe, please check out the At-A-Glance today!
Attend "Discover Health From Within: Create and Live Optimal & Dynamic Health" on June 6th
Please join The Family Café for a one-day Pre-Conference Leadership Training entitled “Discover Health From Within: Create and Live Optimal & Dynamic Health” which will be held Thursday, June 6th from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, at the Hilton Orlando, site of The 15th Annual Family Café. This training will offer attendees a new perspective on health and wellness. The hosts of “Discover Health From Within” will offer an expanded perspective of health that combines an understanding of the physical body with that of the spiritual, emotional and psychological self. They will share new research that illuminates the complex connections between the mind and body, and discuss how a broader vision of healing can make a genuine difference for individuals with physical disabilities, mental illnesses, and other conditions. Attendees will have the opportunity to design their own “Path of Optimal & Dynamic Health,” and everyone will receive a complimentary DVD of resources and references.
If you are interested in attending “Discover Health From Within: Create and Live Optimal & Dynamic Health” you can view the registration form by following this link. Please return your completed registration to The Family Café by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or fax to 850/224-4674 by Friday, May 17th. There is no cost to attend this training.
Let's Talk! Legislative Conference Calls
The Family Cafe believes that better informed families make better decisions for themselves and their loved ones, leading to better outcomes. We also believe that it is important for individuals with disabilities and their families participate in the public conversation about the decisions and policies made by their government that can have a profound effect on the services they receive, and their daily lives.
In order to give Florida families a chance to learn about what's going on at the state level regarding pending legislation and possible policy changes, The Family Cafe is continuing the series of weekly legislative conference calls entitled "Let's Talk!" in 2013. These conference calls, which will be held throughout the 2013 Regular Legislative Session each Friday at 4:00 EST, give participants a chance to hear about the week's legislative developments, and each one features a different guest speaker.
To view notes of previous calls, follow the link to the relevant date: March 8, Call 1, March 15, Call 2, March 22, Call 3, April 5, Call 4, April 12, Call 5, April 19, Call 6, April 26, Call 7.
The next "Let's Talk!" legislative conference call will be held Friday, May 3rd at 4:00 EDT. To join the call, dial 888-670-3525 and use the pass code 2424632211#. Please join us!
