Week of June 21st, 2021
“Summertime and the livin’ is easy.”

– Porgy and Bess
Jeremy interviewed John Schwartz for the newest CLI GTKM segment. T

You can check out all of CLI's past videos on our YouTube channel:

What can people do with STEP services?
We learned that technology does not have to be fancy to help make life easier. They got a chance to explore the adaptive wheelchair lane at Nickel Plate beach during "Back to the Future"

"It Makes Sense" enjoyed the nice weather and completed some bubble paintings
Some other STEP action shots: drawing at Marsh Field & working with clay with "Color Your Dreams" classes, swinging at Clark Park & walking around the Marblehead Lighthous during "Let's Get Wild"

And learning some basic sewing stitches & American Sign Language (ASL) in our "Living Out Loud" class
John's usual excuses & apologies--

First-- how great of a job to Jeremy & Rocio do with this GTKM bit? Seriously. If you love what they do-- send them some love at media@CLIsupports.com!

I always look forward to June 21's because of summer solstice and it being the longest day (shortest night) of the year. But apparently, it is much more than that! Happy National Selfie Day, Go Skateboarding Day, Day of the Gong, Peaches & Cream Day, Turkey Lover's Day?, and National Arizona Day! Who knew?

CLI is putting together a 3-event Cornhole Tournament uptown on 3 different Fridays: July 23rd, August 6th, and September 10th. There will be cash prizes for each one and also for the series. Of course there will libations and food. We're also working on some live music-- nothing's definite on that front yet. 100% of proceeds will go toward the Kenilee accessible renovations. We figure that project will cost just a bit above $150K-- especially with the price of lumber right now. We have $25K so far. I've just started soliciting for grants, but if anyone knows of any businesses that are interested having a "branded" lane in the new space, I'd like to talk to them.

Speaking of bowling-- CLI would like to open Kenilee for open bowling on the weekends. Right now, I'm running private parties based on RSVP's and my schedule. However, since being a lane jockey isn't really my day job, I can't always accommodate everyone that wants to bowl. Also, private rentals are much more expensive than renting just a lane or 2 during regular open bowling. This means that some people can't afford to do it, which is unfortunate. I'm going to run an ad on indeed. We'll make the hourly wage is competitive and so that the staff gets a slice of sales too. Spread the word. Obviously, CLI still has other positions that we haven't been able to hire for-- but we're hoping that maybe this job is a bit easier to fill. Weird times for sure.

I hope everyone's summer is off to a good start. I'm enjoying mine so far, although I seem to be a little easily overwhelmed by relatively small wrinkles these days. CLI is working on our 2022 calendar and also staff vacation schedules for the coming year. The new Juneteenth federal holiday is new obviously. I try not to get too political because I don't think that it is is helpful. Most solutions require teamwork and I don't see any value in alienating allies. That being said, anybody who has studied american history should recognize that there are lots of reasons to recognize the anniversary of the emancipation of slavery. History matters-- a lot.

But, money is limited, so choosing to spend it one way means that it isn't available to spend other ways. I would prefer that we that we spend it on actual services that address legacies of systemic racism, such as disproportionate rates of poverty. Full-disclosure, CLI couldn't afford the old slate of federal/banking holidays that were in place before this latest one. We are only paid when we do stuff. We will tweak our programs on those days to pay homage to the reasons why Juneteenth and the others are important, but we'll be open.

I apologize for the editorial. There is real work to be done and I appreciate all the progress we've made as a society. I just worry that we're not effectively fixing the structural problems because we're so focused on the window dressings. Back to the nitty-gritty, CLI has not been able to recruit staff-- and this year we've been too short-staffed to allow anyone to take time off. We're putting the final touches on the 2022 program calendar and hope to push it out next week.

That's all I have. Enjoy your week and keep those hands clean. Hopefully, if nothing else, this pandemic improves how often & well we all wash our hands!
John
Betty Lynch said that we need to include a link to all CLI staff phone numbers & email addresses. And since we're certainly not willing to pick a fight with Betty (she's pretty scrappy)-- here it is:

Would you like to join CLI for some fun virtual activities?
It's a bunch of loud fun!
Firelands Local LLC Update:
It's hard to complain when your day at the office involves taking a ferry to the islands . . .

Firelands Local Document Destruction has a customer service radius of more than 60 miles around Norwalk.

Have a good week & stay safe!
James Johnson
419-921-6400
Good Works Cafe Schedule:

Happy Monday everyone! 

Here is the June Menu for Good Works Cafe. I've also included a list of items needed for July.Donations can be brought to the Clubhouse between 9:30-12 or they can call me to arrange a donation pick-up. This helps us keep costs down and be able to provide meals each Friday at a low cost. 

Thanks everyone! Here's to a good week!

This month's menu:
June 4 - Sloppy Joes & Chips
June 11 - Chicken Salad Sandwich & Fruit
June 18 - Hot Dogs & Baked Beans
June 25 - Baked Ziti & Italian Bread

Kerrie Close
Community Settings Coordinator
(419)921-6057