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 The Family Café began in 1998 as an attempt to meet an urgent need among persons with disabilities and their families: the need for information. To meet that need, The Family Café created an Annual Conference that would serve as a clearinghouse of information. The conference would provide a unique environment, where families could connect with peers, commercial service providers, and public entities to find out what services were available to them, which best met their needs, and how to go about securing those services. The guiding principle of The Family Café has always been the belief that well-informed people make the best decisions for themselves and their loved ones. Our Annual Conference provides the opportunity to put that principle into action. Over the years, The Family Café Annual Conference has grown substantially. The first conference in 1999 attracted some 1,200 participants. This year’s 9th Annual Conference attracted a truly remarkable 9,578 participants, and offered attendees a wide variety of educational and informational opportunities to choose from, including 160+ classroom size sessions, two keynote addresses, an exhibit hall with 114 public and private vendors including 15 self-advocate operated Micro-Enterprises, the Health Care Summit and Breakfast sponsored by WellCare, an Adaptive Sports Demonstration sponsored by the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association, as well as the Annual Governor’s Summit on Disabilities, hosted by Governor Charlie Crist. Beyond the Annual Conference, The Family Café also serves as source of information for individuals with disabilities on an ongoing basis in a number of ways. We produce an annual publication every fall called The Question & Answer Book . This publication is created by distributing unanswered questions submitted by conference attendees for The Annual Governor’s Summit on Disabilities at the Annual Conference. The Family Café distributes those questions to the relevant state agencies, and collates the responses in a single reference guide. The Family Café also operates a website designed to provide information and networking opportunities to its visitors. The site has undergone a number of enhancements in recent months, and is updated frequently. It includes relevant news items, a community calendar where visitors can publicize events around the state and a photo gallery featuring pictures from previous years’ events. Finally, The Family Café is also fortunate to have a network of volunteers called “Delegates.” The Family Café Delegates receive special leadership training at the Annual Conference, and act as resources and representatives in their home communities. They serve in part as our link to families year-round, while also representing our commitment to fostering community leadership.As you can see, ours is a unique and dynamic organization. The Annual Conference is an essential fixture in the disability-related landscape, and is continually building upon that strength to expand into new areas. Nonetheless its core mission remains intact: to provide individuals with disabilities and their families with collaboration, advocacy, friendship and empowerment so they can make the best decisions possible for themselves. The Family Café is also fortunate to enjoy the support of a number of sponsors, including The Able Trust, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Delmarva Foundation, the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), the Florida Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), the Florida Association of Broadcasters, the Florida Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Program, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Florida Department of Education, the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council (FDDC), the Florida Division of Blind Services, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), the Florida Inclusion Network, Florida Institute for Family Involvement (FIFI), Florida KidCare, Independence Technology, a Johnson & Johnson Company, McDonald Training Center, Inc., The Mentor Network, Miami Children's Hospital, The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, Publix Super Markets Charities, The Rocco Gerolmo Foundation, SeaWorld, the Wachovia Foundation, Walt Disney World Resorts and WellCare. Click on the link below to find out more! | |
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The Family Café
Phone (850) 224-4670 - Toll Free (888) 309-CAFE - Fax (850) 224-4674
info@familycafe.net
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I really wish I could attend this event. I'm down in Miami so it's a little of a trek but it's marked on my calendar because it sounds really informative.
01/16/08 10:01:27 pm
This is an informative and fun event! With having it's 10th Anniversary this year, it can only get better with age!
01/15/08 11:01:35 pm