Athletes with disabilities take on area coaches in a fundraiser for LIFE Center for Independent Living.
The 8th Annual Wheelchair Basketball Game is Saturday, April 23 at 11 a.m. at Kingsley Junior High in Normal. The event features a game between the U of I wheelchair basketball team and area athletic coaches and raises money for LIFE CIL in Bloomington and Pontiac. Proceeds will also pay for two scholarships for the U of I Youth Wheelchair Sport Summer Camps.
'This event is a great way to raise funds LIFE CIL. said Gail Kear, the Executive Director of LIFE CIL. 'The event also raises awareness of opportunities for young people with disabilities. We have had many families find out for the first time at this event that sports are an option for kids with disabilities. And it's really an eye-opener for the local team to experience playing against the U of I wheelchair basketball team.'
Kear said this fundraiser is very important to the organization , especially with the state budget stalemate impacting how LIFE CIL does business. 'Our largest grant is primarily funded under the Illinois general revenue fund. And that is a grant that would normally pay us almost a quarter million dollars a year. They've paid $66,000 this year, and not a dime since. That funds our core services.'
Drawing on cash reserves, the organization has been focused on keeping their services in tact. LIFE CIL has been forced to layoff a worker and close on Fridays just to continue to stay afloat. Kear says it's possible they will never get back the money they've fronted for the state in lieu of a budget for this year.
'It's been very dismaying,' Kear said. 'We have to implement our first ever waiting list for our services. That has not been an easy choice, but we've been forced to make it. '
