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May 2013

National AgrAbility Project

The National AgrAbility Advisory Team met in Indianapolis on May 7-8. Composed of professionals from agriculture, rehabilitation-related organizations, and current or former AgrAbility clients, the NAP Advisory Team contributes to short- and long-range strategic planning and enhances networking capacity. Approximately 22 advisors and NAP staff members participated in the meeting, including representatives from APRIL, RESNA, AgriWellness, and FFA.

Submitted by Paul Jones


Goodwill of the Finger Lakes team member JoBeth Rath will host an AgrAbility booth at the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) conference June 2-5 in Portland, Oregon.

AIRS improves access to services for individuals, families, and communities by providing a professional umbrella for all information and referral providers. Comprehensive and specialized information and referral programs help people in every community and operate as a critical component of the health and human service delivery system.  Hundreds of participants from the U.S. and Canada who represent 2-1-1 contact centers and other information and referral centers will meet to learn, share ideas, and gather new information.

If your state project would like to provide brochures or information to be passed out to the information and referral professionals in attendance from your area, please send materials to:

JoBeth Rath
Goodwill of the Finger Lakes
4119 Lakeville Road
Geneseo, NY 14454

As you consider how many brochures you would like to send, from the preliminary participant list, 456 individuals will be attending, with the largest contingent from one state being 15.

The goal of the National AgrAbility Project participation in this event will be to educate information and referral specialists on what AgrAbility is and does, as well as getting AgrAbility projects included in the I & R databases for each region as appropriate. GWFL will continue working with SRAPs to promote information and referral services, specifically 2-1-1, as resources for clients as well.

Submitted by JoBeth Rath


Amber Wolfe, Arthritis Foundation, presented two 6-hour community workshops on arthritis and agriculture in Starke and Hilliard, FL on April 2 and 3. These workshops were open to the public and were sponsored by the local Farm Bureau, Arthritis Foundation and agricultural commodity groups. Each workshop included lunch and was organized with four sections of discussion related to arthritis, agriculture, tools and machinery, and livestock. There were 12 people in attendance each day, plus organizers and staff.


Amber Wolfe presented information on working with farmers with arthritis to the Georgia AgrAbility staff, Glen Rains, Andy Carter, and Cathy Walters, at the UGA-Tifton Campus on April 4. After the presentation, free materials were provided for the staff's use with their Extension partners, and they gave Amber a tour of their mechanics shop and current projects.

Submitted by Amber Wolfe