As July arrives, we enter the fourth and final quarter of LIFTT’s fiscal year. For many organizations, this is a time of reviewing budgets, measuring outcomes, and preparing year-end reports. While those responsibilities are certainly important, I find myself thinking about success in a different way.
At LIFTT, success isn’t measured only in numbers.
Success is the older adult who can once again get to a medical appointment because transportation is available.
Success is the person with a disability who finds safe housing after months of uncertainty.
Success is the consumer who learns a new skill, gains confidence, or discovers that they are capable of achieving goals they once thought were out of reach.
Success is found in moments of independence.
As we approach the close of another fiscal year on September 30, I am filled with gratitude for our extraordinary staff, dedicated Board of Directors, generous volunteers, community partners, donors, and most importantly, the consumers who place their trust in LIFTT every day. Together, we continue building communities where people with disabilities and older adults can live independently, make their own choices, and participate fully in community life.
The final quarter of our fiscal year also happens to be one of my favorite times of the year.
Summer brings longer days, opportunities to gather with friends and neighbors, and the energy that comes from being out in our communities. It is also the season when we celebrate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark civil rights law that reminds us how far our nation has come in advancing accessibility, equality, and opportunity. Each July 26, we celebrate not only the ADA itself, but also the people whose courage and advocacy transformed our communities and continue to inspire the work we do today.
This summer is especially exciting for LIFTT.
Preparations are well underway for our inaugural Hidden Treasures & Grand Journeys: An Evening of Opportunity for LIFTT on August 1. This event is more than a fundraiser. It is a celebration of community, generosity, and the belief that when we come together, we can create opportunities that change lives. We are also looking forward to the Montana Independent Living Symposium, where advocates, consumers, and partners from across the state will gather to celebrate 50 years of the Independent Living Movement and help shape its future.
Every one of these activities reminds us why we are LIFTT.
We are here because independence matters.
We are here because every person deserves the opportunity to live with dignity, purpose, and self-determination.
We are here because stronger communities are built when everyone has the opportunity to participate.
As we finish this fiscal year, our work is far from finished. There are still lives to touch, barriers to remove, partnerships to strengthen, and new opportunities to create. I have never been more optimistic about LIFTT’s future or more grateful to be part of this remarkable organization.
Thank you for walking this journey with us.
Let’s finish the year strong and continue to open pathways to independence together.
Warm regards,
Carlos Ramalho
Executive Director
Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT)
About Living Independently for Today & Tomorrow (LIFTT): LIFTT is a Montana 501(c)3 corporation organized as a Center for Independent Living (CIL). With team members based in Billings and Glendive, LIFTT provides people with disabilites and aging indivduals with programs, services, resources and advocacy that help empower them to break down the physical, bureaucratic, and cultural barriers that prevent them from being fully independent participants in their lives and communities throughout 18 counties in southeastern and south-central Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Rosebud, Stillwater, Treasure, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org
Our Vision: Empowering aging individuals and people with disabilities to LIFTT themselves above the barriers of life.
Our Mission: Living Independently for Today and Tomorrow’s (LIFTT’s) mission as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Center for Independent Living serving Southeastern Montana is to empower aging individuals and people with disabilities to live independently through education, support, and opportunities.
