LIFTT Executive Director (and winner of the 2022 Billings LIFTT office holiday door decorating contest) Carlos Ramalho (photo by Freda Mook)
2022 was an excellent year for LIFTT! Our team of talented independent living (IL) specialists, Personal Care Assistants (PCAs), PCA Facilitators, Board Members, and Peer Mentors worked together and fulfilled LIFTT’s mission and vision by empowering people with disabilities to live independently through education, support, and opportunities. We “LIFTTed” them above the barriers of life.
Examples of what LIFTT accomplished during 2022 include our new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible website & APP launched in January and July 2022, respectively, and the video produced by KTVQ, launched in October 2022. These projects synthesize our efforts to communicate our mission and vision to all stakeholders so that everyone understands LIFTT’s goals and works toward a common purpose. These achievements demonstrate that during 2022 LIFTT focused on its mission and vision, became more digitally savvy, listened to the needs of its consumers, and made a continuous effort to improve accordingly.
In 2023, we plan to continue to do all these things, mobilize and inspire more people, and keep our community-oriented services viable. To do that, LIFTT will pursue financial sustainability and seek the necessary funding by conceiving a realistic fundraising and resource development plan. LIFTT will also boost volunteer recruitment efforts by offering specific & flexible volunteer assignments and support & training for volunteers. We will highlight the impact of volunteers and feature their successful contribution to LIFTT on our website, APP, and social media. Please look for volunteering opportunities at LIFTT. We will be posting them soon.
We will seek partnerships with the Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) and implement an internship program. We will all work together to reach LIFTT’s 2023 strategic plan goals summarized above knowing that 2023 will bring challenges as significant as the ones we faced in the last three years. We will succeed because we are resilient, strong, and equipped to handle the surprises waiting for us.
Happy New Year! We look forward to seeing you in 2023!
Carlos Ramalho, Executive Director
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 disabilities with programs and services 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 southcentral Montana: Big Horn, Carbon, Carter, Custer, Dawson, Fallon, Garfield, Golden Valley, McCone, Musselshell, Powder River, Prairie, Richland, Stillwater, Wibaux, and Yellowstone. For more information, please visit liftt.org or download our mobile app on Apple or Google Play. You can donate to LIFTT by clicking here.