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The May Update

News Post

by Trevor Jacobson | May 18, 2023 | Monthly Newsletter

Hello once again, friends of Easy Does It; let’s dive into what’s new in May,

We’re getting closer to our busiest month of the year for events and are excited to go out and celebrate. Easy Does It will be at Berkeley’s Juneteenth Festival, hosting a BBQ for Easy Does It Day, and attending the USOAC’s Annual Convention 
shortly after.

Outside of events, we have just finished wrapping our fleet of vans; a huge thanks to Mass Factor Media for a job well done. Anyone attending our Board Meetings should know we are moving meetings to Microsoft Teams starting this month.

Easy Does It at the Moving For Peace Rally

Mark your calendar for the Moving 4 Peace Block Party on Saturday, May 20 from 11-3pm! Join us for a celebration of community creativity in the Havenscourt neighborhood of East Oakland. This free, outdoor, public event will be held in the Coliseum BART parking lot. The event will feature vendors, dance and art performances, music, and more! Not to mention a roller rink.

Welcoming Rose and Marissa to the Team

In 2005, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates declared June 28th Easy Does It Day - an official city holiday to celebrate EDI’s tenth anniversary. EDI hosted a BBQ for our Board and the community to commemorate the occasion. Sadly, the past few years have made it quite difficult to host events. However, with Berkeley’s senior centers reopening, we felt it was time to change that.

This year, we are delighted to announce that Easy Does It Day will again be a reason to celebrate. We’re partnering with the North Berkeley Senior Center to host a free BBQ. We will make a special announcement closer to the event and hope you will join us.

Easy Does It at the Berkeley Juneteenth Celebration

We will again be tabling at Berkeley’s Annual Juneteenth Celebration, a celebration of African American culture and emancipation. This year’s theme is Remembering the Hope and the Promise of Emancipation.

This will be the first event where we break out our brand-new Wheelchair Charging Station. Whether your power chair relies on gel batteries or SLAs or you’re lucky to have lithium-based cells, we have a compatible charger. Our repair techs will also be there to get you hooked up and offer free tune-ups. So, if you are low on juice during the day’s festivities, be sure to stop by.

Spring is a time of renewal, which is abundant this month at EDI: new faces, new technology, and better procedures. We are proud of the work our team and leadership have accomplished to realize a bigger, better, and stronger Easy Does It. There is much more to come! Thanks for your continued support. Until next month...
Hale Zukas at the library in Berkeley, California, in 2017. Photograph: Carlos Avila Gonzalez

Remembering Hale Zukas

We are deeply saddened that Hale Zukas passed away at the end of November. His memorial is scheduled on the day that would have been his 80th birthday. See details below. In addition to honoring Hale, there will be refreshments and time to socialize. The event will be recorded. ASL interpretation will be provided.

Remembering Neil Jacobson

It is with heavy hearts that we also must mourn the passing of Neil Jacobson—an entrepreneur, technologist, and digital rights activist. Neil saw modern technology’s impact on day-to-day life and its potential as an employment opportunity for people with disabilities. He dedicated his life to training people with disabilities to do this work and ensure they secured gainful employment. In today’s job market, tech jobs are more essential than ever and highly sought after. It is up to us to ensure that this line of work continues to include people with disabilities.

Free iPads and Internet for Seniors/Disabled Residents

Alameda County Area Agency on Aging is offering free iPads and internet service to help seniors 60+ and disabled adults 18-59 get connected. To learn more, please send an e-mail including your name, phone number, and age or disability status to:

digitaldivide@acgov.gov 
510-577-1907

Seeking Private Pay Attendants

Our new Case Managers are hard at work improving the resources Easy Does It can offer its clients regarding full-time care. We are focusing on bolstering our database of attendants looking for work. If you or someone you know works as an attendant and is interested in taking on additional clients, we encourage you to add your name to our list; upon reviewing your application, we will reach out to you whenever one of our clients is looking to hire.

Check out our Brand-New Vans

Our newly wrapped FASTER van parked in front of UC Berkeley.

Thanks to funding generously provided by the Alameda County Transportation Commission, we have given our FASTER vans a much-needed facelift. The new design aims to ensure everyone who sees our vans out and about knows they can count on Easy Does It to provide free roadside assistance for wheelchair users.

That’s everything we have for you in May. We look forward to dedicating our summer to celebrating all that has been accomplished at Easy Does It in 2023. We look forward to the many events we have coming up and can’t wait to share these experiences with you. As always, thanks for your continued support. 

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