The Family Café

Collaboration * Advocacy * Friendship * Empowerment

Online Registration for The 25th Annual Family Cafe is Now Open!

Online Registration for The 25th Anniversary Family Cafe is now open!

The Annual Family Cafe brings together thousands of people with disabilities and their family members for three days of education, training, and networking each year. The event features a great range of individual breakout sessions, a packed Exhibit Hall with dozens of vendors, and a series of special events including Keynote speakers and The Governors’ Summit on Disabilities, The Annual Family Café offers families exposure to a range of public and private resources on a grand scale, opportunities to find support by networking with other families, and unprecedented access to policy-making ofﬁcials.

The 25th Anniversary Family Cafe is scheduled for June 9-11, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando. There is no cost to attend for individuals with disabilities and their families, and limited financial assistance to provide for free accommodation at the Hyatt is available by lottery.

We can’t wait to see you as we come together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the largest statewide cross-disability event in the nation! Register today to join us in Orlando for three days of Collaboration, Advocacy, Friendship, and Empowerment!

The Weekly "Let's Talk!" Legislative Update Series Returns for 2023

The Florida Legislature is back in session, and that means The Family Cafe “Let’s Talk!” Legislative Update Series is back too!

The Family Cafe believes that it’s critical for people with disabilities, their families, and advocates to stay informed about what’s happening in Tallahassee. That’s why we host a weekly Zoom meeting to share updates and answer questions every Friday at 4:00 ET throughout the sixty-day legislative session!

The next meeting for 2023 is set for Friday, March 17th at 4:00 ET.

Here’s the Zoom meeting link.

Or call (305) 224-1968 and enter code 845 6280 9403 to join by phone.

With so many challenges facing Florida, the 2023 Legislative Session is sure to be active, with decisions being made in Tallahassee impacting people with disabilities and families throughout the state. Now is the time to tune in and find out what’s happening, and what it could mean for you!

Looking for recordings of previous meetings in the “Let’s Talk!” series? Visit the News section of our site!

Register for The 2023 Women’s Summit: The Art of Joyful Self-Care

The 2023 Women’s Summit offers a day of personal healing and growth for women in varying stages of life, addressing the needs of women who hold diverse interests and share a desire to better take care of their own health and well-being, so they can in turn support the health and wellness of their family members on the Thursday prior to the opening of The 25th Anniversary Family Cafe, June 8th.

Our 2023 Women’s Summit theme is The Art of Joyful Self-Care. It is designed to inspire caregivers to care for themselves and adopt simple and effective wellness strategies. You will work in small groups to clearly identify and share your life’s disruptors and the emotions that go with them. Then throughout the afternoon through simple guided processes and practices, you will learn ways to lessen their impact on your mind and body. You will leave feeling light and joyful and with the skills and knowledge needed to ride your waves of disruption into a future that excites you.

Learn more and register for the 2023 Women’s Summit here.

The Family Cafe Disability Advocacy Hour Podcast Looks Back Over Twenty-Five Years of The Annual Family Cafe

The latest episode of The Family Cafe Disability Advocacy Podcast is here!

This is a special year for The Family Cafe, as we celebrate our 25th year of Collaboration, Advocacy, Friendship, and Empowerment. Did you ever wonder how it all got started? If so, this episode of our podcast has some answers for you!

Join Jeremy and Joe as they stroll down memory lane with two people who were there on Day One of The Family Cafe: Founder, President, and CEO Lori Fahey, and Founding Board Member and former COO Kim Galban-Countryman. Together they share some of their favorite memories, talk about what it was like to host The 1st Annual Family Cafe a quarter century ago, and discuss the event’s history, growth, and future.

You can find the latest episode of The Family Cafe Disability Advocacy Hour podcast here.

And all of our podcast episodes are online here.

Be A Part of The Exhibit Hall at The 25th Anniversary Family Cafe

The Family Cafe is looking for exhibitors to join us at The 25th Anniversary Family Cafe, on June 9-11, 2023 in Orlando!

The Annual Family Cafe is the place to get your product, resource, or service in front of thousands of Floridians with disabilities and their families. Each June the event brings people from all across Florida and beyond together to connect them with solutions and resources to help improve their daily lives. Get your organization in front of an audience you can only find at the largest cross-disability event in the nation, The Annual Family Cafe!

If you make payment before February 14, 2023, you’ll also receive a $50 discount.

You can find the online Exhibitor Agreement Form here.

If you prefer, you can also download the Exhibitor Agreement Form here.

There is also space available to small businesses that are owned and operated by people with disabilities through our Micro-Enterprise program. To learn more and apply, see the Micro-Enterprise Application here!

We also have space reserved for self-advocate and family/caregiver authors. Have you written a book about the disability experience that you would like to share at The Annual Family Cafe? Complete the Book Fair Application to reserve a booth space and a time slot to read your work before a live audience!

Each year in our Exhibit Hall, The Family Cafe places the focus on employment through a special Employment Expo area where attendees can talk to potential employers and learn about the job-seeking process. Want to make your organization a part of the 2023 Employee Expo? Check out the Employment Expo Exhibitor Agreement here!

All Exhibitor Agreements must be received Sunday, May 19, 2023.

Donate to The Family Café

Since 1998, The Family Café has been connecting Floridians with disabilities and their families with information, training, resources, and networking opportunities. The families that came together to create The Family Café, and our signature event, The Annual Family Café, believed that by coming together, Florida families could support each other, connect each other with critical resources, and build inclusive, disability-friendly communities.

To realize our vision of a future where people with disabilities are truly valued, we rely on the investment of those that share our beliefs. If you want to help us build a future where people with disabilities can thrive in their communities, we invite you to support our work my making a donation today.

The Family Café is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and your contribution will be fully tax deductible.

Offline donations can be made by mailing a check to:

The Family Cafe
820 E Park Ave., Suite F-100
Tallahassee, FL, 32301

Contact The Family Café

820 East Park Ave. Suite F-100. Tallahassee, FL 32301

Phone: (850) 224-4670

Toll Free: (888) 309-CAFE

Fax: (850) 224-4674

Email: info@familycafe.net

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Phone: (850) 224-4670
Toll Free: (888) 309-CAFE (2233)
Fax: (850) 224-4674
Email: info@familycafe.net

820 E Park Ave. Suite F-100
Tallahassee, Florida 32301

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The Family Cafe, All Rights Reserved

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