Host: Welcome to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of Western New York Independent Living (WNYIL). Our guest today is Tracy LeBlanc, chief community engagement officer of WNYIL. And I'm your host, Ernie Churchwell. Welcome to the program Tracy. 

Guest: Thank you, Ernie. I'm happy to be here. 

Host: We're pleased to have you. As we are approaching Thanksgiving, you know that immediately following, there's a cluster of special opportunities for people to spend money on things like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, and so on. But there's only one occasion in that string where you're actually doing something for someone in need in the community. And that's giving Tuesday. What can you tell us about that? 

Guest: Well, Giving Tuesday is a worldwide movement to encourage people to give to their local nonprofits. And this year, WNYIL will be participating. 

Host: Terrific. And for people that might not be familiar with us, what sort of disabilities bring people to WNYIL? 

Guest: Well, we really deal with every type of disability, whether it be physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental, behavioral. We're a learning disability, so we've really covered the gamut of all of them. 

Host: Alright and I think you would agree that most of our services that help people live independently in their own homes save the taxpayers a lot of money compared to being forced into institutional care because they're not able to shift on their own without a home care aide or some such thing, so you'd think all of our services would be underwritten by government programs, but in fact just a small portion of them are and all the rest of them depend on people's generosity. Do you know about how many people in a year that the agency assists? 

Guest: Yes, WNYIL helps about 6,500 individuals with disabilities and their families. We work to support them in the community and make sure that they're connected to whatever resources they need to stay in the community. And as you said, it is a big savings over institutionalizing people in nursing homes and other places. 

Host: And I'm sure a question that will be on a lot of people's minds are deductions to U.S. tax deductible. 

Guest: Yep, all deductions are 100% tax deductible, and you can make a donation by going to our website wnyil.org and look at the bottom for the donate button. 

Host: Very good and how difficult is it to use that capability online to make a donation? 

Guest: It's really very simple once you go to our donate page, you can make a donation via debit or credit card and they'll send you a receipt. And it's a very simple process. 

Host: And let's not leave out PayPal, which is another avenue that's open to people so the donations that people provide to our agency can make all the difference between an individual with a disability having a higher quality of life or even being able to live independently. We should mention that includes people with various disabilities, physical, sensory, intellectual, developmental learning, behavioral, mental health and so on. 

I imagine that people will probably have questions about this. Who can they call to get more information? 

Guest: Well, they can call me. My number is 716-836-0822, ex.t 166. 

Host: Thanks so much for being with us, Tracy. 

Guest: Well, thank you for having me, Ernie. 

Host: It's been our pleasure. 

You've been listening to Independent Perspective, a public affairs presentation of WNYIL. Our guest today was Tracy LeBlanc, chief community engagement officer of WNYIL. And I've been your host, Ernie Churchwell.