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Community Key

Key Bank Awards SILC $5,000

From left, Nina Gustafson, Key Bank vice president/Jamestown branch manager; Jim Burns, Key Bank area retail leader; and Marie Carrubba, Southwestern Independent Living Center executive director; with the $5,000 ceremonial check Southwestern Independent Living Center will receive for finishing as the runner-up in Key Bank’s Small Business Thrive contest that was held across all of Key Bank’s markets, which includes 15 states. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

An unfortunate incident leading to a disability can occur anytime with no warning.

Luckily in the Jamestown community there is the Southwestern Independent Living Center to help if that happens. Also, luckily for the Jamestown community, there are businesses like Key Bank who want to reward worthwhile organizations that provide important services to those in need.

On Thursday, Key Bank officials presented Marie Carrubba, Southwestern Independent Living Center executive director, with $5,000 for being the runner-up in their Small Business Thrive contest that was held across all of Key Bank’s markets, which includes 15 states. Nina Gustafson, Key Bank vice president/Jamestown branch manager, said there were more than 70 entries in the national contest.

Southwestern Independent Living Center was nominated by Gustafson not only because of the work they do as a whole, but also because of the care they gave her 91-year-old father, Chris Palermo, after he was involved in a motor vehicle accident and suffered debilitating injuries that left him in a wheelchair.

“He went from being independent to being wheelchair-bound,” Gustafson said.

Gustafson said without the help of the Southwestern Independent Living Center, she would not have been able to get Palermo the transportation necessary for his specialist appointments in Erie, Pa. She said during those trips, her father made two new friends Don Ellis and Dave Marg, Southwestern Independent Living Center employees who drove Palermo to Erie for his treatment.

“(Southwestern Independent Living center assisted us in a professional, compassionate manner and made a very difficult situation much easier to deal with,” she said. “It has been a blessing for my family.”

Carrubba said she was surprised and delighted when she found out that Southwestern Independent Living Center had finished second in Key Bank’s Small Business Thrive contest.

“I was talking with Matthew Pitts (Key Bank Western New York communications manager) and he was like, ‘You’ve won a contest.’ I thought to myself, ‘I didn’t enter a contest,'” she said.

Southwestern Independent Living Center was founded 34 years ago to provide services throughout Chautauqua County to assist individuals with disabilities in reaching maximum independence and an enriched quality of life. Carrubba said the funding will go toward providing the community important services like special transportation to and from medical appointments; telecommunication device relay services; income tax preparation; information and referrals; peer support; independent living skills training; housing; and advocacy.

“We have a small staff, but they are the most dedicated people to be around,” she said. “We’re still doing as much as we can. We’re hands on. There is not a lot of red tape.”

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