We are saddened to share news of the passing of Cherie Clark, a longtime disability rights advocate. Cherie was part of many advocacy organizations and received several awards for her ongoing dedication. This includes the 2017 Iowans with Disabilities in Action Lifetime Achievement Award, which she received for her years of disability rights advocacy.
Perhaps the most important part of her legacy was how much she inspired other advocates. Eric Donat, another self-advocate, is just one of those people who was impacted and inspired by Cherie’s work. “Cheri taught me everything I know in how to be a disability advocate,” he said. “I am as good as I am because of her! It is because of her.”
We will miss Cherie and hope that her legacy lives on through the continued advocacy efforts of Eric and the many (too many to list) people who she motivated to take action. Role model and leader, incredible advocate, we'll miss her.
Below, you can find even more of Cherie’s great accomplishments and many of her friends are posting tributes on Facebook. They hope to have a celebration of life this summer. Always giving, Cherie donated her body to science.
- Cherie was instrumental in starting the Peer Action Disability Support (P.A.D.S.) advocacy group in Cedar Rapids, where she also served as leader for a great many years. The P.A.D.S group did many advocacy activities in their community, including making restaurants accessible for people using wheelchairs and others with mobility issues, along with an annual ADA Celebration for the whole community at the Cedar Rapids Kernels baseball game in July of each year.
- In 2007-2008 she was instrumental in contacting Iowa State Senator Bob Dvorsky and convincing him to find state funding for the six Iowa Centers for Independent Living. That year, Governor Chet Culver signed the state appropriations bill that, for the first time in history, provided state funds to assist with the costs of operating each of the six Iowa Centers for Independent Living.
- She was selected as the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) Region VII Advocate in 2008, and travelled to the NCIL Conference in Washington, DC, to receive that award. She also met with Senator Tom Harkin while she was there!
- She was involved in the Iowa Olmstead Consumer Task Force (OCTF) and received the Raymond Gerke Award for Outstanding Systems Advocacy from them in 2014.
Feel free to share your thoughts and memories of Cherie on her Facebook page or on the infoNET page.
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