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The Arc in the News!

/in /by Suniti Bal

The Arc has been getting great news coverage both nationally and locally in the last few weeks. We wanted to share with you some of the most exciting stories.

  • New York Daily News – The Arc responds to Congresswoman Bachmann’s comments about vaccinations causing “mental retardation”.
  • msnbc.com – CEO of the Arc Peter V. Berns discusses the use of the R-word, and why it is unacceptable. This is also in response to Congresswoman Bachmann’s comments, but focuses more on the use of derogatory language to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities as opposed to the lack of evidence for her claims about vaccinations.
  • NBC 9 News in Denver – A great piece about The Arc’s 60th Convention in Denver including an interview with CEO of The Arc, Peter V. Berns, footage of the convention, and an interview with an all-star volunteer and self-advocate Ann Rossart.
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The Arc: Featured in TIME Magazine

/in /by The Arc

Did you happen to read the September 12, 2011 issue of TIME Magazine? If so, you and 19 million readers nationwide would have seen a two-page spread all about The Arc. Missed it? Don’t worry, we have it here! The feature focuses on the incredible work The Arc and our network of 700+ Chapters does as illustrated through the stories of some of the people we serve.

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New Medicaid Resource Available From The Arc

/in /by The Arc

The Arc is excited to announce a valuable new resource available to help guide people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families through the complexities of Medicaid benefits, services and supports. The Medicaid Reference Desk offers detailed, state-by-state information about Medicaid benefits, a glossary of terms, answers to frequently asked questions, person-centered planning resources and a blog from The Arc’s training specialist about issues related to Medicaid, self-advocacy and person-centered planning.

Medicaid is the largest source of financing for disabilities services in the United States.  For people with disabilities and for those who provide their care, Medicaid serves as a valuable safety net.  Often the only source of financial assistance for health care, Medicaid plays a critical role for people with disabilities in providing coverage and access to care. Medicaid is, however, extremely complicated.  At least half of the funds for Medicaid programs come from the Federal government with the remainder coming from state funds.  Federal law contains detailed requirements and limitations on eligibility, services, and financing. But, state law varies widely.

This project was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Developmental Disabilities (Grant No. 90 DN0215). We encourage you to explore the Medicaid Reference Desk via www.thedesk.info.

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Office Move: Website, Email, and Phone Downtime

/in /by David A. Kennedy

The Arc is moving to new offices – beginning in the new location on Monday September 26. Our new address is 1825 K Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20006.

During the moving process, portions of The Arc’s website, email system, and phone lines will be down for a period of time, starting Friday, September 23.

What Will be Effected?

  • The Arc’s main website: www.thearc.org
  • The Arc’s email system: you will not be able to contact staff via email.
  • The Arc’s phone lines: you will not be able to call The Arc’s main office in Washington, D.C.

What Will Not Be Effected?

How Will I Know When the Site Is Live Again?

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Did You Achieve New Heights With Us?

/in /by Suniti Bal

The Arc’s 60th National Convention was extremely productive and enjoyable for all attendees. Aside from the educational aspects of the convention, advocates from different corners of the nation were able to come together and get to know each other. By sharing the work they are doing locally and their stories, convention turned out to be a great networking opportunity in addition to a place for individuals to learn and grow together.

From the Board Meeting where important decisions on how to keep The Arc moving forward in 2012 were made, insightful breakout sessions where dozens of topics including standards for excellence in chapters and marketing were discussed, and finally the closing plenary where attendees were given a crash-course in community organizing by Don Elmer, a great deal was accomplished during the last day of Convention.

Excitement is already in the air for 2012’s Convention in Washington DC! The Arc will be taking their message international by partnering with Inclusion International for next year’s convention.

We look forward to hearing how chapters across the country are using new ideas and concepts they took away from convention. We are certain that everyone returned home invigorated and excited to continue working and advocating for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Please share with us in the comments any new ideas and programs that this year’s convention inspired!

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New Heights in Denver

/in /by Suniti Bal

Day one of The Arc’s National Convention was extraordinarily successful. This year’s theme “Achieving New Heights” resonated through each session on our agenda. Together we are achieving new heights and finding new and innovative ways to grow as a movement, as an organization, and as individual advocates.

In our first day of activities we had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Temple Grandin about issues facing individuals with autism and how to provide better employment opportunities for them, presented Ashley Wolfe and Ricard E. Hemp well deserved awards for their remarkable work in I/DD research, and had the great pleasure of listening to Dr. David Braddock whose work remains a benchmark for advocates to use in their efforts to improve resources for families and their loved ones with I/DD. Not to say we didn’t also have fun with events like “Lucky Nights at Lucky Strike” where Lauren Potter from the hit television show “Glee “spent the night bowling and dancing with other attendees.

Check back for more updates from Denver! In the meantime, to see photos from Convention, check out our blog or our Flickr set.

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Follow The Arc’s 2011 National Convention

/in /by David A. Kennedy

The Arc has achieved so many great things this year with your help and support. We’ve rolled out a new brand, unveiled new public service announcements, created a fantastic resource for people with autism and other developmental disabilities, released an authoritative study of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and so much more.

We’re excited about what’s next, and you’re an important part of it! We’ll be marching on this weekend at The Arc’s National Convention in Denver, Colorado. If you can’t achieve new heights with us in person, don’t worry – there are many ways you can be a part of the Convention online:

  1. Follow this blog. We’ll post all the news and information coming out of Convention each day, and we will try to post as many photos as we can. You can find the latest headlines from the blog right on our home page.
  2. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Each day, we’ll be posting real-time updates on our social media profiles as well, in addition to meatier updates here. On Twitter, you can use the hash tag, #thearc11, to follow the conversation centered around the Convention. If you’re at Convention, and tweeting, please join the discussion.
  3. Visit our Flickr page. Flickr, a place to share photos, we’ll be the first place we post photos each day from Convention events. Also, if you’re taking and posting photos there, we invite you to post them to our group page.
  4. Use the Convention website. Our Convention website is still the best place to go for all the Convention particulars, like the schedule, list of sponsors and exhibitors and more.
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Tyler Smothers Is The Arc’s Achieve With Us Contest Winner

/in /by The Arc

Between June and August, The Arc invited people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to share their stories of achievement in an online contest on our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/thearcus. More than 25,000 votes were tallied for 119 contestants to narrow the field down to the top 10 finalists in The Arc’s Achieve with us Contest. Then The Arc had the difficult task of determining who would ultimately win the Grand Prize of a trip for two for two days to Washington D.C. to share their story of achievement with The Arc’s National Office and a chance to talk with their representatives on Capitol Hill. Every single story was an inspiration and each contestant should be applauded for their remarkable achievements.

But we did have to choose just one winner, and the winner is Tyler Smothers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. For four years, Tyler has been the driving…or, rather bicycling…force behind an annual bike riding fundraiser for The Arc of East Central Iowa. Because of that achievement we are proud to invite Tyler to Washington, DC When we told Tyler he was the Grand Prize winner, he said “This is the most exciting and coolest day ever. I would love to see Mr. Obama and Michelle!” While meeting the President may not be possible (this time), The Arc is arranging a trip to the Capitol for a chance for Tyler to talk to his representatives in Congress in November. ABILITY Magazine will feature Tyler in an upcoming issue, and we’ll post news about his trip on the blog in early November.

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Who Is a Top NonProfit? The Arc!

/in /by Shelly DeButts

The Arc has been chosen as one of the top nonprofits working for people with disabilities by Philanthropedia, a subsidiary of GuideStar, a nonprofit organization working to make you aware of the highest impact nonprofits in a cause. The Arc was selected as one of eleven high-impact nonprofits in the disability field by a group of 79 experts, including foundation professionals, nonprofit senior staff, academics, and researchers.

So what, exactly, does it mean to be “high impact?” The experts at Philanthropedia evaluated each nonprofit based on their ability to carry out their mission, organizational strengths and, most importantly, evidence of the impact they are achieving on behalf of the people and communities they serve. According to one expert who reviewed The Arc’s submission, “The Arc is the nation’s touchstone for individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. The Arc has become the national center for information dissemination. In addition, its leadership has committed itself to ensuring that Washington keeps people with disabilities in the forefront when making important employment, health care and related decisions.” That means donors and supporters can feel comfortable with The Arc, secure in the knowledge that this organization is adept at channeling that support into activities that truly have a “high impact” on the people they serve.

Philanthropedia, acquired by GuideStar in April 2011, is unique from other online rating sites or donation sites because they use experts to identify high-impact nonprofits. GuideStar is the industry leader in nonprofit data with information on more than 1.8 million nonprofits.

“We are honored to have received this distinction from Philanthropedia and GuideStar. For the last 60 years, The Arc has led the movement for improving the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In order to continue our mission, we need the support of donors, advocates, and dedicated professionals in the disability field, and this acknowledgement can only help us grow at all levels, nationally and in local communities across the country,” said Peter V. Berns, The Arc’s CEO.

Have you considered supporting The Arc? To read more about what experts in the field have to say about us, click on the Expert Reviews section on The Arc’s organization profile. And, check out www.thearc.org for more about what we do. We have been honored by BBB/Wise Giving Alliance and American Institute on Philanthropy and the recently released Charting Impact initiative as well. We’d love for you to join us!

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Amazing Stories of Achievement: The Arc’s Achieve With Us Contest Finalists

/in /by The Arc

The Arc wrapped up its Achieve with us Contest August 15 with the selection of 10 finalists from 119 entries highlighting stories of achievement from people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Over the past month, we have tallied more than 25,000 votes on Facebook and we’re ready to choose the grand prize winner from the top 10 vote-getters to win a trip to Washington, D.C. to share their story.

In June and July, we encouraged anyone with an intellectual or developmental disability to share their story on our Facebook page and compete for the grand prize through an online voting process. We’re pleased that the contest generated so many inspirational stories and received so many visitors to view those stories and vote!

The Arc will arrange for the winner and a guest to visit The Arc’s national office and Capitol Hill for two days with a chance to share their story with their representatives in Congress and learn more about self-advocacy. The contest was sponsored by ABILITY Magazine, who will feature the grand prize winner in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

We invite you to check out our 10 finalist’s stories and look for an announcement of the Grand Prize winner in early September. Thank you to everyone who participated in making this contest a success!