In honor of Earth Day, Day Program participants at Studio Arc gathered broken old crayons and melted them to create new crayons, and then delivered them to Stepping Stones School for a coloring session together. A group of seven Day Program participants visited the school on April 22, stopping first at the Preschool classroom, then Transition Kindergarten, and then the Primary classroom. At each stop, the adult consumers sat down with students in the class and colored Earth Day-themed pages together. Prior to the visit, the children had learned about the concepts of “reduce, reuse, recycle,” and about the process of [...]

Under sunny skies and with cherry blossoms in bloom, hundreds of runners and walkers gathered at the Clipper Pavilion in West Orange for The Arc of Essex County’s 26th Annual Building Tomorrows 5K Run, Family Walk, and Fun Fest on Saturday, April 27, 2024. The event, which raised more than $70,000 for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the greater Essex County area, also featured a Fun Fest with games and activities for all ages. For the 5K race, the overall winners in the male division were Tristin DeVincenzo in first place with a time of 17:10, followed [...]

Members of the Job Club at West Caldwell Hub began their six-week prevocational training at The Office Tavern & Grill in East Hanover as part of a partnership between The Arc of Essex County and the 40 North Restaurant Group. Five WCHUB day program participants attended their first training session at The Office on April 25, where they received uniform shirts and tied on restaurant aprons before taking notes on the types of tasks they might be asked to complete in a restaurant setting. Kendra Mohan, the district manager for 40 North Restaurants, then led the group around the restaurant, teaching [...]

During the month of April, a variety of new classes at Studio Arc were launched for children and teens with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Running through the end of June, Animal Yoga and Tumble Ninjas take place from 4 to 5 p.m. on alternating Tuesdays at Studio Arc for children ages 6 to 12. In the Animal Yoga classes, which started on April 2, young yogis learn simple animal and nature poses to stretch, move, and calm their bodies and minds. (Register at https://bit.ly/AnimalYogaSpring24) Tumble Ninjas, which started on April 9, combines different elements of circus yoga, mixed martial arts, and [...]

Shoppers at stores in Montclair and Morristown can now pick up handcrafted greeting cards designed by artisans from Studio Arc. The General Store in Montclair and Just Jersey in Morristown now both carry seasonal cards made by Arc artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The cards feature a variety of themes, including birthday, graduation, weddings, get well, sympathy, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. They were crafted using mixed media and an embossing machine. Studio Arc provides visitors with opportunities to engage in a wide range of visual and creative arts classes. If you are interested in learning more about the exciting and [...]

With their “Love in a Tub” service-learning project, students from the Avon Avenue School in Newark gathered a variety of gift items and assembled kits to donate to residents in The Arc of Essex County group homes this spring. Each class at the school filled a plastic container with gifts such as winter gloves, activity books, hand lotion, socks, scarves, small blankets, mugs, tea, coffee, and hot cocoa. They also included a cheerful card with a note from the students. More than a dozen “Love in a Tub” kits were given to residents in different group homes, including Beechtree, Millburn, Green [...]

Participants in The Arc of Essex County’s Adult Recreation programs enjoyed a bustling April that featured a variety of engaging activities. On April 7, a Community Inclusion group took a trip to the incredible TILT Museum at American Dream, where they explored the interactive 3D exhibits and stepped into optical illusions painted by world-renowned urban art master Tracy Stum. Whether surfboard riding or jumping into a video game screen, every stop on the visit featured an imaginative adventure. The following week, a group gathered at Studio Arc on April 14 for a t-shirt making session, where they created patriotic shirts with their [...]

Participants in The Arc of Essex County’s Self-Advocacy Club finished in second place in the New Jersey Self-Advocacy Project (NJSAP) video contest and were celebrated at the group’s annual luncheon in April. The video, in which three Arc Day Program consumers share what self-advocacy means to them, was part of a contest sponsored by NJSAP in honor of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in March. The group’s video secured dozens of votes via social media “likes,” and participants were pleased with their silver-medal finish. The Self-Advocacy Clubs meet at Arc Day Programs and cover various topics about how individuals advocate for themselves [...]

In 1998, Toshonda Johnson-Hall was working as a Payless store manager when residents from one of The Arc of Essex County’s group homes stopped in to buy new shoes. Toshonda began chatting with the residential staff and soon learned about The Arc’s day programs. With three young children at home, she was interested in a different working schedule, but she also was inspired by watching the dynamic between The Arc staff and consumers and thought the day program might be a good fit for her. Before long, Toshonda was on board as a floating staff member between The Arc’s Avenues and [...]