Arc participants were in the spotlight creating works of art, practicing yoga, and exploring interactive games as CBS News featured Studio Arc in a segment on the local news on Friday, December 2. Reporter John Dias spent a day documenting the many innovative programs offered at Studio Arc and interviewing our artisans, as well as Studio Arc director Evelyn Gallik and The Arc of Essex County CEO Linda Lucas. John and his team captured a variety of different activities and helped tell the story of The Arc—and, specifically, Studio Arc—to the wider world. Jamie Diguglielmo was one of the artisans featured, and [...]

Important information from The Arc of New Jersey: For students with disabilities, an IEP team meeting must be held by December 31, to discuss the need for compensatory services related to the COVID pandemic. These meetings must address any missed services or disruption of academic progress that occurred between March 18, 2020 and September 1, 2021. Compensatory education can come in many forms, some of which are tutoring services, additional therapy time, and Extended School Year. It can be provided before or after school, on weekends, during the summer, or during school hours if it does not interfere with the student's [...]

The Arc of Essex County has received a grant of $4,000 from the Glen Ridge Community Fund. The funds will support children and adults who are Glen Ridge residents and participate in programs or services such as Camp Hope, Bridges Day Program, Behavioral Supports, Children's Saturday Respite, Special Young Adults Day program, and Self-Hire Respite. The Arc is grateful for this generous contribution from the Glen Ridge Community Fund.

Participants in The Arc of Essex County’s Recreation, Respite, and Community Inclusion events in November enjoyed a fun trip to the Mt. Airy Casino and a lively Friendsgiving Celebration. The trip to Mt. Airy Casino in the Poconos on November 6 included time to try the various slot machines and other games of chance on the casino floor, where some of our participants were lucky enough to score some winnings! The group also enjoyed a meal together at the resort. In the lead up to Thanksgiving, Arc participants enjoyed a Friendsgiving celebration on November 20 at the Opportunity Zone in Maplewood. In [...]

In spirit with the season of giving, the participants in The Arc of Essex County’s SYA Day Program in Nutley created cards of encouragement to send to children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The group recently learned about “true beauty” and explored the idea that it’s not the outward appearance of someone that is most important, it’s kindness and a genuine concern for others that exemplifies true beauty. With that in mind, they created uplifting cards to send to the children at St. Jude. The group thoroughly enjoyed the idea that their creations will cheer up the children and [...]

Giving Tuesday, which took place on November 29, is celebrated as a global movement that unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities. For The Arc of Essex County, this one-day fundraising push was a huge success. Thanks to the generosity of more than 100 donors, matching grant contributions from the Hopton Family and Bruce Bird, and the outreach efforts of our Giving Tuesday Champions, The Arc surpassed our $15,000 fundraising goal for the day! Each dollar raised will go toward the 2022 Annual Appeal, which is focused on enhancing services for families as children with intellectual and [...]

On November 29, more than 120 Arc day program participants and residents gathered at The Woodland in Maplewood to party with Holiday Express, where they kicked off the season with a rousing and joyous celebration. Participants enjoyed dancing to live music from the Holiday Express band, as well as a hearty lunch together. The day also included a special visit from Santa and other fun seasonal characters. The Holiday Express mission is to deliver music, food, gifts, financial support, and friendship to those with the greatest need for the gift of human kindness during the holiday season and throughout the year. [...]

The children at Stepping Stones School enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast to cap off a November packed with fun seasonal activities. Throughout the month, students in the preschool, TK, and primary classes took part in a variety of games and crafts, including pottery making, raking and playing in the leaves, creating leaf crafts, and completing leaf science experiments. As Thanksgiving approached, the children went all in on turkeys, creating turkey hats and feathery colander turkeys, playing a turkey bowling game, and practicing “pinching and placing” with a turkey pom-pom bottle. They also created thankfulness trees and discussed the people, places, and [...]

For individuals seeking a community living placement, The Arc of Essex County has the following December 2022 openings: Orange Community Residence (1 Male or Female Vacancy) 24/7 supervision Single-family style group home located in a turn-of-the-century mansion with spacious living areas Co-ed living arrangement with active group of residents Near shopping, dining, and activities Care based on individual needs Maplewood Supervised Apartment Program (2 Male Vacancies) 24/7 Staff Supervision Condo-style living in a unit with elevator Off-street parking Located near public transportation and within walking distance of Maplewood's downtown shopping & restaurants South Orange Supportive Living Apartment (1 Female Vacancy) 1 bedroom available in a 2-bedroom apartment Minimal community living support needs Access to an [...]