More than 100 adults from The Arc of Essex County Day Programs and Group Homes came together at The Woodland in Maplewood for their annual Holiday Express celebration on November 28. The event was a joy-filled party where guests danced to live music from the Holiday Express band, visited with Santa, Rudolph, the Grinch, and other seasonal characters, and enjoyed a hearty lunch together. 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 Arc of [...]

With topics such as tackling picky eating, finding healthy food substitutes, and understanding nutrition labels, an Arc of Essex County “Lunch and Learn” virtual workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, December 6 at 12 p.m. and open to the full Arc community. Called “Balanced Nutrition for a Healthy Life,” the virtual workshop will be led by dietician and nutritionist Elysa Dinzes. Topics include: Balanced Meals and Balanced Diets Understanding the Effects of Sugar and Sodium Healthy Food Substitutes Creating Satiety Tips for Eating Out Dietary Considerations Overcoming Barriers to Picky Eating Convenient Healthy Meals There will also be time allocated for a question-and-answer session at the end of the workshop. To attend, [...]

For the first time since 2019, the students at Stepping Stones School gathered together to celebrate Thanksgiving as a full school community on November 21. The children enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal, including turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes, before moving to a circle where Principal Sunny Beale led storytime with books that focused on thankfulness. The day also featured fun games and activities coordinated by the school’s therapy team. Since 2020, Thanksgiving celebrations had been limited to separate classrooms, but for this year it was a bustling scene as all three classes once again came together to celebrate [...]

After months of crafting at Studio Arc and packaging items for sale, a group of women from the Opportunity Zone visited The Arc of Essex County main office in Livingston on November 17 for a winter craft pop-up shop. With seasonally scented soaps, room sprays, lip balms, sugar scrubs, painted ornaments, and holiday cards for sale, artisans Asia, Shanae, Faith, and Ruqyyah set up the displays of the items they created, served as personal shopping assistants to the shoppers, and helped bag and ring up the items in checkout. The day was a huge success, as the group sold more than [...]

Twenty children registered for The Arc of Essex County’s Teachers’ Convention Camp that was held on November 9 and 10 at Studio Arc. Participants took part in circus yoga, took art classes with Studio Arc creative arts manager Debra McGauley-Eichhorn, and enjoyed Zumba fitness class together. The days also featured a variety of games, including playing on the interactive Obie board. In December, The Arc of Essex County will once again host a camp during school break, with free December Break Camp at Studio Arc on December 26, 27, 28, and 29. Open to ages 5 to 20, with 3-to-1 staff [...]

Thanks to more than 100 donors who included The Arc of Essex County in their Giving Tuesday plans, The Arc raised more than $17,000 on November 28, its biggest fundraising day of the year. Held on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a counterpart to the more shopping-focused days, Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving to charitable organizations. This year, it was an opportunity for donors to give to The Arc of Essex County with an outsized impact, as a $3,000 challenge grant from Brad and Stephanie Hopton and a $2,500 challenge grant from Bruce and Lynn Bird allowed [...]

The Opportunity Zone in Maplewood was the scene of a delicious turkey feast as 18 Group Respite participants came together to share a meal around a festively decorated table for their annual Friendsgiving celebration on November 19. The group played games together, used their handprints to make colorful turkey potholders in a crafting activity, and enjoyed a full meal with the Thanksgiving fixings, including turkey, corn, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread. It was a wonderful day to celebrate friendships and all that they are grateful for. Other recreational programming in November included a busy Hotel Respite weekend, a movie theater trip [...]

The tenth and final Communi-Play session of 2023 took place on November 4 as families gathered at Studio Arc to enjoy a free communication party led by Jaquetta Perry-Boyd, "Mrs. J," a specialist with more than 20 years of speech-language experience. In these highly engaging and interactive events, children ages 2.5 to 5 and their parents practiced communication and conversation skills such as listening, eye contact, body language, and gestures. Over the course of the 2023 season, there were 84 participants who took part in the morning Communi-Play events, which were offered for free thanks to grants from the Blue Foundry [...]

The Arc of Essex County graciously accepted donations from two local Knights of Columbus chapters during the fall season. The Knights of Columbus East Hanover Chapter (#6504) donated The Arc $2,815, and the Livingston-based Our Lady of the Mountains Council (#11982) donated $1,980. Each presented a check at a special ceremony before the groups’ meetings. The Arc of Essex County thanks the Knights of Columbus members for their ongoing support of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and appreciates the generosity and commitment of the Knights of Columbus chapters.