The Arc of Essex County, The Arc of New Jersey, and United Airlines have teamed up to bring Wings for All to Newark Liberty International Airport. Wings for All is an airport “rehearsal” program created to alleviate some of the stress individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families experience when traveling by air. The program helps ease family concerns regarding how their loved one will react to different stimuli in the airport, such as bright lights, noises, TSA security screening, and crowds. This program aims to give solutions to these concerns to make air travel easier. Wings for All also [...]

Students at Stepping Stones School celebrated the autumn season with an action-packed Fall Festival and a cheerful Halloween Trunk or Treat event. The annual Fall Festival, held under beautiful sunny skies on October 13, included a pumpkin patch, a straw-bale obstacle course, outdoor games, bubbles, and lots of smiles. Each class took turns exploring the different activity stations, prepared by Arc therapists and staff, and each student collected a pumpkin to take home. On October 31, the annual Trunk or Treat tradition featured a dozen creatively decorated car trunks—with innovative themes including Sesame Street, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Harry Potter—each assembled [...]

The adults in The Arc of Essex County’s Community Inclusion, Recreation, and Respite activities had a busy October that featured a variety of seasonal events with their peers. On October 1, the group took a trip to the Caldwell Street Fair, put on by the local Rotary and Kiwanis organizations. There, participants enjoyed rides, entertainment, live music, arts and crafts, and shopping together. The group visited Northlandz Model Railroad Museum in Flemington on October 15, where they explored different miniature worlds and watched model trains cruise through different landscapes. It was a sunny day on October 22 when participants visited Alstede Farms in [...]

October was busy for The Arc of Essex County’s Day Program participants, who went on autumn excursions and celebrated the Halloween holiday together throughout the month. A group of SYA participants took a trip to Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange, where they explored the animal exhibits and pet stingrays in the touch tank. An SYA group also visited Ort Farms in Long Valley, feeding farm animals and picking pumpkins that they later painted and decorated at the program center. Arc Day Program participants from Bridges, the Opportunity Zone, and West Caldwell Hub celebrated the autumn season with pumpkin crafts and [...]

Residents in The Arc of Essex County’s group homes have been enjoying the autumn season together, with a mix of fun day trips and at-home celebrations. At the Nutley group home, residents took a trip to the Turtle Back Zoo, made cupcakes, hosted a game night, and dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Residents from the Washington Avenue group home in Montclair took a trip to Conklin Farm U-Pick, where they enjoyed visiting with farm animals and picking out pumpkins. The Belleville group home took a special trip to Medieval Times. And Cedar Grove residents dressed in costume for the Halloween [...]

Supporters of The Arc of Essex County can now spread holiday cheer that features winter scenes created by Studio Arc artisans! The Studio Arc Shop, which can be visited at bit.ly/studioarcshop, is selling a 10-pack of cards just in time for the holiday season. Each set costs $12 and features five vibrant winter scenes created by Arc artists Abby-Gale, Caryn, Felicia, Ronella, and Ruqayyah. The 5x7 cards include an image of the mixed-media canvas on the front and the artist’s bio on the back, and are blank inside. Two of each design are included in each pack, along with envelopes. Purchases can [...]