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If you have more questions or want more details on positions available at The Arc of Alachua County, please contact Rebekah Goodwin, HR Specialist, at 352-334-4060 ext. 114 or at hr.recruitment@arcalachua.org.
The 2023 Arc Annual Meeting brought both tears and cheers to the throng of guests who gathered at The Village on October 24th in celebration of The Arc’s 57th anniversary of service to people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD).
The standing room only audience got to see a ‘first’ when Arc Client Blanca Rivera (photo) sang "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "I Will Always Love You" (see link to her performance on the right). This exciting and never-before-seen element to the annual meeting had people cheering and clapping after hearing Blanca’s angelic voice.
Arc CEO Mark A. Swain and Arc Board President Cathy Costello led guests through the evening’s program, including a heartfelt remembrance to Arc Client Erika Rothrock who passed away recently.
The Arc which also announced a number of very special winners of individual awards including:
For the first time ever, the Arc had one of its clients provide entertainment at its annual meeting. Blanca Rivera brought tears and cheers to the standing room only crowd at the October 24th Arc Annual Meeting as she sang I Will Always Love You & Wind Beneath My Wings. A beautiful idea we hope to make an ongoing tradition.
See Bianca’s performance »
Mark Swain also had the opportunity to introduce this year’s winner of the ‘Gerald Simmons Helping Spirit Award:’ Jessica Wimberly
The event could not have happened without the generous support of our event, individual award, and table sponsors:
Cathy also thanked our hard-working and generous board members for their tireless commitment to the mission of The Arc.
The Arc thanks all of its employees, clients, volunteers, donors, families, supporters and advocates for making The Arc of Alachua County's 57th year of mission work service a gratifying one.
The 2nd Annual Arc Arts & Crafts takes place on Saturday, December 2nd, 2023 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Arc's main campus across from Santa Fe College (3303 NW 83rd St.).
Adults and children with developmental disabilities will be exhibiting - and selling - their arts and crafts (and just in time for the Holiday Season!).
To purchase a booth or table for this event ($15) or to sponsor the event without a booth or table ($13), scan the QR Code embedded in the event marquee above or click on the following link:
For more details, contact The Arc's Cloretta Daniels at cdaniels@arcalachua.org.
The Arc can report that currently there are no clients and only one employee currently testing positive for COVID. Given this continued success battling COVID, members of The Arc's Safety & Supervision Committee kept Day Program open over the past month and will keep Day Program open next month from November 1 - November 30, 2023.
The Arc is still aggressively recruiting DSPs, Nurses (especially LPNs) and Residential Managers, and Person-centered Staff.
The lead copy on The Arc's website remains the vacancies in these aforementioned mission-critical areas. Weekly social media messaging on the need for qualified people to fill these positions goes out on all Arc social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.
A New Employees Training Session is set to begin on Monday, November 6th. As of this report, eleven new employees are scheduled to begin training. Of these eleven new employees, ten (10) are DSPs and one is a Board-certified Behavior Analyst.
Good progress has been made on the recruitment and hiring of Behavior Analysts and DSPs. From a DSP vacancy of 75 two years ago, The Arc is down to 38 DSP vacancies.
The Arc has no clients and only one employee testing positive for COVID. Given this continued success against COVID, members of The Arc's Safety & Supervision Committee have kept Day Program open over the past month and have opted to keep it open for the next month, from November 1 through November 30, 2023.
The hiring of Residential Manager, Nurses, especially LPNs, DSPs and Residential Managers - and accompanying messaging and marketing - remains the top priority on our website (arcalachua.org) and Arc social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter Instagram and LinkedIn). New copy on The Arc's main page reflects the need for these positions.
A New Employee Training Session is set to begin on Monday, November 6th. As of this report, eleven (11) new employees are scheduled to begin orientation on that day. Of these eleven new employees, ten (10) are DSPs and one is a Board-certified Behavior Analyst.
Members of the Safety & Supervision Committee and Day Program Leadership continue to work to raise the total number of Day Program clients to 125. In addition, efforts are underway to identify and bring in new clients to fill the client vacancies currently at The Arc.
Bicyclists representing Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. descended onto The Arc's main campus as part of the 2023 Gear Up Florida Friendship Visit. This 'client-favorite' event brings together Arc clients, employees, visitors and community VIPs for a day of food, fellowship and fun. The Gainesville stop was just one of many for these bicyclists traveling a 1,000 miles from Miami to Tallahassee in the month of May to help raise money and awareness about people with developmental disabilities.
The May 23rd visit included a police escort by Santa Fe College police department, a photo shoot, a client autograph session, a luncheon catered by David’s BBQ, a dance with Live DJ Michael Davis (aka Mr. October), and remarks from Arc President/CEO Mark A. Swain and President of The Arc's Board of Directors Cathy Costello.
After leaving The Arc, bicyclists enjoyed an afternoon of swimming and relaxation at the gorgeous Gainesville Health & Fitness Center, dinner from Satchel’s Pizza, and bedding down at First United Methodist Church. The bikers headed off early before first light the next day for their next stop - Jacksonville.
The Arc of Alachua County thanks all of our vendors, sponsors, clients, employees, and bicyclists representing Gear Up Florida/The Ability Experience for a fabulous event; one covered by TV20 News.
We look forward to seeing you all in May 2024!
ATTENTION: The Arc of Alachua County is pleased to announce that it is expanding its shredding drop off service to two (2) days per week: Monday and Wednesday beginning Monday, April 3, 2023.
Alachua County residents can drop off their shredding at our main campus across from Santa Fe College on any Monday or Wednesday of the week from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. This expanded drop off service will be offered each week on Monday and Wednesday only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Arc's main campus at 3303 NW 83rd St.
The fee for shredding will remain $0.32/lb. Residents are reminded, however, that we no longer offer 'Free Shred Wednesdays' on any Wednesday of the month. The Arc also asks that visitors who bring their shredding into The Arc on a Monday or a Wednesday to park in one of the VISITOR spots at the front of the building and to walk into the front lobby where they can ask for assistance from a member of our Gone4Ever (G4E) shredding crew. Do not, under any circumstances, drive to the back of our campus with your shredding without communicating to the people in our front lobby of your intention to drop off your shredding!
A hundred golfers, and dozens of sponsors, vendors, and volunteers converged on Hawkstone Golf & Country Club on Friday, April 14th for The Silver Anniversary Bob Rose Golf Scramble benefitting The Arc of Alachua County and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Arc of Alachua County’s biggest fundraiser of the year, this year’s scramble mined a lot of silver indeed, as hot temps, blue skies and great golf added up to record proceeds for The Arc.
Bob Rose once again lent his name to this year's event, and our premier sponsors, SKY Radio 97.3 FM and Infotech, led the way again with our other sponsors and vendors in supporting The Arc's signature event (see the sponsor banner below).
Just a couple of points worth mentioning: no one shot a Hole-In-One at the tricky par 3 hole No. 8 (so no one went home with Toyota Tacoma truck from Tomlinson Motor Co.) and no one hit a Hole-in-One at the par 3 No. 13 (so no one won a zero-radius riding mower from Florida Coast Equipment). Perhaps next year?
Also of note, the winning bid on the 'Wheelbarrow of Heaven' (chock full of top shelf liquor and bottles of award-winning wines) was $625 by Stephen Tanner and Doug Morris won a flatscreen TV by winning the Super Ticket drawing. Bob Rose was presented a black leather motorcycle jacket by The clients and employees of The Arc for his two decades of support of this event.
The winning score of 53 was delivered by the foursome of David Kidd, Charlie Stephenson, Austin Leslie and Albie Kozar (see photo above).
Bob Rose and Arc Board President Cathy Costello spoke prior to the event, and Arc President/CEO Mark A. Swain and Adele Elchert spoke afterwards, thanking all our golfers and sponsors.
All in all, it was a fitting way to honor a 25-year legacy of love, support and partnership known as The Bob Rose Golf Scramble.
Premier Sponsors
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Leaders from Audacy, WSKY and WKTK Radio, along with Arc clients, employees, and board members dedicated The Arc’s newest group at Spring Forest as part of an Earth Day Celebration.
Guests heard remarks from WSKY Radio Legend Bob Rose, Arc Board President Cathy Costello, and Arc President/CEO Mark A. Swain and then were put to work landscaping the grounds around Spring Forest.
After the landscaping, The Arc’s Johnny Adams took folks on a tour of of the new home and guests were able to ask questions about the 6-bedroom, 3,500-square foot home that will serve as a beautiful oasis for 6 clients with PWS.
The dedication was a sweet, simple and successful event, one covered by local ABC affiliate TV20. All-in-all it was a great day spent with our great friends at Audacy!
Hear our latest radio spot featuring CEO/President Mark Swain.
LiveScan provides fingerprinting, screening and photo capture services by appointment only at our main campus, 3303 NW 83rd St. (across from Santa Fe College), every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
LiveScan appointments can be scheduled from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.
LiveScan does not accept walk-ins at this time.
LiveScan keeps The Arc's main campus safe for staff and customers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. We are only allowing one (1) LiveScan guest to wait in our lobby at a time. Each LiveScan guest will be greeted by The Arc receptionist. Upon entering the lobby, he or she will tell our receptionist at the main desk that he/she is here for his/her LiveScan fingerprinting. The LiveScan guest will then be seated in our front lobby until The Arc's LiveScan staff member escorts him/her into the building and to his/her appointment.
LiveScan fingerprints are done quickly, locally and reasonably, so please call The Arc’s Front Desk at 352-334-4050 ext. 2 to schedule yours.
LiveScan information is easy to find, just click the LEARN MORE button below.
The Arc of Alachua County is a community based organization committed to providing a continuum of exemplary services, supports, and advocacy to assure that people with developmental disabilities can enjoy respect and dignity and be full participants in the community.
The Arc of Alachua County is a community based organization committed to providing a continuum of exemplary services, supports, and advocacy to assure that people with developmental disabilities can enjoy respect and dignity and be full participants in the community.
The Arc has a rich history spanning 60 years and marked by accomplishment. We continue to carry out the mission and vision of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as their parents and siblings.
Over the last 60 years, The Arc has grown and adapted to the changes that people with disabilities face across their life span. Through the decades, The Arc has seen several name changes, advocated for the passage of state and federal legislation on behalf of people with disabilities and established a broad network of state and local chapters that range from small voluntary groups to large, professional organizations.
Although much has changed for those that we serve, we always try to raise awareness, supporters, and always help improve the lives of the intellectually and developmentally disabled.
I am sure it is no surprise to you, but people always want to know what we have been up to around The Arc and at our events. Our followers on facebook get to see quite a few or our pictures, but the rest of you are left in the dark.
Well even though everyone should be our fans on facebook, we still decided to put up a gallery of images to show some of the highlights from the major events we have had this year.
Every year we hold several events we consider picture worthy. But dont worry, you will probably see some other, "non event" pictures sneak in as well. If you have a good picture you would like to share, stop by The Arc and let us scan it and share it as well.
We hope to keep the new gallery up to date throughout the year, so check back and enjoy.
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