Chico Eye Center has teamed up with The Arc of Butte County to help support individuals with developmental disabilities and their families!

Simply go to the Chico Eye Center Facebook page, click “Like” and post a quick comment stating “The Arc sent me.”

With each new “Like” and Comment Post, Chico Eye Center will donate $1.00 to The Arc of Butte County…up to $500.00 between now and September 30th!

Your clicks make a big difference…building not only awareness, but also fund$ for our many programs.

A special thanks to Chico Eye Center for their generous partnership!  “Chico Eye Center…It’s time to see what you’ve been missing.”

In 2011, the Arc of Butte County celebrates 58 years of transforming the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Your continued support, solid management and fiscal responsibility have enabled us to continue providing state-of-the-art programs and services to under-served citizens of an economically disadvantaged region.

In the early years of the organization, it was necessary to create basic services for children and adults.

Arc members were instrumental in the establishment of the first special education classes and sheltered workshops in Butte County.

Following the creation of these fundamental services, Arc helped to develop the local Special Olympics, created a day activity center for adults who were severely disabled, began an infant stimulation program, and provided training to prepare adults with developmental disabilities for independent living.

Throughout the years, our top priority has always been to offer information and support to parents and children with developmental and/or other disabling conditions.

Oroville ARC ADP Clients & Instructors

It is ignorance and prejudice that threaten to handicap our citizens with disabilities more than any psychological challenge. We are working continuously to reduce and eliminate ignorance and prejudice.

With your continued support the Arc will succeed. Please, DONATE today.

Here’s to a happy new year and another 58 years of hope and service!

Have questions about the Arc of Butte County?

Please, contact us at (530) 891.5865 or info@arcbutte.org

We are honored to announce that the California Integrated Waste Management Board awarded the Arc of Butte County a 2010 Waste Reduction Award certificate.

CIWMB presents the WRAP certificate in recognition of waste prevention business practices that reduce green house gas emissions, protect the environment and preserve valuable resources. You can learn more here on the FAQ page http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/WRAP/FAQ.htm

Arc Store crew bundles old clothes to be recycled.

“Our recycling and waste diversion philosophy is codified in the Arc Employee Handbook, not just as a commitment to environmental sustainability, but also as a means for Arc to increase the profitability of our agency.” explains Tom Leonardi, Arc Associate Director and Respite Program Coordinator.

The Arc supports its programs for special needs children and adults with developmental disabilities in part by operating two ARC Stores in Chico & Oroville www.thearcstore.org , The ARC Pavilion Banquet Hall www.arcpavilion.org and an EBay store.

The stores takes donated used items and resells them at greatly reduced prices. What cannot be resold be it clothes, books, electronics, scrap metal etc is recycled. An estimated 250,000 lbs. of potential trash gets diverted away from the county landfill each year through Arc retail sales.

As a business, Arc offices recycle all in-house office paper, and promotes the recycling of glass, aluminum and plastic by employees. Arc provides receptacles and allows the staff to use the funds from recycling for their own activities. The green waste from our landscaping is delivered to the city green waste compost facility. It is Arc’s policy to not throw out any item that can be re-sold or re-used at one of our retail stores.

Since 1953, the Arc of Butte County has provided high quality services for special needs children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Now in 2010, The Arc serves approx 900 families in Butte and Glenn Counties. www.arcbutte.org

Between Hope and Reality

Many thanks to the ARC staff, BOD, volunteers and especially the community for making our first “Bridge The Gap” Annual Campaign a success! Together we raised $32,000 in pledges.

There are an estimated 240,000 individuals with developmental disabilities in California alone. Sadly, there is a growing population of special needs children right here in our community.

The stresses of everyday life greatly increase when a family is faced with the extraordinary challenges of parenting an individual with special needs.

80% of parents of children with Autism divorce. 63% of family-member caregivers battle sleep deprivation, depression and anxiety.

Since 1953, the ARC of Butte County has provided high quality services for special needs children and adults with developmental disabilities.

In 2010, we serve approx 900 families who have members with a developmental disability in Butte and Glenn Counties (Calif., USA).

Your donations and efforts during this campaign will insure our Family Support programs will continue to help parents through the stresses of raising a special needs child, helping to keep families healthy, cohesive, and united.

Your donations will help us “Bridge the Gap” between hope and reality for our clients and their families.

Thank you again for your support.

The ARC’s Adult Day Programs in both Chico & Oroville include center and community based experiences for developmentally disabled clients. Participants are engaged in a variety of constructive activities that aid in acquiring many important skills and personal benefits…such as self help, social interaction, self esteem, friendship building, problem solving, improving reading, exploration through art, gardening…plus lots of fun field trips, too!!

There's nothing as special as a good friend

In July, ADP Instructors will be taking clients on all kinds of fun summer adventures. On the 7th the Oroville group will be visiting the Olive Pit in Corning, on the 14th you’ll find them enjoying the Honey Run Covered Bridge and on the 28th they’ll be splashing in the Sycamore Pool at One Mile Park.

Instructors and clients build close relationships and have great fun whether it’s in play or during vocational readiness.

The ARC’s ADP also offers a vocational readiness and work experience program in both ARC Stores. Our work program combines both paid work and skills training for over 110 clients in Chico and Oroville.

Work or play the ARC’s Adult Day Program has proven itself a great place for the special needs adults in our community.

If you have questions about the ADP, please, contact Nelson Corwin.

In this economic down turn, many local non-profits are scrambling to find new ways to generate much needed funds. The ARC of Butte County is one of the many charities struggling to keep programs running after last years’ California State budget cuts.

In 2009, The ARC was forced to close three popular programs leaving many families without support. Since 1953, the Arc  has been devoted to providing high quality services for special needs children and adults with developmental disabilities. Our customized programs give parents and caregivers a break from the stresses of raising a special needs child, helping to keep families healthy, cohesive, and united.

The kind people of North Valley Eye Care understand the difficult challenges these families are facing and are offering to help.

Long time ARC supporter, Dr. Isaac Barthelow, of NVEC, has pledged to donate a $1 for every new FaceBook Fan the ARC can send their way in the month of March.

We ask that every ARC supporter and FaceBook Fan, please, take a moment to visit the North Valley Eye Care FaceBook Page and become a Fan of theirs, too.

Together we can reach our goal of 500 new fans in March!

ARC’s Independent Living Skills Program provides a diverse range of skill training and services that focus on the individual’s personal and social needs. The training enables individuals with developmental disabilities to acquire, maintain and improve their existing abilities to live independently in the community.

Our ILS staff assists each client, based on individual needs, in areas of independent living and behavioral intervention.

Aurelia Rodriguez

ILS Instructor of the Month, Aurelia Rodriguez, works extremely hard with all of her clients. Often having to drive as far as Gridley to work with clients who have limited access to transportation. “She has been very successful with her case load, ” says Bonnie Bethel, ILS Coordinator, “Aurelia offers all her clients professional instruction. Helping them live more fulfilling lives. I was very pleased when a clients husband enthusiastically voted that she be Instructor of the Month!”

Everyone at the ARC wants to thank Aurelia for her dedication to improving the lives of so many!

If you have questions regarding ILS, please, contact Bonnie Bethel or Ray Fennell.

We are happy to share that the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) awarded the Arc of Butte County a 2009 Waste Reduction Award certificate of acknowledgement for “steering your community along a path towards zero-waste and minimizing your eco-footprint” by incorporating waste reduction, reuse and recycling efforts into our daily business activities.
 
“Our recycling and waste diversion philosophy is codified in the Arc Employee Handbook, not just as a commitment to environmental sustainability, but as a means for Arc to increase the profitability of our agency. The benefits of reducing our waste stream and recycling and re-using affect Arc’s bottom line.” explains Tom Leonardi, Arc Associate Director and Respite Program Coordinator.
 
The Arc supports its programs for the developmentally disabled in part by operating two ARC Stores in Chico & Oroville, The ARC Pavilion Banquet Hall and an EBay store.

The stores take pre-owned and used items that are donated to Arc and resells them at greatly reduced prices. An estimated 250,000 lbs. of potential trash gets diverted away from the county landfill each year through Arc retail sales.
 
As a business, Arc recycles all in-house office paper, and promotes the recycling of glass, aluminum and plastic by employees. Arc provides receptacles and allows the staff to use the funds from recycling for their own activities.  The green waste from our landscaping is delivered to the city green waste compost facility. It is Arc’s policy to recycle any product that is utilized if a system for recycling is in place; and it is Arc’s policy to not throw out any item that can be re-sold or re-used at one of our retail stores.

The ARC’s 14th Annual Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction was a blast!

And The Silent Auction was a wonderful success thanks to Jennifer White’s, ARC’s Office Manager, creative gift basket making skills and to all the businesses and individuals who donated! Like…

Baja Brothers BBQ, Bertagna Son Kissed Vineyard, Blue Room Theatre, Burke’s On Broadway, CSUC Box Office, Calif Organic Flowers, Canyon Oaks Country Club, Chico Racquet Club & Resort, Costco, Derm Bar/Jennifer Garcia, Eric’s Car Wash, Ed’s Printing, Feather Falls Casino, Foothill Distribution, Gold Country Casino, Gooney Bird, Grace Jr.’s, Haleakala Ranch, Ken Hanson, Hotel Diamond, Kragen Auto, Lake Oroville B&B, Lundberg Farms, Lyon Books, Maisie Jane’s, Mextica de Chico Mariachis, Tim & Joan Moore, Mooretown Rancheria, Mission Linen, National Charity League, NorCal Mobility, NorCal Waste System, North Valley Eye Care, Olde Gold Estate Jewelry, Olive Pit, Orient & Flume Art Glass, Chuck Overmyer, Printed Image, Pullins Cyclery, Relax Into Better Health, Scrubs Hand Wash & Detail, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Silver Screen Tattoo, Sevillano Links, Dave Smallhouse, Fran Simmons, Patti Thomas, Two Twigs Soap

The ARC Pavilion was full of happy faces! Want to see more pictures of this festive evening?? You’ll find plenty on ARC’s FaceBook Page. See if you can find yourself or your friends and tag them!

A Special Thank You to everyone who volunteered this year… including the National Charity League, Baja Brothers BBQ, Mextica de Chico Mariachis, Charlie Williams & his Amazing Kitchen Crew.

Also, a BIG THANK YOU to our Business Sponsors… Sweeney & Sweeney, InterWest, KNVN/KHSL, FOX 20, Chico News & Review and Chico Enterprise-Record. Please, support the businesses that support the Arc.

Last but not least, thank you to everyone who attended!

We hope to see you again next year!

The ARC’s Chico Adult Day Program runs a small “Coffee Shop” Monday thru Friday for ARC staff and clients. They sell coffee, donuts, fruit and breakfast burritos. It’s a great way for the clients to learn team work, communication skills and math. Normally the clients use the money for ”Fun Friday” activities.

 Well, October was different.

“I got to thinking about how the clients want to be accepted as part of the community,” said Dodi Powell, ADP Supervisor, “So I suggested we give to the community.” The clients and instructors discussed the idea further and it was decided that all the money raised by the little “Coffee Shop” in the month of October would be donated to The Jesus Center, the local homeless shelter.

At the end of October a group of ADP Instructors and clients went on a field trip to the Jesus Center to hand deliver their hard earned donation.

ADP client Jan Loseth had the honor of handing the donation to Debra Howell, Jesus Center Volunteer Coordinator.