Meeting at the Arc

Traditionally, the Executive Director of the Arc LAOC (Los Angeles- Orange County) has always been a Rotarian, and Rotary has made the Arc the beneficiary of its biggest fund raiser, the Rotary Golf Tournament each November.

The Arc CFO Ray Brown acted as our host and gave us a picture of the Arc’s   organizational structure. The Arc is made up of a network of nearly 700 state and local chapters, with a national headquarters in Washington, D. C.

Founded in 1950, the Arc was comprised of a small group of concerned and passionate patents and community members who would be catalysts for changing the public perception of children with disabilities.  For the past sixty-plus years, the Arc has continued to grow and evolve along with the changing needs and issues people with disabilities and their families face.  Our   Downey chapter of the Arc was founded in 1956.

Downey Arc Executive Directors have a remarkably long professional life span: an early director nick-named Buzz was also a Rotarian, until 1993, when Kevin MacDonald took over.  Under Kevin the Arc in Downey grew substantially.  The Arc Walk was begun and the Arc partnered with a retail franchise, “Just a Buck,” to open a Thrift Store in Long Beach. 

After over 20 years in Downey, Kevin has moved on to a larger venue, Culver-city based Westside Regional Center, where he is still working to bring hope for a better quality of life through training and education, and respect for those individuals who are intellectually and developmentally challenged.

After a delicious and well-spiced Mexican fiesta lunch, Rotary members were treated to a walking tour of the facilities. Included were the classrooms with computers, and the mock-up apartment which helps train the Arc clients for semi-independent living away from home.

There is also the huge assembly plant building, an outsource resource for manual projects, whose walls our Rotary Club once undertook to paint.  That still stands as our Club’s largest hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves project ever.  Need any more help like that, Ray?

Everyone was urged to come out and participate in Arc’s Walk for Independence on Saturday, March 21.  Registration is $15 and starts at 8 am; the Walk begins at 8:30, and colorful t-shirts for the 2015 Walk are available for purchase.  All who finish either the 1 mile of the 3 mile course, which starts at the Stonewood Mall, are treated to a free burrito breakfast, courtesy of Acapulco Restaurant.

The Walk has become a beloved community bonding time.  As Betty Morse, longtime volunteer worker for the Arc reminded us, if your feet are not able but your spirit is willing, you can always donate to the cause.