An annual treat at ARC Marion is the “costume parade” of the children in the Early Intervention Program.  Many of the children come dressed in costumes for the special day, but the EIP program also has an assortment of dress-up clothes for those who aren’t already in fun attire.  The children go to all of the [...]

I have a board member who is also a parent of an ARC client.  She’s been on my board for the past two years and has added a lot of insight to fundraising during her time with us.  However, this year she’s energized and empowered in a way I’ve never seen her.  When I asked [...]

Warning- you or someone you know is about to be harshly reprimanded simply because of what you may have just said.  Portions of this blog post are coming from The Vision, ARC Marion’s newsletter, Fall/Winter 2008, but since I wrote it there, I’m posting it here.  It’s important for people to know how we,as advocates for [...]

I am so proud of the individuals at ARC Marion who come here to fulfill the mission: to live, work and play to their fullest of their abilities.   Each day 166 developmentally disabled clients attend the Adult Day Training workshop and are given the opportunity to choose how they want to spend their day.  They [...]

Recently I was talking with the Director of the Early Intervention Program at ARC Marion and mentioned to her a very vivid memory from my childhood about my sister.   When she was born, she had very limited movement and couldn’t rollover or sit up or stand because her little legs weren’t strong enough.  She also [...]

Unless you have a toddler who watches Noggin on TV, or a school age child who used to watch Nick Jr. on CBS Saturday mornings, you probably have not seen or heard of “Little Bill.”  I know I hadn’t until about a year ago when we discovered the show that now only runs in syndication.  [...]

A few years back our local United Way hosted their annual campaign kick-off celebration with a twist.  They brought in the comedian, Josh Blue, to be the guest speaker for the event.  Blue won NBC’s Last Comic Standing in 2006 partly because of his humorous jokes about himself.  He lives with cerebral palsy and said [...]

The ARC Marion Early Intervention Program is truly an amazing place.  Through play-based curriculum children from roughly birth to age three have the opportunity to learn skills to help them grow and develop.  Some children come to EIP who can’t roll over or sit up much less run, jump and play like most little children.  [...]

I love to “think out of the box” and not do things the same way they always have been.  For years nonprofits have stayed in their zones or “boxes” tending to focus on their own demographics and needs 95% of the time.  I feel that today the lines of separation between nonprofits in most communities are a [...]

At this very moment, the Senate Finance Committee is working on a bill on healthcare reforms.  As a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, I have learned that there are at least 25 proposed amendments that would cap the value of the charitable deduction. This cap would create a huge disincentive for charitable giving!
Currently, taxpayers earning [...]