Preparing for a Healthier Winter

Uncategorized

We are well into Fall here in Upstate NY and all of the fun activities that come with it – hay rides, pumpkins, and nature walks with pretty colors. Families have settled into the routine of kids being back in school, and football is in full swing. Everyone can take a break from the heat that summer wrought. The bounty of food from summer is harvested and many partake in celebration – for Americans, Thanksgiving. As the seasons change, we can start to prepare for the coming winter. It’s more than pulling out winter clothes and leaving a few minutes …

Celebrate a World of Flavors for National Nutrition Month

Health and Wellness, Staff Perspectives, Uncategorized

Written by Antonietta Alfano, Diet Technician at The Arc of Monroe March is National Nutrition Month! This month was created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to help increase awareness of the importance of nutrition and knowing where you can find nutrition experts to help you achieve your goals. This is also a great time to help motivate yourself to make healthy changes and do personal research on what works for you, your body and your lifestyle. Your very own Diet Technician is here to share all of the cool elements of nutrition! Did you also know that I …

LouWanda Bell Welcomed back to The Arc as Director of Community Services

Staff Perspectives, Uncategorized

The Arc of Monroe is thrilled to welcome LouWanda Bell back to our team as the new Director of Community Services! After leaving her previous leadership role at The Arc to complete her Master’s degree in Social Work, LouWanda has rejoined our team with an increased passion for working with diverse populations to provide leadership, support and collaboration to achieve excellent outcomes. LouWanda describes herself as a people-person, and she enjoys helping others, which makes her a great fit at The Arc of Monroe. “I pride myself as someone who empowers, values and respects others,” LouWanda said. She has more …

Recognizing and Responding to Trauma

Health and Wellness, Staff Perspectives, Uncategorized

When you think about the signs of trauma, what do you imagine? Most people will think of someone curled up in a ball, alone, in a dark room, but that is more of a stereotype than reality. There are many signs and symptoms of trauma that are more subtle and you can be struggling with the effects of trauma without even realizing they are occurring. Because trauma can occur anytime our experience overwhelms our ability to cope you may even notice something is off but associate a trauma symptom with some other problem. Some outwardly obvious signs of trauma can …

Love Your Job! 3 Reasons I Love Working at The Arc of Monroe

Employment, Staff Perspectives, Uncategorized

Love Your Job! 3 Reasons I Love Working at The Arc of Monroe Do you love what you are doing? Work is work, after all. Do you really need to love what you do? Yes. You do. Perhaps a career at The Arc of Monroe is for you. Here are 3 of the reasons Direct Support Professional Kayia Phipps says working at The Arc of Monroe is so rewarding.   I Love Working at The Arc! I love working at The Arc because not only do we assist the people we support and help them reach their goals, they teach us things as well. My …

Carol DeMoulin of The Arc Foundation of Monroe Announces Transition to Retirement

Employment, Staff Perspectives, Uncategorized, What's In The News

Carol DeMoulin, the Executive Director of The Arc Foundation of Monroe, recently announced her plan to start a transition to retirement. Since starting her role as Executive Director in November of 2018, The Arc Foundation of Monroe has raised nearly $1.5 million to help fulfill The Arc’s mission and uphold its core values. Leading this charge, she acknowledges the “strong and mighty” team from the Foundation and Marketing department who have helped drive this success. “The Arc Foundation is solid and stable,” said Tracy Petrichick, CFO and acting CEO, The Arc of Monroe. “We had great success in 2020 despite …

LifePrep@Naz Employment Readiness Program May be Perfect “Next Step”

Uncategorized

Transitioning from high school to the “next step” can be an exciting time in a young person’s life. It can also come with a lot of questions and unknowns about where to begin. The LifePrep@Naz might be that perfect next step. The design of the LifePrep@Naz program stems from the overall goal of providing individuals with disabilities, of typical college age, a similar-aged learning community that allows for the transformation from high school students to self-determined and competitively employed contributors in our society. The program is designed to prepare students for success, not only in the classroom, but also at …

Looking Forward to the Next Adventure

Uncategorized

When Barbara Wale finishes her tenure at The Arc of Monroe at the end of this month, she will have spent over 40 years working in the field of disability and human services with a professional record that boasts extraordinary contributions to the field. Wale has dedicated her life and her career in service to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Remarkably, all of those years have been with The Arc of Monroe, where she started in 1978 as a speech pathologist. Five years later, she was promoted to Director of Clinical Services and in only one year, became Director …

A Match Made for the Holidays

Uncategorized, Volunteer, What's In The News

Doug Hoyt has wanted to illustrate books since he was a little kid. So when he got the opportunity to make his dream come true, he jumped at the chance. Hoyt has teamed up with Rochester broadcast legend Don Alhart to produce a holiday children’s book this season. The 13-WHAM anchor had his own dream – to create a holiday book about a nostalgic memory of his that centered on Sibley’s Toyland in downtown Rochester. “Sibley’s Christmas Adventure,” was a story Alhart had created about “Sibley,” a mouse on a magical Christmas adventure set on the fourth floor toy department …

A Toast to The Arc Family!

COVID-19, Programs and Services, Uncategorized, Volunteer

Wow, what a year this has been. Each and every one of our lives has been affected in different ways. We have also become unified in our determination to contain the spread of this virus. This could not be done without every single one of us, doing our parts, and extending ourselves even more than we thought we could. While drawing close to our loved ones at home, the staff at The Arc of Monroe left theirs to stand together with those we support in their homes. They became heroes overnight, doing everything they could to keep the people we …