Letter to the Editor from Diane Armbruster, GLOW ARC Board of Directors and a parent
Since 1961, Arc GLOW has been serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in our region.
It started with the Arc of Livingston Wyoming in 1961, followed by the Genesee Arc in 1966 and Arc of Orleans County in 1970. In 2016, Genesee Arc and the Arc of Orleans County merged to form Arc of Genesee Orleans. In 2021, the Arcs of Livingston Wyoming and Genesee Orleans merged to create Arc GLOW, which we are known as today. Yet across all iterations, our mission has been the same; empowering and support people of all ages with a broad spectrum of emotional, intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Today we serve over 2,000 individuals with IDD across the GLOW region and employ over 1,100 staff dedicated to our mission to help our individuals in realizing their full potential and finding happiness and meaning in life through programs such as vocational, educational, residential, clinical, recreational, and day habilitation.
Yet in order to help individuals with IDD, we need you, the community’s support.
The best way you can do that is through membership, which is open to everyone over the age of 18. While any amount of donation for membership is welcome, the base cost is as little as $1 per person.
And this $1 goes a long way.
The higher membership we have, the more power we have in our advocacy at state and national levels, giving Arc GLOW and the families and individuals we serve a more influential voice in legislative matters. Your membership has a direct impact on our federal and state funding. Membership contributions also help to fund programs that government funding does not provide.
Investments in services over the past 10 years have increased only 10.5 percent in comparison to 30 percent inflation. This has caused a critical staffing shortage, especially considering that the Arc Direct Support Professional (DSP) staff receives a fraction of the salary of staff working in facilities operated by the state for the same work.
Finally, membership is a statement that you believe in the importance of what Arc GLOW does and you support our mission.
I am writing to you as a parent of a son who has lived in an Arc GLOW group home since 2006. I can honestly say how happy he is in his home as well as with the day program he attends.
We as parents are so very thankful for this as well as the sense of security it brings to us. I have also been a member of various Arc GLOW committees and then the Board of Directors for about 15 years now. I know how deeply members care about our individuals and spend a great deal of time to guarantee what is the best possible life for them in all respects.
Arc GLOW is truly a family to join, and you can do so by visiting our website at ArcGLOW.org and clicking our membership button. While you are there, please check everything we are doing between programs and events.
