Partnering With The Arc on Inclusive Volunteering Projects

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Why Partner with The Arc?

Partnering with The Arc to offer or expand inclusive volunteer opportunities in your community brings you and your organization several benefits.

Inclusive volunteering opportunities help you and your organization connect with people with disabilities, their families, and dedicated professionals. With more than 650 chapters across the country, The Arc and its chapter network support more than 1 million people with I/DD and their families each year. Our chapters offer services to people with I/DD and their families across the lifespan to help them live, work, go to school, and participate in all aspects of their community. When you partner with chapters of The Arc, you and your employees can better connect with people with I/DD and their families.

Offering inclusive volunteer opportunities helps you grow and further your brand. According to a 2013 Fleishman-Hillard Lepere Analytics study, consumers tend to view an organization as the sum total of everything the organization says and does—including giving back or supporting community projects. By developing and enhancing inclusive volunteer programs in your community, you and your organization will show your dedication not only to addressing local challenges but also to supporting social inclusion for people of all backgrounds and abilities. By partnering with The Arc to offer inclusive volunteer opportunities, you will gain a partner with over 60 years of experience supporting people with I/DD and their families to meaningfully share their skills, times, and gifts with their community.

How Can I Partner With The Arc?

There are many ways you and your organization can partner with The Arc. Examples of partner volunteer activities include:

  • Building a community garden or sensory garden
  • Providing food assistance to people in need
  • Collecting and delivering supplies for a local shelter
  • Supporting a community event like a festival or fair
  • Volunteering at our Wings for Autism® and Wings for All® aviation rehearsal programs
  • Teaching people with disabilities how to increase their use of technology (e.g., computers, iPads, screens, and software)

For more questions on how you and your organization can partner with The Arc, contact Jennifer at alexander@thearc.org.

Employment of People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: 2017 Snapshot

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Despite recent progress in employment legislation and local-level employment initiatives, finding and securing meaningful and community-based employment opportunities continues to be a major challenge for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) – including people with autism, Down syndrome, and other diagnoses across the country. The Family & Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey asked caregivers about some of the underlying causes for the large gaps that exist in employment outcomes for people with disabilities. The results indicate that there is a significant need to immediately address and improve practices that facilitate education and employment for people with I/DD.

2010 FINDS National Survey Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports: Technical Report

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Most of the growth in services in the last half century has been to support people living in their own or a family home. However, between 2009 and 2011, the economic difficulties of the prolonged national recession began to slow the growth or in some places to result in actual reductions in publicly funded supports to families throughout the United States. Family caregivers play critically important roles in supporting the well-being of people with ID/DD. This is true for family members who are the primary caregiver as well as for those whose family member with ID/DD live in their own homes or in supported residential settings. As our society continues to depend on the active engagement of family caregivers for the support of individuals with ID/DD, it is important to understand and respond to the needs of those caregivers. In 2010 The Arc of the United States conducted a national internet survey that aimed to capture the perspectives of people with ID/DD and their family caregivers. The Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey focused on issues including educational, housing, employment and support needs of people with ID/DD and their families. Family caregivers in 2010 reported substantial ongoing challenges to providing lifelong supports to family members with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

FINDS Community Report Data Tables

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As our society continues to depend on the active engagement of family caregivers for the support of individuals with ID/DD, it is important to understand and respond to the needs of those caregivers.

The 2010 Family and Individual Needs for Disability Supports (FINDS) survey focused on issues including educational, housing, employment and support needs of people with ID/DD and their families. Family caregivers in 2010 reported substantial ongoing challenges to providing lifelong supports to family members with intellectual or developmental disabilities. View the Data Tables to get a more robust analysis of the data on family caregivers collected throughout the survey.