We are proud of these accomplishments of 2010.

We look forward to continuing our excellent work in the upcoming year.

• One child is closer to his dream of being able to walk thanks to much needed physical therapy.

• An elderly father continues to live his daughter, a woman with Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, in the house she grew up in and will always consider her home.

• One gentleman had the opportunity to live his lifelong dream when he took flight lessons at the Frederick airport.

• Three friends were able to move into their first apartment together after exiting special education services and receiving transitioning support from The Arc’s “Real World” Service.   

• The Arc supports many people to be meaningfully employed by incorporating their passions, talents, and interests into their career choices.  We celebrate supporting people in established careers at businesses such as Best Buy, Target, and Toys R Us.  

• Several people receive support from The Arc to enroll in credit and enrichment courses at Frederick Community College.  Specific courses people have taken this past year include: Sign Language I, English 50 A, Keyboarding, Introduction to Excel, Photography, Painting Outdoors, Enhancing Digital Photography, MS Word Basic and Intermediate, Voice Over, Computer 101; Biology 100-101, German 101, and Social Networking.  Highlighted social activities that people served by The Arc of Frederick County have participated in include:  a service learning trip to Philadelphia, a day trip to Washington D.C., the Getting Connected Club, and Multi-Cultural Club.

• The Arc of Frederick County was one of 45 local chapters of The Arc across the United States to be awarded a sub-grant as part of the Walmart Foundation School-to-Community Transition Project to increase transition outcomes and build inclusion of youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in employment and post-secondary educational opportunities.  The Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement Program at Frederick Community College (LEAP at FCC) will be expanded and used as a model of success for other communities to duplicate.  LEAP at FCC is a collaborative project between The Arc of Frederick County, Frederick Community College, and Frederick County Public Schools.

• The Arc’s Transitioning Youth and Employment Services were featured as a model of best practice in the newly released book, Real People, Regular Lives: Autism, Communication and Quality of Life, by Sally Young, Ph.D. 

• Building upon the success of The Arc of Frederick County’s Hispanic Outreach Program, The Arc of Frederick County entered a formal partnership with The Arc of Maryland to initiate a State Wide Hispanic Outreach Service.

• To support families, self-advocates, and professionals, The Arc of Frederick County hosted a series of trainings on Relationships and Sexuality.  The training was provided by Leslie Walker-Hirsch, an internationally recognized educational consultant who specializes in social and sexual development for individuals with intellectual disabilities. She is a lecturer and co-creator of the widely used CIRCLES curriculum series.  Leslie’s support is allowing The Arc to build upon her training and offer ongoing Relationship Trainings to serve Frederick County.