The Arc of Alachua County celebrated its 59th anniversary during a sold-out dinner and annual meeting on Wednesday in The Village at Gainesville’s Rion Auditorium.
The private nonprofit, founded by a group of parents, provides support and services for anyone with developmental and intellectual disabilities, such as spina bifida, autism, cerebral palsy and Prader-Willi Syndrome.
The Arc offers housing for transitional and supported independent living, sheltered and supported employment, mobile work crews, adult day training, community involvement and behavioral support.
Ben E. Keith Co., the Chini Family and Tom and Joan Rothrock sponsored Wednesday’s event, which featured dinner and dessert provided by The Village, an awards ceremony for clients, employees and volunteers, and a dance performance from 17-year-old Nehyssa Tureene.
Mark Swain, president and CEO of The Arc, thanked the organization’s sponsors, board members, employees and Direct Support Professionals (DSP) for fostering camaraderie and doing important work.
“A lot of these [sponsors] have family members with developmental disabilities. It’s something very close to their hearts,” Swain said. “They’re giving where their hearts are; we really appreciate it very much.”
The Arc’s Board of Directors’ President, Patricia Beach, shared a few updates on the organization from the past year. She said the number of DSPs needed shrank from 75 open positions in 2022 to 17. Two Board Certified Behavior Analysts were also recently hired.
Beach said The Arc raised almost $47,000 in donations for its Kool Kitchen Campaign, which had an initial goal of $45,000. The money will go toward kitchen renovations and installing a push-button door front entrance to assist those with disabilities.
Every penny from donations to The Arc counts, as Florida ranks 49th of the 50 states in funding for people with developmental disabilities, according to the organization’s website.
The Arc is working to increase its daily program attendance to 125 members and is still in need of Board-Certified Behavior Analysts, Behavior Techs and a maintenance specialist.
Anyone interested in applying for a job can contact Anthony Bowman at abowman@arcalachua.org or call 352-334-4060, ext. 114.
The Arc is already looking towards its annual meeting in 2026, when it will celebrate its Diamond Anniversary of 60 years.
