For over 54 years, The Arc of Northern Virginia has represented and served people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD)—such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and rare chromosomal disorders—and their families in the cities and counties of Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church. It is estimated that more than 34,000 individuals in Northern Virginia have ID/DD.
The Arc of Northern Virginia continues to identify new and innovative approaches to creating a Northern Virginia where people with ID/DD can live “A Life Like Yours” in their community. Over the past year, we are honored to have been recognized repeatedly for our work towards this goal:
- We were selected as the 2016 Non-Profit of the Year by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
- The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce presented us with the 2016 Carroll V. Shreve Award for Meritorious Human Service for our work benefitting the community.
- Our TravelMate and EmployMate apps were recognized by Tech Impact as the 2015 winner of the “Skills to Succeed and Workforce Development Award.”
- These cutting-edge projects also brought recognition as 2016 Public Service Innovator of the Year by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
- We were also honored by the Washington Business Journal with a 2016 Innovation Award.
- And TravelMate was highlighted in 2015 and 2016 Reports to President Obama from the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
Each and every new project we launch is possible because of the generous support we receive.
You can read about how we make an important difference for families in our “End of Year December 2016 letter.”
For more information about all of our programs, services, and advocacy,
read more on our “About” page.
In 2017, we want to make an impact for even more families. So we are launching new efforts to broaden the range of our communications, ensure that our resources are accessible to families that speak other languages, and bring our educational workshops onsite to locations throughout the region:
- We want to partner with local businesses, chambers of commerce, civic groups, congregations and others to bring our broad range of workshops to where they are.
- To connect with families as early as possible in the lifespan, we will partner with pediatricians and hospitals, so that when parents receive a diagnosis, they also know that The Arc of Northern Virginia is here to help.
- Northern Virginia has a great diversity of cultures and languages. We plan to translate our main resources into the most commonly spoken non-English languages to eliminate a barrier for those families.
- We are launching a new targeted outreach plan so that we can better serve our large region and connect with people with disabilities and their families.
We hope you will join us in our efforts for 2017 as we strive to serve and support even more families. Thank you!
