ACHIEVE WITH US
People in the disability community are diverse. They come from all backgrounds. They represent the full range of differences among people. These include:
We honor and respect the identities represented in our community.
Equity work is urgent and life-long. We want to do better and hold ourselves accountable. We have not always been as diverse, accessible, equitable, or inclusive as we could be. We are impacted by many systems of oppression, including racism, ableism, and colonialism. We are on a journey to improve as an organization.
Everyone belongs. With their intersecting identities, all members of the disability community are valued, respected, and celebrated for who they are. They thrive and live their best lives.
We work hard to ensure we are representative of diverse and marginalized communities and we promote social justice.
In Our Work Culture
Our greatest strengths come from the people who make up our team. For The Arc of Calhoun County, inclusion and diversity is ingrained in the core of who we are and the people we serve. With that being stated, we continuously strive for improvement.
We work to empower our team members to make an impact in the workplace, their families, and the community in which they serve. We encourage a culture that is unconditionally inclusive, and in return ask that our people contribute all their differing perspectives, ideas and experiences for one common purpose: to advance the way people live and work.
We commit a continual focus on equitable hiring, training, and promotional practices and policies. Today, 13% of our staff are people of color and 75% are women. In senior leadership roles, 33% are people of color and 67% are women. Of our Board of Directors, 29% are people of color, 29% are self-advocates with a disability, and 70% are women.
We commit to work for real change and progress in diverse recruitment, hiring and advancement.
We enrich the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and their communities through advocacy in education, policy, and human rights.
We envision communities where all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities grow, succeed, and belong.
These core values provide a foundation for everything we do. They guide how we behave in our interactions with our members, our business partners, our community, and each other. They exemplify what is important to us and what others can expect from us.
Person-centered
We serve our clients and their unique, individual voices, ideas and perspectives without judgement, while also holding them with unwavering compassion and empathy.
Ethical
We hold ourselves accountable to operate with transparent and responsible practices that promote honesty, integrity, and good stewardship of time and finances.
Equitable
We have a deep appreciation for difference and engage in advocacy designed to address and remove barriers that help achieve diversity, equity and inclusion for all people.
Community
We work with our partners to build upon and enhance the strengths that persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities possess, and we are committed to making a difference by informing and educating the community we serve about our mission.
THE ARC OF CALHOUN COUNTY
Helping since 1954
Since 1954, parents of children with developmental disabilities gathered to discuss the need for an advocacy organization, thus The Arc of Calhoun County was born.
Virginia Whittum, a founding parent said, “If just one person could light a candle, it would light the whole world.”
The Arc of Calhoun County is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides supportive programming to adults with disabilities, advocacy for special education from birth to 26 years old, and further support to the community as it relates to it’s citizens with disabilities.
The Arc of Calhoun County Staff
Business Manager
Office Manager
Community Skills Advisor
Community Skills Coordinator
Community Coordinator
Community Skills Advisor
Community Skills Advisor