History and Overview
In February of 2009, the Skagit Parent Coalition was formed under the leadership & guidance of Parent Coordinator Joy Caldwell. This program was funded with a grant from Skagit County Human Services with SPARC as the contracting agency.
During 2010, the second year of the program, it became apparent that there was a need for further expansion of services to our community and that a local chapter of The Arc would be most advantageous towards meeting these needs. The Arc of Washington asked us to consider including Island County in our new chapter as well since many residents there had expressed their needs for Arc services.
In the spring of 2010 a series of exploratory meetings were held throughout Skagit & Island Counties in order to gauge interest and solicit volunteers for participation. During the first of these meetings in Skagit County, participants agreed that the name should be The Arc of Island & Skagit – deliberately putting Island County’s name first, as a goodwill gesture of friendship and inclusion, inviting their residents to join in our new venture. It was unanimously agreed that Joy Caldwell should remain in her role as Coordinator of the Parent Coalition & take on the role and duties of Executive Director as well.
General members and Board members were recruited, by-laws were drafted and a letter of intent was sent to The Arc of Washington. The local chapter formation was then given the go-ahead by the State Chapter on June 19th and we were off and running.
On Friday, June 25, 2010, we held our first official general membership meeting, pot-luck picnic and social at the Anacortes Public Library. A great time was had by all and we conducted our “First Annual Business Meeting” where 10 participants were officially nominated and elected as our first Board of Directors.
Our mission statement was adopted by the membership: “to promote an inclusive community in Island & Skagit Counties with equal opportunity & full participation for people with disabilities by advocating, supporting, educating and empowering individuals and their family members.”
It has been a very busy and exciting first year, highlights of which can be found in our Annual Business Meeting Reports as presented by our President, Treasurer, and Executive Director. We are looking forward to the future as we continue to work together to improve the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in our local communities of Island and Skagit Counties.
During 2010, the second year of the program, it became apparent that there was a need for further expansion of services to our community and that a local chapter of The Arc would be most advantageous towards meeting these needs. The Arc of Washington asked us to consider including Island County in our new chapter as well since many residents there had expressed their needs for Arc services.
In the spring of 2010 a series of exploratory meetings were held throughout Skagit & Island Counties in order to gauge interest and solicit volunteers for participation. During the first of these meetings in Skagit County, participants agreed that the name should be The Arc of Island & Skagit – deliberately putting Island County’s name first, as a goodwill gesture of friendship and inclusion, inviting their residents to join in our new venture. It was unanimously agreed that Joy Caldwell should remain in her role as Coordinator of the Parent Coalition & take on the role and duties of Executive Director as well.
General members and Board members were recruited, by-laws were drafted and a letter of intent was sent to The Arc of Washington. The local chapter formation was then given the go-ahead by the State Chapter on June 19th and we were off and running.
On Friday, June 25, 2010, we held our first official general membership meeting, pot-luck picnic and social at the Anacortes Public Library. A great time was had by all and we conducted our “First Annual Business Meeting” where 10 participants were officially nominated and elected as our first Board of Directors.
Our mission statement was adopted by the membership: “to promote an inclusive community in Island & Skagit Counties with equal opportunity & full participation for people with disabilities by advocating, supporting, educating and empowering individuals and their family members.”
It has been a very busy and exciting first year, highlights of which can be found in our Annual Business Meeting Reports as presented by our President, Treasurer, and Executive Director. We are looking forward to the future as we continue to work together to improve the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families in our local communities of Island and Skagit Counties.
