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Support The Arc of Aurora...
... When You're Surfing Online!
Colorado Gives
is a program of Community First Foundation. You can donate to The Arc of Aurora through ColoradoGives.org anytime throughout the year, not only on Colorado Gives Day. Thank you for your donations, and helping to support individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
goodsearch.com
is a Yahoo-powered search engine that offers funding to nonprofits like us with each and every online search. All you have to do is use the internet like you normally do, except The Arc of Aurora can earn a portion of goodsearch.com's advertising profits.
... When You're Shopping Online!
Amazon Smile is a 501(c)(3) foundation that lets customers enjoy the same Amazon selection of products while shopping. The only difference is when customer shop on Amazon Smile, the Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the price of eligible purchases to The Arc of Aurora.
eBay for Charity
is another online-shopping option that allows you to support The Arc of Aurora with each purchase. eBay for Charity
teams up with a nonprofit called PayPal Giving Fund to ensure that 100% of every donation processed is given to the allocated organization.
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From the Editor
Holiday Greetings!
 We close our year here at The Arc of Aurora with an annual project that again reminds us of our community's gracious generosity, giving to those they do not know but know need. How inspiring, and what a terrific message to carry into the New Year!
From the board and staff of The Arc of Aurora, I send very best wishes for peaceful, warm holidays that remind you, too, of our world's capacity to care, and a prosperous, healthy, happy 2017!
Jean Solis
Editor and Director of Marketing and Development
___________________________________________
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Do You Love to Bowl and Are You 16+ Years Old?
Then you can join The Arc of Aurora's "Sunday Get-
Together Bowling League"! The group meets at the
AMF Aurora Lanes at 16700 East Mississippi Avenue in Aurora 80017, on Sunday afternoons. Practice begins at 12:45PM, games at 1PM. Cost is $9/week for 3 games and shoes. Use a wheelchair? No problem! Supervision is NOT provided. If you have any questions, call Dottie at 303.337.5540.
I
s Your Arc of Aurora Membership Current?
The Arc of Aurora's membership calendar is July 1 - June 30. In addition to access to advocacy support, Contributing Members are eligible to apply for annual scholarships offered by The Arc of Aurora (other  criteria must also be met) and receive a 15% discount card for arc Thrift Store shopping throughout the year. Click here to renew your Membership online or check in with your Arc of Aurora advocate for a printed form and payment by check or cash.
Looking to Volunteer in the Community?
Then the Aurora Kiwanis Aktion Club might be for you! Designed for self-advocates, the Aurora Aktion
 Club will meet the first and third Tuesdays of the month, starting January 3, from 1-2:30PM at the Englewood Library. Club members help determine what projects they want to work on as well as then complete that volunteer work. Questions about the Aktion Club may be directed to Jean in The Arc of Aurora office, [email protected].
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Hot Topic: How Does IT All Happen?
"
IT"... what do we mean? Well, in 2015
IT was
- 200+ individual advocacy cases supported, and NEVER a charge to help
- AT LEAST 10 hours of advocacy support/case with EACH HOUR costing an average of $55
- mailings to 2000+ online and US-Mailed newsletter subscribers
- 2000+ hours of volunteer support
- trainings to professionals who support people with developmental disabilities in the community
- support of a volunteer-managed adult bowling league
- holiday assistance for families in need
- an in-office emergency food bank
IT is what you rely on us for.
IT
is everything we do
 when our doors are open.
And so just how does IT all happen? You! IT happens through your support. The Arc of Aurora receives NO government monies for its advocacy work. IT happens because many of you reading this send cash donations, now at year end as well as throughout the year. IT happens because some of you honor your Mom at Mother's Day with a donation here, or ask your employer to match your donation to us.
And IT will continue to happen when all of us contribute, honor, ask for matching support. If you donated to The Arc of Aurora through Colorado Gives Day or with a donation directly to our office, thank you.
If you have not donated in support of The Arc of Aurora's advocacy work yet this year, please consider  doing so at this year end. IT happens because of private support, not tax or other government monies.
Make
IT continue to happen in 2017. Donate to The Arc of Aurora now. You may help
make
IT happen online by clicking here
or by mailing a check to our office (checks payable to The Arc of Aurora and mailed to 1342 S. Chambers Road, Aurora, CO 80017). Donations are tax deductible as allowed by law.
Our doors are open when you needed them; pass along the gift of The Arc of Aurora's open doors by helping to make IT happen now!
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Policy Profile:
Looking Ahead at Colorado's 2017 Legislative Session
Contributed by Hanni Raley, Director of Systems Advocacy
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Colorado's elected Legislators will be back at the State Capitol on January 11, which marks the first general session of the 71st General Assembly. You read last month that the 2016 election saw Democrats
 maintain majority control of the House of Representatives and Republicans maintain majority control of the Senate. And maybe you remember that Colorado's 2016's legislative session was also one with this "split chamber." A split chamber offers an opportunity for both sides to reach across party lines in their work to ensure Coloradans are well represented.
It may not seem possible, but there is still plenty of work left to do before January, and while specific bills are likely in draft and discussion, they will not be posted publicly until the session starts. That said, we expect to see local legislation aimed at modifying or complementing:
- Medicaid management and payment, including provider rate reimbursement
- Affordable Care Act, Health Care and Exchanges
- Discipline Rules in Public Schools
- Balancing the Colorado Budget
- Long Term Services and Supports
- AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!
 Stay tuned to The Arc of Aurora's Policy Profile as we'll be following National and Local politics throughout 2017, with a keen eye on how to continue advancing and protecting the rights of people with developmental disabilities and their families.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to Hanni Raley at [email protected].
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Trending on Social Media
"We practice all 10, every day! Say you #DidIt4ArcAurora and donate to The Arc of Aurora for #CoGivesDay
here
!!! Thanks again
FirstBank and ColoradoGives.org for helping make this day a philanthropic reality!
"#Transportation is a critical need for a
ll
people with #disabilities," the authors wrote. "Although transportation for
services like supported employment and residential habilitation is very i
mportant, transportation for #community purposes is crucial for people with (intellectual and developmental) disabilities to have equal access to opportunities." Thanks for sharing, Disability Scoop! Find the article
here
.
"Even though most unemployed people with #disabilities receive some form of government assistan
ce, they have far lower incomes than their peers on average, and are at far higher risk of #poverty, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)." Read the article
here
.
"We're joining local #Colorado #Nonprofits and #FirstBank for #GivingTuesday and #CoGivesDay!!! Give where you live! Schedule your donation
here
.
____________________________
Don't miss anything by following The Arc of Aurora on
and
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Spotlight On: Those Who Give ...
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 ... without whose support our community footprint would not be as significant. The Arc of Aurora receives NO GOVERNMENT MONIES for its advocacy work. We are privately funded by a "private" that includes:
- generous friends
- Springfest and Summerfest hosts and basket donors
- gift card donors
- holiday gift donors
- employers that match their employees donations
- Colorado Gives Day donors
- arc Thrift Store shoppers and donors (arc Thrift Store proceeds are our primary funding source)
- Contributing Members
- Scholarship donors
 In recognition of their generous support, in many cases for folks they do not know but whom they know need, our hats are off to each of you who gives to The Arc of Aurora!
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Everything Else You Need To Know
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Webinars
Alzheimer's Disease (and related dementias) affects a significant number of adults with intellectual disabilities. How to provide sound and responsive community care is becoming a challenge for agencies faced with an increasing number of such affected adults. This free webinar on February 16, 2017, at 1 PM covers key elements of dementia and how it affects those with disabilities and examines ways that organizations can adapt their current services to make them dementia capable.
Click here to read more and to register.
Events/Activities
Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP) has set the dates for its winter and spring conferences in 2017. PEP
 designs its conferences for professionals and parents of children with disabilities, aged birth to 21. The winter conference is February 2 - 4, 2017 in Colorado Springs, and the spring conference is May 4 - 6 in Crested Butte.
Click here to read more and register.
PEAK Parent Center is holding its 2017 Conference on Inclusive Education on February 9 - 10 at the Stapleton Renaissance Hotel in Denver. This year's focus is "Strategies for Access, Equity, and Opportunity."
Click here to download the printable registration form, or
click here to register online with a credit card.
Other Information
Arapahoe and Douglas counties will audit the
 community agency that manages benefit money for people with disabilities, a response to a long-standing request from parents whose children receive services. The audit will focus on about $150 million in mil levy dollars that the two counties have raised for Developmental Pathways since voters approved the levy in 2001.
On November 22, Secretary of Education John B. King, Jr. sent a letter to governors and state education officials urging an end to the use of corporal punishment. "School-sponsored corporal punishment is not only ineffective, it is a harmful practice, and one that disproportionally impacts students of color and students with disabilities," King wrote. There are 22 states that either expressly permit in-school corporal punishment or where no state law prohibits it. According to the Department of Education's data, 110,000 students were subjected to some type of physical punishment in school during the 2013-2014 academic year.
The Supreme Court appeared skeptical of the way the state of Texas decides who must be spared the death penalty on account of intellectual disability, with
several justices indicating that the state's standards were either too strict or too arbitrary.
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a difficult condition for not only children who have it, but to their parents and guardians as well. FASDs require parenting strategies that can help children have their best chance both at home and at school.
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