A Friends of The Arc update for you, friend!

Dear Esther,

I am sending you good thoughts for the New Year in hopes we will soon see the end of these worrying waves of COVID-19. If you or a family member has come down with COVID over the past few months, I send you sincere wishes for healing and full recovery.

I know it wasn't the start of the new year we hoped for, but we remain grateful for your support and flexibility. Our campus is closed, but our work continues, and we promise an exciting start to the year with our upcoming events.

I hope you enjoy these updates, and let's continue to stay safe.

Sincerely,

Kristen Pedersen

Executive Director

Campus Closure Update

As we continue to monitor the impact of Omicron, we will be extending our campus closure into February. At this point, we do not have a firm return date, but it will not be prior to mid-February.

We will communicate with all impacted staff and participants when we are ready to reopen our campuses, and a reopening date will be communicated at least one business week before our return.

We are making these changes out of an abundance of caution and following the most conservative guidelines and best practices within the field.

Please review our updated COVID-19 Exposure and Symptom Protocols (rules) for Participants linked here.

A Holiday To Remember

Thank you again for making our #GivingTuesday 2021 gift card drive a complete success!

Because of you we exceeded our goal of $16k and raised $20k to purchase Visa gift cards for over 180 participants in need this past holiday.

Each year The Arc San Francisco runs a drive to collect funds to purchase gift cards to give to participants in need. This is an opportunity to empower participants to choose their own holiday gifts.

Your passion and support of the arc SFs programs and services is appreciated year-round, but our annual gift card drive is our way of letting the participants know how much you care.

This smile is all thanks to you!

Susan N. poses with the gift card that she used to treat herself to a nice meal this holiday.

Click here to see more Arc participants and the smiles you made happen!

The Arc SF is looking for volunteers for our Peer Mentoring program!

Beginning in late February/early March, The Arc SF will be launching a Peer Mentoring Project.

This project aims to pair volunteer mentors with Arc participants representing diverse communities to empower them to live a fully realized and integrated community life.

If you apply and match with an Arc participant, the following steps would be to attend an online orientation and training. Once training is complete, there will be a Zoom “Meet and Greet” with you, your matched mentee, and our Volunteer Manager, Barbara Streett.

A detailed curriculum will be provided with talking points to cover with your mentee during your sessions. Each session will last one hour (plus prep time), and we are asking that you commit to meeting weekly over 10 weeks.

If interested, please email Barbara Streett at bstreett@thearcsf.org. We will have a Q&A for those wanting more information on the program later this month over Zoom.

Save the Dates and Join Us!

Speaker Series Valentine_s Edition Socials _1_.png

The Arc SF Speaker Series: Valentine Edition, Love, Intimacy, and Dating with a Disability

Join us! Thursday, February 10th at 6pm via Zoom for the first in our 2022 Speaker Series.

We will host a speakers panel of experts who will answer questions about how they navigate relationships, dating, and friendship.

The event is free! Click here to join on February 10th!

The Arc Annual Breakfast 2022

Join us virtually the morning of Thursday, March 10th, for The 20th Arc Annual Breakfast!

This year's theme, "Circles of Support," refers to the network of people who support and partner with a person with a disability to contribute positively to the person's life.

Click here to learn more and RSVP today! We will share the login details the week of the event.

The Arc SF Annual Report

We are excited to share our FY2020/2021 Annual Report, celebrating the incredible impact we have when we work together to live our mission.

Thank you to everyone–our board, staff, participants, families and friends, employers, and donor partners, all of whom share in the success of navigating–and thriving–in this extraordinary year, (July 1, 2020-June30, 2021).

Click here to view it now!

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The Arc San Francisco I San Francisco I Marin County I San Mateo County

Main Campus: 1500 Howard St. SF, CA 94103 | 415.255.7200 | www.thearcsf.org

OUR MISSION To transform the lives of adults with developmental disabilities by advancing lifelong learning, personal achievement and independence.