June 18, 2020 | Issue #46
Advocacy For Today And Tomorrow
On yesterday’s episode of The Today Show , America got another opportunity to learn about what our constituents – youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities – are facing during the COVID-19 crisis.

Craig Melvin of The Today Show interviewed two families and Tibi Guzman, CEO of The Arc Westchester, and visited a group home. Craig got the story idea from a colleague at MSNBC, who was forced to take a leave of absence because he couldn’t care for his adult daughter with Down syndrome while continuing his remote work schedule. Continue reading.
Take Stock of The Arc’s Mission
Giving shares of appreciated stock or mutual funds can be a great way to support The Arc of Massachusetts. In addition to making our mission possible, you may realize tax benefits, including not paying tax on the appreciation of the stock.

For example, if you purchased stock for $20 per share and it is now trading at $50 per share, you can donate the stock and avoid paying taxes on the $30 in increased value. Good news even if you don’t itemize your deductions. However, if you are able to itemize your deductions under the new tax laws, you can take a charitable deduction for the fair market value of the stock, which in this case is $50 per share.

There are important details to know, such as you need to have owned the stock for at least one year, so you should consult a tax advisor or your accountant for advice related to your personal circumstances. And please do let us know that you are transferring securities so that we credit you properly and issue a receipt for tax purposes.

For more information, please contact Katrin Aback, Director of Development at aback@arcmass.org .
Intersectionality
On Monday, June 15, Henry and Evelyne Milorin joined Leo Sarkissian for a discussion of the intersection of race and disability. Watch the replay of this webinar now.
On Thursday, June 18, Nanfi Lubogo joined Maura Sullivan and Ellen Taverna to discuss Black Lives Matter, intersectionality, and cultural competence. Watch the replay now.
COVID-19 Updates
Trainings and Resources on Trauma-Informed Care
This past week, we held a two-part training on trauma informed care with Dr. Carmela DeCandia of Artemis Associates.  We will hold some additional training this summer on the topics of trauma, so stay tuned for updates.

In his weekly COVID-19 update, Leo Sarkissian discusses why we are not out of the woods yet when it comes to our constituents and the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) released a new visitation policy for families of individuals living in DDS funded homes, which went into effect June 10.
On June 11, we were grateful to welcome DDS Commissioner Jane Ryder for an exclusive webinar. If you weren’t able to attend the session live, this is now available to watch on demand.
The pandemic has reminded all of us of the need to have our business in order! This webinar will go through the steps involved in developing a future plan. Learn more and register here.
2020 Census
On June 22 from 4:00-5:00PM, The Arc’s census team will be conducting outreach text banking to target the disability community and allies. We’re looking for volunteers to help send out texts.  We’ll start with a brief training and then work together to send out the targeted texts about the 2020 Census.

Sponsor Spotlight

The work of The Arc of Massachusetts is made possible by generous donations from people like you, friend. None of our advocacy, education, and outreach would be possible without your continued support. Please consider giving today.