Welcome to the Staff Communication page. Thank you for the work you do every day!
An Irish Goodbye - FILM + Q&A
11/6/23
Join us for a FREE screening of An Irish Goodbye.
Synopsis: In rural Northern Ireland, a pair of estranged brothers reunite following their mother's untimely death.
Bring your popcorn and family and watch with us this Academy Award winning short film; Featuring James Martin, an actor with Down syndrome. Following the film we will also show an equally short Q&A film to gain insight to the film, the story, and those behind it.
Thursday, December 7, 2023 | 6:30 PM
Seton Business Park | 6151 Metro Drive, Baltimore 21215
September Wellness Calendar & More
9/7/23
Human Resources, the Training Department and the DEI Committee have been working to streamline our wellness activities, opportunities for education, and awareness of dates of significance on our DEI calendar. We are committed to having a centralized location to share updates, planned activities, professional development, and celebrations throughout The Arc. Attached you will find September 2023’s calendar of events. Please take a moment to review the content and to print out copies to post within your locations for others to see.
DEI Highlights:
- September is Hispanic Heritage Month - Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month by celebrating the histories, cultures, and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. This year’s theme is “Latinos: Driving Prosperity, Power, and Progress in America.”
- September 15th – 17th: Rosh Hashanah 2023 begins on the evening of Friday, September 15th, and ends at sundown on Sunday, September 17, 2023. Rosh Hashanah is a religious and festive time when family and friends gather together for meals and worship. It’s a time for looking forward to a new year with anticipation and reflecting on the past year to improve ourselves for the next. This two-day Jewish celebration of the New Year literally translates to “head of the year” in Hebrew. It is observed on the first and second days of the Jewish month of Tishrei, the first month in the civil calendar.
- September 21st: Each year the International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on September 21st. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire. Never has our world needed peace more. This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for #GlobalGoals. It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.
- September 22nd: Native American Day is celebrated on the fourth Friday of September every year, falling on September 22nd this year, as a way of honoring those who have been a part of the American tradition even before the nation of the U.S.A. came into being.
- September 24th & 25th: Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, when the focus is on fasting, prayer, and seeking forgiveness. It is the peak of the High Holidays.
Wellness:
- September is also Prostate Cancer Awareness Month – This is a time to raise awareness about prostate cancer and generate support for those affected by the disease (see attached information). The Arc Baltimore encourages you to get regular checkups with your primary care physician, inclusive of a prostate exam when recommended by your doctor. For every person that completes a prostate exam this plan year (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024) and submits the attached Preventative Cancer Screening Form to Veronica Hall in Human Resources, you will be entered into a contest to win $50 to spend on Amazon. To bring awareness to our staff and our loved ones, we encourage everyone to wear BLUE on Tuesdays throughout the month of September.
Information Sessions:
- September 6th – Kaiser Permanente’s Wellness Program: Sign Up to earn $100 (pre-recorded video clip) https://view.knowledgevision.com/presentation/3cf65b3a464c4e708a10bb81d009ebc4
- September 20th – Mental Health Lunch & Learn with the Clinical/Foster Care team on the topic of Mood Disorders (pre-recorded video clip)
Arc Baltimore Events:
- September 14th – Job Fair at 7215 York Rd from 4pm to 7pm. Refer a friend and earn $500. How would you like to earn “Lunch on US”? The top 3 employees with the most referrals during Fall Hiring Event on September 14, 2023, from 4:00pm-7:00pm will receive “Lunch on US” and bragging rights until the next hiring event. There is no cap on the number of referrals. The referral bonus will be paid once the referral is hired and successfully passes their 90-day probationary period. Please refer to the attached referral program guidelines or email hrrecuitmentteam@thearcbaltimore.org.
- September 20th – Blood Drive at 7215 York Rd from 9am to 2pm. The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
The Arc Baltimore welcomes all walk-in candidates at our Dundalk and Northwest Baltimore locations. Our Dundalk location (1401 North Point Rd., 21222) will have interviews every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10 am – 12 pm. Our Homeland location (4800 York Rd., 21212) will have interviews every Wednesday from 10:30 am – 1 pm.
Applicants can apply for any open position throughout Baltimore County and City, and they must bring a resume and driver's license in order to apply and interview on the spot. All direct support professional positions now have a minimum hourly rate of $17.50. Plus, staff at The Arc receive a generous benefits package, including paid vacation, health insurance, life and disability insurance, a 403(b) savings plan, career advancement opportunities, tuition assistance, and professional training.
December Blood Drive
8/23/23
Register today for the September Blood Drive.
The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every 2 to 3 seconds and most of us will need blood in our lifetime.
Please join our lifesaving mission and schedule an appointment today! All donors are entitled to 4 hours of vacation time.
If you would like to volunteer, please contact Katie Paff.
Research Opportunity for DSPs
Get paid up to $75
The University of Maryland is currently recruiting participants for a study about challenges with communication between autistic and non-autistic people in the workplace and how communication could be improved through features added to video calling platforms.
Professionals who support autistic people on issues related to employment are invited to participate in an interview or focus group about their observations of workplace challenges for autistic people. Interviews and focus groups take place in a format that works best for you: either on Zoom, in person at the University of Maryland, through synchronous chat, or through a survey with long-form text responses. All interviews and focus groups will be recorded. Participation will take 1.5-2.5 hours in total, and you’ll be paid up to $75 via an online gift card (for a retailer of your choice) for your time.
Interested? Visit this webpage (https://go.umd.edu/fit-study) to learn more and complete the screening questionnaire.
Questions? Email fit@umd.edu or leave a message at 301-405-8561.
Upcoming Hiring Event
Tickets Are Now Available
Tickets are now available for the Annual Meeting & Awards Dinner. Please join us as we celebrate the many staff members, people with disabilities whom we support, and community partners who have given so much of themselves to The Arc's mission and deserve recognition.
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Padonia Park Club
12006 Jenifer Road | Cockeysville, MD 21030
Served dinner and drinks/bar - 6:30 PM
Annual Meeting & Awards Program - 7:30 PM
Tickets:
$25 per person - staff, retirees and supported people
$50 per person - all other guests
Award winners will be announced next week. If you have any questions, please contact Norma Johnson at 410-296-2270 x5210.
Award Nominations Are Now Open
It’s time to show our appreciation. Please plan to submit nominations to recognize some of the extraordinary people in The Arc Baltimore community. Categories for awards include employees, people we support, and community partners. Plan to share the awards information with your teams to consider who you can nominate.
The listing with past awardees is also attached for your reference.
The deadline for nominations is one month from today – March 3rd. Don’t pass up this opportunity. Awards will be presented at the Annual Meeting and Awards Program on May 3rd at the Padonia Park Club.
https://www.thearcbaltimore.org/events/annual-meeting/
Use the link above to submit your nomination online, or click the link below for the award descriptions that includes the nomination form. If you need assistance with your nomination, contact Katy McGuire at ext. 5217 or kmcguire@thearcbaltimore.org.
Award Descriptions & Form
Past Award Winners
Register Now For DD Day!
Greetings and Happy New Year:
Developmental Disabilities Day in Annapolis is on February 22nd this year and it’s back in person. For those of you new to The Arc, DD Day gives us an opportunity to advocate for our mission and those we support to our legislators in Annapolis. Self-advocates, staff, and family members attend a morning program with DD Coalition speakers as well as reps from DDA and hopefully the new Governor’s office, and then we have scheduled meetings by district with our elected officials in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Note that we do not schedule meetings outside of Baltimore City/County as those are handled by other agencies.
There may be a virtual program in the morning to hear from legislators that many could attend on zoom, but at this time we are focusing on readiness for in-person attendance as registration may be opening this week and SPACE IS LIMITED. This may force us to have a more limited number of meetings on the 22nd, and perhaps set up additional meetings for later during the legislative session for legislators we don’t see on the DD Day..
DD Day runs from approximately 8 a.m. at an Annapolis hotel; we then move to the Senate and House buildings for legislator meetings that conclude by 12-1. If you would like to attend and can commit to this timeframe, please RSVP to Norma Johnson by this Friday, January 6th. We will do our best to accommodate all staff who wish to participate in Annapolis on the 22nd, but please be flexible.
This is a fantastic opportunity to represent The Arc Baltimore and the policy needs of people with developmental disabilities.
Please reply to Norma Johnson as soon as possible. njohnson@thearcbaltimore.org.
Also, please look up your State Legislative District for your State Senator and State Delegate/s. Let Norma know the district number where you live. Look up by address at www.mdelect.net. Note that some district boundaries have changed, but the e-look won’t be updated til new officials are sworn in on January 11th.
