The
Arc of Buffalo County will host their 48th annual Arc Honey Sunday fundraising
drive in Kearney on Sunday, November 4. Honey Sunday is an annual fund-raiser and awareness event for The Arcs
all over Nebraska, including The Arc of Buffalo County.
The Arc will be sending Honey
Sunday volunteers door to door in Kearney area neighborhoods on Sunday,
November 4, to ask for $5.00 donations for 12 ounce honey bears. If you miss an opportunity to support The Arc
on Nov. 4th, then please visit our Honey Sunday booths at Wal-Mart
the following weekends in November.
Additionally, surrounding towns also participate in Honey Sunday on the
remaining Sundays in November.
The Arc of Buffalo County's mission is to enrich the lives of
individuals with developmental disabilities and their families through support,
programs and advocacy. The program's main
support, besides the funding from the United Way of the Kearney Area, comes
from funds raised in the annual Honey Sunday Drive.
Their programs serve about 250 individuals with developmental disabilities of all
ages and their families and include:
- Monthly individualized recreation outings for
adults with developmental disabilities;
- Group socials and holiday celebrations open
to all people with disabilities and their
families and staff;
- People First of Kearney monthly meetings/activities
(promoting adult self-advocacy skills);
- Buddy Bowling- an 8-week bowling league
matching a person with a disability with a UNK student;
- Saturday Craft Class - offered twice monthly,
year around;
- Youth and teen programs that offer respite
for parents and opportunities for youth to join in on age appropriate activities in the community;
- Sibshops for siblings of youth with
disabilities;
- Free respite at KidZone Kearney Area
Children's Museum for children with disabilities and their siblings, first Thursday of every month, 6-8 p.m.;
- Self Advocacy training, including use of a
monthly visual community inclusive opportunities calendar;
- Parent trainings about disability issues; and
- Communication through our newsletter, website,
e-mail, phone and personal advocacy to help individuals
and groups. The Arc also provides disability information to schools and
community groups.
Board
Members from The Arc of Buffalo County are also using the Honey Sunday
fundraiser to promote their new ongoing locking shoe laces fundraiser to
directly benefit our local Arc chapter.
Locking shoe laces are laces that require no tying! They have a lock that keeps the laces secure without
tying.
The elastic laces make shoes very
comfortable to wear, as users can simply slip on their shoe with the locking
shoe laces. The Arc selected this
fundraiser to provide a helpful tool for the individuals we serve who have
developmental disabilities and might struggle with tying typical laces. Many people with disabilities avoid
purchasing shoes that tie, and their options (such as Velcro shoes) limit their
choices.
The laces come in a variety of fun colors,
and only cost $5 per pair. Laces will be
available for purchase when we host Wal-Mart honey booths, or folks can call
The Arc office anytime to order a pair. Funding
from the locking laces will make it possible for our local chapter to meet the
funding demands that our growing agency is facing, while benefiting many of
the folks we proudly serve.
The Arc is looking for
additional volunteers for Kearney and the surrounding towns, so please call the
Arc of Buffalo County at 308-237-4343 for more information. Community organizations such as church youth
groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, and others are invited to volunteer to help make
Honey Sunday a success.
