About The Arc of Bismarck
The Arc of Bismarck is a private non-profit advocacy organization which was formed in 1957 and incorporated in 1960. Originally, founded by a small group of parents and stakeholders, The Arc has offered a variety of services and supports over the years always morphing to meet the current needs of individuals with disabilities and their families. The Arc of Bismarck values and works to improve community support and services, influence public policy at all levels, provide education and training for advocates, self-advocates and parents and to achieve full inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Through these efforts, the organization seeks to advance the quality of life for individuals with disabilities and their families while instilling empowerment and teaching skills for
advocacy.
The Arc of Bismarck's mission statement is "To provide education, advocacy and supports to children and adults with disabilities to foster empowerment and full inclusion in the community". The Arc of Bismarck performs these activities in efforts to create a united community where everyone belongs.
The Arc of Bismarck is a local chapter which belongs to both The Arc of North Dakota and The Arc of the United States. As part of this cohesive network across the country The Arc has seen many accomplishments on both a
local and national level. One of the most important large scale accomplishments was introducing the term "intellectual disability" to replace the use of the derogatory classification "mental retardation". Closely related to this accomplishment is The Arc's promotion of widespread usage of people first language. Another vital effort led by The Arc is the closure of institutions and turn towards community and home based services for individuals with disabilities. Today The Arc is still actively involved with the downsizing of persons in institutional settings. Locally, The Arc of Bismarck assisted in the closure of the state institution in the early eighties.
Additional accomplishments seen by The Arc of Bismarck over the last year include: providing over eight Community Education seminars focused on disability-related issues which were attended by 189 people, with additional outreach of 60 individuals through material disbursement and a potential outreach of 34,000 households in the Bismarck area through cable access television broadcast; providing legislative advocacy training to 118 self-advocates; self-advocacy training for 19 people with disabilities or parents of children with disabilities; and extensive disability awareness through special events, presentations, publications and seminars which reached over 600 people in North Dakota communities.
Structure & Function
The Arc of Bismarck is a hierarchical, member run organization. As a small non-profit organization The Arc has two sects which work in concert to contribute to The Arc and fulfill its mission. First, The Arc owns and operates a Thrift Store which provides monetary support for programs. Additionally, individuals with disabilities are employed at the store. Second, The Arc has a focus on community based programs for people with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. All activities are additionally supported through fundraising efforts. Together these two very different funding streams contribute to positive changes for individuals with disabilities in the areas of supports, services and advocacy.
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