Basic Rights Workshop

Support and Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP) is hosting a basic rights workshop on August 11th at the Faith and Education Resource Center in Bartlett. See flyer below for more details.

Local agency ADA celebration next Friday, July 24th

Come out to the Hall of Mayors in the Memphis City Hall next Friday, July 24th from 10:00am - Noon as we celebrate the 19th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act! Our theme this year is "19 Years, Still Working Towards Equality". In addition to The Arc of the Mid-South, the event is being sponsored by the Memphis Center for Independent Living (MCIL), Mid-South Paralyzed Veterans Association, and United Cerebral Palsy(UCP) of the Mid-South. We'll have free lunch for all the attendees as well as Memphis and Shelby County ADA Report Cards, Music, and more. We have several speakers on tap for the event including Gary Vanasek from the Department of Justice, Dora Ivey from the Aging and Disability Commission, Marianne Finley from the Disability Law & Advocacy Center (DLAC) of Tennessee, Suzanne Colsey from People First of Tennessee, Florence Hall from the Disability Advocate Center, as well as representatives from each agency. Best of all, we're indoors this year! It should be a great time and celebration of 19 years of the ADA. We hope to see you there. For more information about the event, please contact Randy Alexander at MCIL at (901) 726-6404 or by email.

It was good to see everyone at AutoZone Park!

A sincere thank you to every one who bought tickets to the Redbirds game last Friday night. We had a great turn out (more than 100 tickets sold) and received additional donations from many of you as well. It was great to talk to many of you at our table in the courtyard before the game and answer some questions about the work we do.

Don't forget that we've begun collecting sponsorships and auction items for our 14th Annual Arc Benefit Gala coming up at the end of September. If you'd like to contribute, please contact Eugenia Murphy at (901) 327-2473 x503 or email her here.

Thanks again for your support!

Community Partner Night is next week!

Our Community Partner Night with the Memphis Redbirds is almost here! It's next Friday - July 10th - at 7:05pm when the Redbirds host the Albuquerque Isotopes at beautiful AutoZone Park.

We've sold more than 100 tickets so far and would love to see even more of our loyal supporters there! We've got a limited number of discounted tickets still available, but time's running out. For $10, you can get a Field Box Seat (normally $13) and help support the missions and visions of The Arc of the Mid-South.We'll be in the courtyard before the game passing out information and The Arc of the Mid-South will be featured at times throughout the game on the scoreboard.

It'll be a great evening of fun, baseball, and raising funds and awareness for people in the Mid-South with disabilities. We've got additional information about the event on our website. To purchase your discounted tickets, please call Jenny Buchanan at (901) 327-2473 x406 or send her an email at jbuchanan@arcmidsouth.net.

Great Article from the Commercial Appeal

There was a great article in yesterday's Commercial Appeal about the challenges high school students with disabilities face when they graduate and how new federal laws and increased awareness are helping make that transition easier.

The story focuses on Daniel Fendley, a high school graduate with Asperger's Syndrome headed to Southwest Tennessee Community College. It delves into challenges that he and other incoming freshmen with disabilities face and some of the steps that can be taken to ease the transition into higher learning.

It's definitely worth a read.