| Arc
of San Diego Recognizes Community Leaders
Dr.
Pola Rosen Gives Keynote Speech at awards ceremony
 Picture
a modern low-slung building surrounded by flowers and palms. As
you enter the cheerfully decorated interior, several remarkable
programs for developmentally disabled adults are taking place.
One group is learning to cook which includes shopping and choosing
the ingredients. In another large, well-lit room, a client is
rewriting the Landerman Act in braille, while others sit at computers
reading or playing games. This is only one of the many facilities
organized and operated by the Arc for the benefit of special people
in San Diego. Executive Director C.E. Skip Covell knows the $20
million organization well, having worked there for the past 25
years beginning with his volunteer days in college.
At this site, one of five in San Diego, there are 170 consumers
and 67 staff members providing services ranging from getting consumers
paying jobs in CalFed banks and the local marine base to working
on site packaging products used in industry (for example metal
parts for pool tables) at a $7 per hour wage, to learning activities
of daily living. Collaboration within the community is key. For
example, teachers from San Diego Community College teach computers
at the facility. Covell has garnered the Outstanding Director
Award for his accomplishments at the Arc.
 A
number of community leaders have been very supportive to the work
of the Arc. Jon Kurtin, a San Diego attorney and pillar of the
community, has generously supported the Arc over the years and
recently won the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Arc has a total of five centers in San Diego with a staff
of 850 providing a spectrum of services from birth to adult. In
addition to parent-infant development, day training, vocational
training and community employment services, the Arc also provides
respite services to families traveling to San Diego who need a
place to leave a developmentally disabled relative for several
hours, while taking brief recreational time for themselves. For
more information about the Arc of San Diego: www.arc-sd.com.#
Education
Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
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