ARC 2026 Spring Fling Dance – Sun. May 3, 1 – 4 pm at the Castleton American Legion Transportation available. RSVP by Tues. Apr. 28 to 802-775-1370
ARC Members Attend Project Vision Meetings
Stephanie and April accompanied Tia to the Project Vision meeting on April 7th. It was Stephanie’s first time at Project Vision and she did a great job introducing herself to the audience. After the meeting they were able to speak with Rutland City’s new Mayor Tom Donahue and new Chief of Police, Matthew Prouty.
If you are an ARC member and would like to accompany Tia to a Project Vision meeting, please call the office. Meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month at Noon.
ARC Spring 2026 Life Skill Courses
The ARC Life Skills courses Budgeting Part 2 and Feeling Through Art wrapped up in the first week of April. Congratulations to our recent graduates! What a great time we had during these life skill courses.
Budgeting Part 2: Left front: Tiffany B., Patty C., Ellie A. – Back row left to right: Jennifer McNeil, Instructor; April G., Terrell O. and Lester C.
Feeling Through Art: Front, left to right: Annaliese B., April G., and Patty C. – Back row left to right: Tia Poalino, Instructor and Lester C.
Our next two Life Skill Courses, Reading for Joy and Eating Well for Myself, began on Apr. 8 and 9th respectively.
Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month March 2026
March 11, 2026 was Disability Advocacy Day at the Vermont State House. Our members Patty Czarnecki, April Gilman and Caroline Gillen represented ARC Rutland Area in the Card room at the State House. This group engaged with their representatives – William Canfield, Christopher Howland, Mary Howard, Jim Harrison, Chris Keyser, David Bosch, and Patricia McCoy. We want to thank each one of them for taking the time to look at our table and discuss important topics like transportation!
On Tuesday, March 24 ARC’s Self Advocates Becoming Empowered – Rutland (SABE-R) group presented their Disability Advocacy presentation to the Fair Haven Police Department at the Fair Haven Municipal Building. In attendance were members of the Fair Haven Police Department, Pawlet Constable, community members, and other representatives of local emergency response teams.
ARC SABE-R members Patty Czarnecki, April Gilman and Stephanie Lovelette provided excellent presentations. In addition, we enjoyed an engaging, open, and vibrant discussion about developmentally disabled adults transitioning from high school into adults as community members. The discussion included perceptions and relationships with local law enforcement officials.
Hannaford Community Bags
ARC Rutland Area was honored to have been selected as a Hannaford Community Bag Program Nonprofit Partner for the month of March 2026! ARC received $333 – $1 for each $2.50 reusable Community Bag sold during the month of March at the Rutland VT store. Thank you to Hannaford and to all who purchased reusable Hannaford Community Bags in March in support of ARC. Every donation helps and is greatly appreciated.
ARC 2026 Valentine’s Dance
ARC’s 2026 Valentine’s Dance was held on Sunday, February 8th at the Rutland Elks Lodge #345. The Elks provided a meal of hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, and chips. Cake and dancing followed. Thank you to the Elks for their generous support. Thank you to all the volunteers who assisted at the dance and to all who braved the frigid cold weather to attend.
Lawson’s Finest Liquids Sunshine Fund Award to ARC
ARC was honored to have been chosen to be the partner “On Tap” Sunshine Fund award recipient at Lawson’s Finest Liquids Taproom during December 1 – 15, 2025. During that time, 100% of the donations received from Taproom guests were allocated to ARC Rutland Area.
In January, the staff of Lawson’s Finest, presented ARC with a check for $8,323.83! We are beyond grateful for this incredible support. A huge thank you to #lawsonsfinestliquids and to everyone who donated at their Taproom.
ARC Rutland Area 2025 – Year in Review
ARC 2025 Annual Membership Meeting & Holiday Dinner Dance
We had a wonderful time at our 2025 ARC Annual Membership Meeting and Holiday Dinner Dance on Sunday, December 14th at the Rutland Elks Lodge #345.
At the meeting, Exec. Dir. Diane Drake reported on ARC’s 2025 happenings and financials. Highlighting the hiring of a program director and the five new life skills courses offered this year. The membership approved the 2026 slate of board officers: Melissa Stevens as President, Tim Wing as Treasurer, and Jennifer McNeil as Secretary; and John Wing and Loren Roth as board members.
Jordan Jankus, Melissa Stevens, Jess Corey, Stephanie Lovelette, Terry Stevens, Bobby Poquette, Stacy Shields, Aaron Lethbridge, and Jeanne Bradley all received certificates of appreciation for their volunteer work at ARC this year. Special Valued Partner Certificates were awarded to the Rutland Elks Lodge #345 and The Bus.
Following the meeting, we enjoyed a delicious pasta meal courtesy of the Rutland Elks Lodge #345. After the meal and dessert of cake, Santa and his reindeer passed out gifts to ARC members. Then the dance floor was opened up.
ARC Board and staff extend our sincere appreciation to: Rutland Elks Lodge #345 for hosting this event and providing the meal; and to those who helped out at the dance: Jennifer McNeil, Jess Corey, Stephanie Lovelette, the Chamberlands, Patty Czarnecki, Wyonna Powell, Annaliese Bieg, James Fowler, and the Elks member volunteers. And thank you also to those who shared their photos from the dance with us: Jen McNeil, Nellie Beliakova, Jennifer Brown Strangeway, and the Chamberlands.
ARC AKtion Club and SABE-R Group Give Back to the Community
ARC’s AKtion Club and Self Advocacy group were pleased to give back to the community by donating $250.00 to the Rutland Boys and Girls Club and $250.00 to the Rutland Humane Society in December. The groups worked hard to raise this money through various fundraisers throughout the year – a car wash, an art show and sale, and making suncatchers and snowflake wreaths to sell.
2025 GMSA Mini Conference Know Your Rights! Speak Up!
Some ARC members attended the GMSA Mini Conference: Know Your Rights! Speak Up! in Manchester, VT on Tuesday, Nov. 18th. The conference reviewed 12 rights of those living in a home-share or in housing run by an agency. All enjoyed the conference.
ARC 2025 Halloween Dance
We had a wonderful time with many in great costumes at our ARC 2025 Halloween Dance on Sunday, Oct. 26th at the Rutland American Legion. Our members enjoyed Domino’s Pizza and cake for lunch followed by dancing and socializing with friends. The winners of our costume contest were: David Garvey as Shrek for most original costume; Greg Elnicki for funniest costume in a technicolored suit; and Amanda Shea for scariest costume as a dead senorita. Our deepest appreciation to the Rutland American Legion for providing the venue and to Domino’s Pizza for providing the pizzas. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped with set-up and who picked up the pizzas and cakes.
ARC in the 2025 Rutland City Halloween Parade
ARC members, with their Magical Forest float, were excited to participate in the 2025 Rutland City Halloween Parade on Sat. Oct. 25th. A huge thank you to Nellie and Dmitri Beliakov for the photos.
ARC 2025 Barn Picnic
We had a beautiful day for our 2025 ARC Barn Picnic on Sunday, Oct. 5 at the Duffy family home in Poultney. ARC members enjoyed a lunch of hot dogs, baked beans, macaroni salad, and a variety of chips followed by cupcakes for dessert. Members had fun socializing, viewing the animals, and participating in the Limbo Contest. Congratulations to James Fowler on winning the Limbo Contest!
ARC extends our sincere appreciation to the Duffy family for hosting and sponsoring this annual event along with the Poultney Rotary Club and McKenzie Country Classics. Thank you to ARC staff for their work on this and to TeeJay Morrigan for volunteering at this event. Photos by Ginger Morrigan.
ARC’s Artists First: Art By Any Other Name art show at the VTSU Castleton Bank Gallery
ARC Self-Advocates, AKtion Club, and the VTSU Castleton University Bank Gallery were proud to present “Art by Any Other Name,” a group exhibition of art created by ARC “Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered – Rutland and AKtion Club”. The exhibition ran from Sept. 18 – Nov. 1, 2025. The show was well received with several of their pieces being purchased.
This new Inclusion project, made possible by a Stewarts’ Grant, offered both groups the opportunity to create and share their artwork with the community. ARC extends our sincere gratitude to our member artists, Stewarts’, the VTSU Castleton Bank Gallery, Ginger Morrigan who facilitated this opportunity for our members, and to TeeJay Morrigan who built a ramp to make the art gallery accessible to all.
For a complete list of our meetings, events, and activities, please see our Calendar page.