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What is Self-Advocacy?

What is Self-Advocacy?

Honoring the principles of self-determination, The Arc encourages life-long advocacy by instilling a strong sense of value and teaching the importance of personal choice beginning in childhood.  Children should grow up with an understanding of their disability, their individual strengths, and pride in who they are and what they can contribute to their communities.

As children grow, they should be involved in making choices ranging from what they do in their free time as well as designing their educational pathways by actively participating in their Individual Education Program (IEP) process.  Emboldening students with disabilities with a strong voice and a supportive team of people who listen to them are early steps towards self-advocacy.  Trusting they will be heard, and understanding they can ask for assistance when needed, sets students on a successful trajectory into the real world.

Entering adulthood equipped with skills to make informed choices and take risks enhances quality of life and promotes safety as young adults with disabilities pursue their dreams.  Life's journey is a balancing act of slowly separating them from caregivers as people mature.  Individuals with disabilities should experience these opportunities with dignity.

Kevin Cook leads the Frederick County Self-Advocacy Group with support from The Arc.  The group meets monthly for trainings on rights, personal growth, and to build reciprocating relationships within the community.  "Self-advocacy means advocating for my rights and helping others to speak out for their rights.  I would like to see my group grow and have members take ownership of the group, so we can continue to learn and grow together," Kevin explains as he outlines plans for this year.

Legislative advocacy, in partnership with self-advocates from across the state, is an important focus of the group's work.  Members follow policy throughout the year so meaningful work can be accomplished during the session when meeting with elected officials to strategize and educate them on how legislative decisions impact people's day-to-day lives.

The Arc is a lifelong partner to individuals and families to help build safety nets to support independence.  Believing that people should have authority over all life choices, The Arc assists people individually and values the strength of the collective voice.  People with disabilities should be supported to work together to protect individual rights, preserve existing resources, and support systematic progress.

To learn more about self-advocacy, call The Arc at (301) 663-0909.

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Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY General Statement Thank you for visiting The Arc of Frederick County’s website. Your privacy is very important to us. The information we collect about you (member) when you become a member, donor, or constituent, is used to process your membership, donation, or request for information and referral, and to provide you member benefits. This privacy statement applies to The Arc of Frederick County’s website only. Links to other websites and to services hosted by other companies can be accessed from our site. Please be advised that the privacy policy on these other sites may differ from our own privacy policy. Information Collection We do not collect personal information automatically on people who browse our website. We log your IP address, your browser type, and your access times. We utilize this information to conduct site performance evaluations, to see where visitors are coming from, and to keep track of page “hits”. This data helps us determine what content our members find most appealing so that we can maximize your usage of this site. This is recorded for internal website management only. When you become a member of The Arc, we ask you to fill out a form that requests (or we otherwise seek to collect) your name, address and email address, and telephone. Some of our services do require personal information from the user. If you contact The Arc of Frederick County with a request or question, we may ask for your name, address, email address, and phone number to provide you with the requested information or response. This information is supplied by the user, with the user’s consent and awareness, for purposes that are clearly described to the user at the time the information is requested. Use of Information Your name and address information is used solely to process your membership, donation, or request for information and referral. As noted in our Donations Policy, The Arc of Frederick County does not share our donor lists with outside organizations, with the exception of The Arc of the United States and The Arc of Maryland. Donors may request that their names not be shared with these two organizations. To do so, please send your contact information to info@arcfc.org or by telephone 301-663-0909 x133. Communication From time to time, we may send out email messages or postal mail soliciting your support, prompting a call to action, or alerting you of what’s new at The Arc of Frederick County. In addition, you may receive communications from us if you have contacted us for a particular reason, and/or to receive the information or service you have requested. All email communications from us will contain instructions for unsubscribing from future emails. Copyright Information All materials published on this website are protected by copyright. Materials that are copyrighted (including text, brochures, and photographs) may not be reproduced, retransmitted, or distributed without the written consent of the Executive Director of The Arc of Frederick County. If permission is granted to reproduce materials from this site, we ask that credit be given to The Arc of Frederick County. If you would like permission to reproduce an item from this website, please contact info@arcfc.org. Please specify the URL and article or feature that you would like permission to reproduce. Note: website visitors may print our Fact Sheets and other brochures for personal use. File Security All employees of The Arc of Frederick County take your personal information very seriously. All employees must learn and obey our security policies. Access to members’ personal information is limited to key management personnel and our member and donor services departments. The information is ID and password protected. Your Consent By becoming a member, donor, or constituent of The Arc of Frederick County, and/or by using our website, you consent to the collection and use of the information you provide to us as described above. If we make any material changes in our privacy practices in how we use your personally identifiable information, we will post a prominent notice in our bimonthly newsletter, The Link, and on our website prior to implementation of the change. Contact Us If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, would like to review your personal information, or feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, please contact us at info@arcfc.org or 301-663-0909 x116.
Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions

In the course of its regular fundraising activities, The Arc of Frederick County will accept donations of the following: money, securities, real property, and personal property. The Arc of Frederick County may elect to refuse gifts of cash, securities, real estate, or other items of value if there is reason to believe that such gifts are incompatible with the mission of the organization, conflict with its core values, or would create a financial, administrative, or programmatic burden. The Executive Director will refer questionable gifts to the Board of Directors for guidance on a case-by-case basis. Arc staff are encouraged to bring to the attention of the Executive Director any concerns they may have about the appropriateness of accepting any gift. The Arc of Frederick County may elect to refuse gifts of any type if the potential gift poses a conflict of interest -- including but not limited to real conflicts of interest, appearances of conflicts of interest, or perceived conflicts of interest. When donations are accepted with restrictions, those conditions will be honored. If The Arc of Frederick County cannot meet those conditions, staff will ask the Board of Directors for guidance about returning the donation or requesting modifications in the donor's conditions. Requests by donors to remain anonymous, have their names removed from mailing lists, or to restrict appeals will be honored. Information about donors that should be private will not be made public. Donors will not be subject to excessive pressure when solicited for contributions. The Arc of Frederick County does not share our donor lists with outside organizations, with the exception of The Arc of the United States and The Arc of Maryland. Donors may request that their names not be shared with these two organizations. The Arc of Frederick County does not hire outside fundraisers or pay fundraisers on a percentage basis. Volunteers who solicit contributions for The Arc of Frederick County will be monitored by the Board of Directors.

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