When The Arc was founded in 1953 as The Association for Retarded Children, children born with Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities had shortened life expectancies and their parents were able to provide a lifetime of care for them. With today’s medical advances, people with special needs are now living full lives, often outliving their parents. They are also highly prone to debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, seizure disorders, dementia, obesity, and strokes. The result is a burden for which we as a community are currently unprepared – providing care, financial and legal planning and other essential services for aging disabled persons, many of whom have limited family support or resources.
Through The Legacy of Hope, The Arc will address the life-long reality of families in the Wichita area with special-needs children. There is no cure for mental retardation, and the demands on special-needs families are never-ending. Mental retardation affects not only the person with the disability; it also impacts the lives of parents, brothers, sisters and other caregivers. The Legacy of Hope will encourage the creation of visionary programs with far-reaching impacts and provide an ongoing source of discretionary funds to respond quickly to the ever-changing and critical needs of our families, as well as programs to help us achieve our goals of integration, acceptance, self-advocacy, and efficient provision of services.
Fifty years ago, the Association for Retarded Children could not have imagined the issues we encounter today. Fifty years from now, we will face problems we cannot foresee in 2006. The Legacy of Hope Endowment will provide The Arc with financial resources to prepare ourselves to deal with those challenges. The Legacy of Hope is a gift today’s families will pass on to the families of tomorrow.
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