News You Can Use
April-June 2023
News You Can Use is The Arc of Aurora's quarterly e-newsletter covering what’s new in public policy, events, resources, and happenings at The Arc of Aurora. To get daily updates on resources, disability policy information, and community happenings, find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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Spotlight On
The Arc of Aurora Board of Directors
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We want to express our deepest gratitude to our incredible Board of Directors! Their tireless dedication and commitment have helped us achieve new heights and make a positive impact on our community. Thank you for your vision, leadership, and unwavering support and for impacting the lives of children and adults with developmental disabilities! Your contributions have been invaluable! |
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Upcoming Events & Announcements |
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Sixth Annual Online Auction
Monday, May 1 - Sunday, May 7
Our annual fundraiser is almost here! Looking for a getaway, a family fun day, or maybe even a signed piece of merch from your favorite Colorado sports team?
Every year we host an online auction to help us raise funds to put towards our mission of helping children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live their highest quality lives. We provide individual, class, and systems change advocacy; training and education to change knowledge, attitude, and behavior; and so much more to improve the quality of life for people with IDD!
Will you help us raise funds for our mission?
Starting at 9:00 am on Monday, May 1st, let the bidding begin! In the meantime, you can also click the green Donate button in the top right corner of the Auction Homepage if you would like to make a cash donation.
We appreciate your help as we work towards our goal of raising $5,000 this year!
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Sunday Get Together Bowling
Every Sunday now through May 2023 Starting at 12:30 PM
May is the last month for the Sunday Get Together Bowling League. The season will pick back up in September 2023! Everyone of every ability is welcome to join and it's a great place to make new friends, meet other families in Aurora, and get active!
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Location: AMF Aurora Lanes, 16700 E. Mississippi Avenue, Aurora, CO 80017
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When: Every Sunday until May 2023
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Time: Bowling starts at 12:30 pm for practice. The games start at 1:00 pm
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Cost: $10 each week for three games and shoes. Discounted concession food is available for purchase as well.
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Safety: Supervision is not provided. Caregivers/families can attend to provide supervision to those that bowl if they cannot be left alone. Participants must be over 16 years old.
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Questions or want to sign up? Contact our volunteer, Dottie, for more information and to get set up as a participant: 303-337-5540 or at dottiek2@juno.com.
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Healthy Understanding of our Bodies
Check out this ongoing resource from
The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham
HUB (Healthy Understanding of our Bodies) is a collection of information, books, videos, teaching materials, and websites about sexual health. There are resources for a variety of sexual health topics like consent, body autonomy, healthy relationships, human reproduction, and more. This was funded by a grant from Sex Ed VA, a department of JMU's IIHHS. Although many of the resources are in Virginia, the information is available to anyone who has access to the Internet.
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Hang out with us on our social sites everyday! |
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THINK+change
Training and education
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The Arc of Aurora's social enterprise, THINK+change produces, creates, and publishes original, one-of-a-kind, accessible, convenient, and contemporary education products intended to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Check out our newest offerings below!
TOOLS:
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Check out the THINK+change products coming your way in 2023:
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Have any questions about THINK+change? Contact the THINK+change and Programs Director, Erica Dennison at Edennison@thearcofaurora.org or at 720-213-1420 ex. 107.
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Policy Profile
Don't Lose Medicaid Coverage!
-Submitted by Hanni Raley, Executive Director-
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Medicaid renewals are underway as the Public Health Emergency (PHE) is expected to end on May 11th! In our last Policy Profile, we told you we would be back with more helpful tips to ensure you remain covered and have access to all of the services and supports you need!
In January 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared a Public Health Emergency (PHE) in response to COVID-19. Congress then passed legislation that guaranteed anyone enrolled in Health First Colorado (Colorado’s Medicaid program) or Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) could keep their health coverage during the PHE. Even though Health First Colorado and CHP+ members would not lose coverage during the PHE, they still received regular renewal notices each year in the mail or in their PEAK inbox.
While you may not have had to worry about renewals since 2020, they are about to become critically important when the PHE ends!
Redeterminations have begun and will continue throughout the next 14 months. Make sure you do not lose coverage and prepare for your redetermination by confirming or updating your contact information so you receive your renewal letter and then your redetermination paperwork! You can find out your renewal dates and access more information at hfcgo.com/renewals and learn more about the PHE end date at https://hcpf.colorado.gov/covid-19-phe-planning.
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2022 Annual Report
At a Glance
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We were certainly busy last year and wanted to share with you everything the organization accomplished in 2022! With your help, we were able to advocate for so many folks with IDD and their families, produced a ton of educational materials, and got out into the community to help change knowledge, attitude, and behavior to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities!
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Update for Donors
End of Amazon Smile Donation Program
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The option to support a chosen charity through your Amazon purchases ended in February.
Thank you so much to all those that had the Arc of Aurora selected as their charity and donated to support our work! If you would like to continue your donations directly, please head to our Colorado Gives page, to continue supporting our work helping those with IDD and their families! You can set up a one-time or recurring donation.
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Community Mention Corner
Hunger Free Colorado
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Meet GlendaRika Garcia from Hunger Free Colorado, an organization that helps people across Colorado access food assistance resources. The mission of Hunger Free Colorado is to connect people to food resources to meet existing needs and drive policy, systems and social change to end hunger. Learn more by watching this month's Community Mention Video and visiting their website at https://hungerfreecolorado.org/. Contact their food resource hotline at 855-855-4626.
Click the video thumbnail or links below to watch:
English version
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Fast Fact of the Month
Employment Inclusion
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Every year, BraunAbility puts out the “Drive for Inclusion” report on the state of inclusion for individuals with disabilities and mobility challenges. This year, they focused on disability employment amidst the hiring shortage. BraunAbility’s survey found that, despite the need for reliable employees, people with disability employment is down.
However, the survey also found that people with disabilities are 15% more likely to work for a sense of accomplishment, 1.5 times more likely to work for added social interaction, and 63% said that they would work even if they did not need the income.
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You can donate to The Arc of Aurora anytime by clicking here! We appreciate your donation to help support individuals with IDDs.
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Thanks to our fans, we won a Top-Rated Award three years in a row! Read stories about us and add your own here!
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There is a community resource list on our website if you need help, to locate testing, vaccine info, and more.
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Have questions about anything in this newsletter? Contact Krystal Dawson.
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