The staff and clients at The ARC of Tri-Cities had a very Merry Christmas season indeed.
Three large local companies made sizeable cash and in-kind donations that add up to $600,000 to support its new headquarters, which are under construction at the Spaulding Business Park.
Mission Support Alliance, a company comprised of Lockheed Martin, Jacobs Engineering and WSU Company, contributed $250,000 in cash for a new computer lab and MSA subcontractor Lockheed Martin Information Technology matched the contribution with in-kind services for wiring, labor and equipment for the new lab.
“(The Mission Support Alliance) hopes that our sponsorship of the computer lab will enable The Arc to provide an environment where The Arc’s clients can gain valuable computer skills that most of us take for granted,” said Frank Figueroa, MSA president and general manager. “It’s our intention that our contribution will provide a positive learning environment for The Arc’s clients so they can have more choices for themselves and to contribute to the community.”
A few days later, Washington River Protection Solutions contributed $100,000 to The Arc for the naming rights of the new facility’s foyer.
The new $3.6 million, 14,000-sq.-ft. facility being built at 1455 Fowler Street in Richland, will replace Arc’s aging 8,000-sq.-ft. facility in Richland, providing more room for the agency’s developmentally disabled clients.
The Arc was started in 1950 in a Quonset hut in Richland providing programs, services and support to the developmentally disabled and their families. Now the nonprofit organization serves about 2,000 developmentally disabled individuals in the Tri-Cities.
As the Tri-Cities has grown, so has demand for the services The Arc provides, said Cathy Preston, the agency’s capital campaign director.
The recent donations bring The Arc closer to its goal of completing construction and moving into its new headquarters next fall without a mortgage.
Sen. Jerome Delvin, R-Richland, and his wife, Josie Delvin, Benton County Superior Court Clerk, co-chair the capital Campaign committee.
Delvin said the contributions mean a lot to the “future of the developmentally-disabled community.”
Preston said about $2.5 million has been raised in the capital campaign, leaving the organization another $1.1 million to collect.
For more information about The Arc or to donate, go to www.arcoftricities.com.
by Mary Hopkin
Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business
