The Arc, Ocean County Chapter celebrated Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month on March 21st at our Pop-Up Café in Brick. The Lunch Break event invited local businesses to join us for lunch while sharing all the valuable resources people with disabilities can offer the community.

We were joined by 80 attendees who enjoyed a free lunch including Jersey Mike’s subs, donated by the Mantoloking Road location, pasta salad and fruit salad prepared by Journeys and Discovery, chocolate lollipops made by The Sweet Shoppe, cookies from Community Connections, mini donuts by the AEC, and dog treats to take home to the pups from the Tuckerton ATC. The North Bay ATC designed the centerpieces and volunteers from all the day programs were on site for event day.

Staff and participants from Vocational Services mingled with the guests to share the services The Arc can offer local businesses in our community. The AEC, Arc Employment Center, has commercial cleaning and shredding services as well as warehouse work like labeling, shipping, collating, and more. Supported Employment was recruiting job sites for training opportunities for individuals with disabilities to obtain competitive employment. Transition Services explained how volunteer corporate partnerships can provide job training and career exploration to participants.

The event ended with The Arc’s Super Raffle drawing, awarding three lucky winners with AMEX gift card prizes. Congratulations to the winners, and thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket to support The Arc during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

Click here to view more photos on our Facebook page from this inclusive community event.