You can help complete the Arc

April 14, 2011

Sentinel & Enterprise: Editorial

Posted: 04/13/2011 06:32:43 AM EDT

Mary Heafy, President and CEO of Arc Community Services, beamed as she took us on a tour of her operation in downtown Fitchburg last week. Everywhere she brought us in the rambling property, clients and workers exclaimed, “Hi, Mary!” She knows everyone, and many of their family members.

The nonprofit, which provides employment, training and services to hundreds of developmentally challenged people in the region, is a very busy place. While the property undergoes a $5.1 million renovation, more than 200 workers complete tasks subcontracted from local companies, including assembling paint cans, and folding and gluing packing boxes. In another section of the property — which includes the former Sears and Roebuck building on Main Street and the Parke Snow building next door — dozens of clients receive “day habilitation,” including crucial social interaction, recreation activities, lunch and counseling.

Many workers who excel at their jobs at Arc are given employment opportunities elsewhere, such as at Fitchburg State University and the Fitchburg Intermodal Transportation Center.

Arc is no longer ARC, an acronym, Heafy explained, because the organization has eliminated the “R-word” — retarded — from its vocabulary. The current name is a much more accurate visual. An arc suggests a journey from one place to another, and Arc Community Services provides a bridge to greater independence for people who decades ago would be institutionalized — and largely forgotten.

She made that point standing among the dozens of wooden chairs that have been painted by artists for Arc’s upcoming fundraiser chair auction to be held May 6 at the Fitchburg Art Museum. All of the chairs came from the shuttered Monson State Hospital in Palmer. The symbolism of this event is clear: Each chair is unique and represents a mind given the opportunity to run free. Heafy says the artists could paint over anything on the chairs except the “Monson State Hospital” stencil under the seat, to serve as a reminder that the chair — and patients — received new life after the facility closed. (See a photo gallery of the chairs and learn more about the fundraiser at www.arc-matson.org/chairs.)

The auction will help Arc as it raises its final $1.3 million for the renovation, after the organization received a major boost in February, when an anonymous donor gave $600,000. Think about that: Someone wrote a check for more than a half-million dollars and wants no credit for it. Heafy said even she does not know who gave the money.

Recently, housing provider HH Gagnon stepped up, pledging $125,000 to the cause. But it wants to see the community respond first — and donate $2 for every $1 it gives. These donations can be made through Arc’s Donate a Square fundraiser, in which donors can contribute $150, which will pay for a square foot of the first-floor renovation. Several donors can bundle their donations to make the $150, Heafy noted.

Mary Heafy and her staff are true community heroes. They won’t rest until Arc makes good on its commitment to growing jobs in downtown Fitchburg by completing this renovation, and she is thankful for the community’s contributions — both large and small. We urge everyone who believes in the values of compassion, work and independence to help Arc reach its goal.