View full sizeCathy Schaefer, executive director for the Arc of Washington County, shares a laugh with Kate Koning, 30, of Bend, who has autism. Koning (right) is a participant in the organization's adult recreational opportunities program, an alternative to employment for intellectually disabled people age 21 and older. After 53 years of membership, the Arc of Washington County is disaffiliating from its national counterpart.
Starting Monday, the Aloha-based nonprofit that provides education and advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities will become Imagine Possibilities.
When it started in 1950, The Arc was an acronym for Association for Retarded Children. The national organization went through several name changes, settling on The Arc of the United States in 1992 after the connotation of "retarded" became derogatory and demeaning.
Cathy Schaefer, executive director for the Arc of Washington County, said the group functions independently of the national organization, running on an annual budget of about $450,000 with no funding from the national Arc. She said the local organization simply did not want to be associated with the word retarded, which still is implied in the current name.
"The national Arc addresses that issue constantly," she said, "but it's an uphill battle, because when you're known as an Arc, it came from somewhere. It's hard when you start out with a name to get away from it."
She said the national organization has spent millions creating a new brand, but chose to keep the same name.
"It would have been a perfect opportunity to think about doing something different," she said. "That for us was the big thing -- the word is still everywhere and our families want something more."
The Arc's CEO, Peter Berns, said in an email that the national organization had been a leader in eradicating disrespectful terminology from state laws and agencies. Some chapters, which previously disaffiliated from The Arc's network, returned after its successful rebranding, he said.
"Our mission hasn't changed," he said in the email. "We are still the same national charity federation promoting and protecting the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, supporting their inclusion and participation in the community.
Schaefer said Imagine Possibilities more closely exemplifies the organization's mission statement, which is that disabilities don't have to limit people from realizing their full potential.
The organization is already very progressive, she said, but the name needs to reflect that. While she respects and is proud of the organization's history, she wants to ensure that everything she does as executive director pushes it toward the right direction.
Making the change has been difficult, Schaefer said. She brought up the idea to her staff and board of directors last year after hearing participants' parents complain about the previous meaning of Arc.
At first, it wasn't an easy sell, she said. But after hearing why the change was needed, opinions slowly started turning around.
Mary Bennett, the local organization's board president, said she had been involved with the Arc for more than 30 years and had a strong allegiance to it. Noticing the widespread disdain for the word "retarded," as well as recent positive changes in her intellectually disabled son's life, changed her mind about taking the Washington County chapter in a new direction.
"It took me a while to really embrace the idea, but I'm sorry we didn't do it sooner," she said. "I think this is absolutely the right thing to do."
Schaefer said that in addition to a new name, the organization is revamping its mission and vision statements. After seeing how the first year goes as Imagine Possibilities, she hopes to begin offering more services, especially for working parents and young children.