WASHINGTON, DC – The federal agency that leads national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), has selected The Arc and five other organizations as grantees to plan and execute volunteer projects that will unite Americans in service. The 2016 MLK Day of Service will take place on Monday, January 18, and The Arc, through select chapters, will be involved in service events throughout January where people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) will volunteer alongside people without disabilities in an activity related to access to healthy food.

“People with intellectual and developmental disabilities have so much to offer their communities, and this day of service opportunity provides them the chance to give back. Many perceive people with disabilities as the ones in need of service – but in reality, they are often a part of civic engagement at the state, local, and national level. Being a part of this national community service day will shine a spotlight on what people with disabilities offer in their community,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc.

Each year, hundreds of thousands of Americans participate in the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service, the nation’s largest day of civic engagement. In 1994, Congress designated MLK Day as the first and only federal holiday observed as a national day of service, and charged CNCS with leading this effort.

Each project will serve a community that has seen an increase in unemployment and the number of children living in poverty over the past 5 years. Food security, especially healthy food for children, is a concern for these communities. Each chapter of The Arc will partner with a local service club to carry out activities.

The Arc advocates for and serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), including Down syndrome, autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of more than 665 chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human rights of people with IDD and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.

Editor’s Note: The Arc is not an acronym; always refer to us as The Arc, not The ARC and never ARC. The Arc should be considered as a title or a phrase.