“Rick has helped JARC not only define its mission of enriching lives and erasing barriers for people with disabilities, but, more importantly, fulfill that mission by embracing change and innovation, motivating staff and the Board, and building meaningful relationships with community and industry stakeholders,” said David Grand, Board Chair, whose brother, Jonathan, lives in a JARC home.

Under Rick’s entrepreneurial leadership, JARC was named a Best Place to Work by the Detroit Free Press from 2010-2013, and it embarked on several new initiatives including:

·         The creation and implementation of JARC’s visionary strategic plan that engaged community stakeholders, families, Board members, donors and staff
·         The new Advocacy Network of Michigan
·         A program serving people with developmental disabilities who are Deaf
·         JARC…For A Lifetime, a campaign to meet current needs and secure JARC’s future

JARC is currently pursuing revenue-generating programs that will enable it to lead the state in services to children with Autism and to grow its advocacy and respite services.  JARC is also growing its Link Up and Making Community Connections programs, through which hundreds of young adults with disabilities are able to form meaningful relationships with others in the community.

“We will miss Rick’s leadership, passion and ability to make everyone feel important and valued,” said Grand. “Rick has decided to focus on new opportunities that will enable him to blend and build upon his success in both the nonprofit and for profit industries, and we wish him well in those endeavors.”

Loewenstein said, “My JARC experience has had a profound impact on my life both as a community leader and CEO.  I am proud of what we have accomplished in the past seven years and would not have been able to do it without such strong support from the community our dedicated staff and Board members, amazing support of our families, and most importantly, the people we serve. Working closely with the 4 most recent Board President’s and their predecessors has been extremely rewarding. ”

“I have spent half of my 32-year professional career working with for profit companies, and the other half in leading nonprofit organizations. Given my unique experience, I am working on finding a way to blend the best of both worlds in an entrepreneurial, community-based venture,” Loewenstein said.

Prior to leading JARC as its CEO, Rick was the Chief Advancement Officer of the Cranbrook Educational Community where he helped lead a $150 million comprehensive campaign. He also is the past CEO of Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan where he introduced new technologies to track shipments and make deliveries more efficient, and worked in the private sector food industry for fifteen years prior to that.

"Rick has tremendous enthusiasm and passion for diversity and inclusion. He leaves JARC as a vital organization deeply engaged in the community, and he will be missed by the families, staff, donors, and most importantly, the people we serve,” said Grand.

Rena Friedberg was named interim CEO. She is a native Texan, and has worked for JARC for the last 32 years, the last 6 years as JARC’s Chief Development Officer. “Rena has deep relationships with the people we serve and with the people who support our organization,” said Grand.  “Her strong portfolio of leading major fundraising campaigns and history with the organization provides her and us with amazing insight as to the challenges and opportunities we face as a growing organization, making her the best person to lead JARC at this time, and we look forward to working with her.”

Since 2001, the Michigan-based bakery has been kosher-certified by the Kosher Michigan Certification Agency, founded by Rabbi Jason Miller. “I'm thrilled that this year Peteet’s Famous Cheesecakes will be certified-kosher for Passover," said Rabbi Miller, who also serves on JARC's board of directors. "It's a significant process to make a bakery kosher for the Passover holiday, and I was delighted to hear that not only was the owner of Peteet’s [Patrick Peteet] eager for this undertaking, but that JARC will be a beneficiary of their hard work."

The bakery has two locations; Oak Park, 13835 W. 9 Mile Rd., (248) 545-2253; and West Bloomfield, 6548 Orchard Lake Rd., (248) 325-9244.

Rabbi Miller added, "Kosher Michigan has been a donor to JARC since its founding in 2008, and will match Peteet's Famous Cheesecakes’ donation to JARC following Passover this year." 

For store hours or more information about Peteet’s Famous Cheesecakes, call (248) 545-CAKE or visit www.peteetscheesecakes.com.

Click here for a great photo gallery of the evening.

DONATE HERE  There's still time to help JARC meet its goal. 

JARC, an organization serving people with disabilities, is pleased to announce that it has won a Dove Award and Harold Folkoff, a participant in JARC’s Independent Living Services program, won another from The Arc of Oakland County. The announcement was made by Rick Loewenstein, Chief Executive Officer of JARC.

For the past 44 years, The Arc of Oakland County has honored individuals, companies, agencies, residential settings, technicians, teachers, employers and volunteers who have made outstanding contributions to the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. This year, more than twelve hundred nomination forms were sent out to professionals, families, members and friends of The Arc of Oakland County. Nominations were then reviewed by a selection committee comprised of individuals working in the fields of mental health and special education.

Kristi Davis, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist for JARC was named winner of Arc’s 2014 prestigious Inclusion Leadership Award for her heartfelt dedication to making community inclusion a priority for men and women with developmental disabilities. Through her resourceful and creative ways, Davis has introduced recreational services to help individuals improve their health, independence and quality of life.

Davis has been instrumental in leading JARC’s Making Community Connections (MCC) program which helps the people JARC serves join community clubs and organizations as full members, and to make friends with others in the club or with people without disabilities. Through her assessment and supervision, JARC has now facilitated over 50 meaningful community connections.  Davis also initiated and oversaw JARC’s Eye-Openers group, a daytime activity group for people who live independently and/or work in the evenings, often missing daytime events. Davis resides in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Also recognized by The Arc was Harold Folkoff, a participant in JARC’s Independent Living Services program and winner of the Arc’s 2014 Sheldon Dunn Inspiration Award.  Folkoff was honored for devoting himself to reaching out to the community through public speaking and the volunteer work he does. He is an advocate, activist and the voice for people with disabilities. Folkoff has spent the past 30 years working for the Alliance for Jewish Education doing various clerical assignments. He is tremendously popular there and has made several presentations to staff on disability awareness. He has always been interested in public speaking and is an active member of Toastmasters International, a world-renowned organization that teaches effective communication and leadership skills.

In 2013, Folkoff was invited to deliver a lunchtime talk to University of Michigan Law School students as part of their Human Rights Week. He spoke with a passion saying, “We can do the same things everybody else can do. We just might do them on a smaller scale.”  Folkoff resides in Southfield, Michigan.                                                    

“Both Kristi and Harold are role models to us all and we’re so proud of them for being recognized by The Arc of Oakland County for their hard work and dedication in enhancing the lives of others,” said Rick Loewenstein, Chief Executive Officer of JARC. “They both have made significant contributions to JARC and most importantly our community, helping the people we serve everyday and being strong advocates for everyone with developmental disabilities.”

Davis and Folkoff received their awards at the Arc of Oakland County’s 44rd Annual Dove Awards Presentation and Silent Auction banquet on Friday, March 28, 2014 at the San Marino Club in Troy. The fundraiser was a celebration of the selflessness and achievements of individuals who help others. For more information, visit www.thearcoakland.org.

(Farmington Hills, Mich. March 26, 2014) – JARC, an organization serving people with disabilities, is pleased to announce that it has been selected to receive a two-year grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc. based in Owings Mills, MD. The announcement was made by Rick Loewenstein, Chief Executive Officer of JARC.

The $120,000 grant will help support the organization’s Independent Living Services (ILS) program, which provides comprehensive assistance to adults with disabilities living in their own homes and apartments.  JARC’s ILS program improves the quality of life for its participants with qualified and well-trained staff, opportunities for social interaction and recreation, advocacy for health care and financial welfare, and provides connections with the broader community. 

 “It’s an honor to be the recipient of this grant,” said Rick Loewenstein, Chief Executive Officer of JARC. “We remain dedicated and take pride in making sure everyone we serve with developmental disabilities is able to live full, dignified lives in the community and that’s what this grant is all about.”

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is one of the largest private charitable foundations in the United States. It provides approximately $100 million in annual grants to nonprofits that offer direct services to low income and vulnerable individuals and families. The Foundation supports innovative services designed to enable people with disabilities to live “a life of their own choosing” in the community—not in segregated, institutional, or congregate settings. A life of their own choosing means achieving independence, self-respect, and self-satisfaction at school, home, and work to the greatest degree possible. 

“JARC believes in the tectonic shift in the disabilities movement from segregation to integration, from coercion to individual choice, from family or agency control to individual self-control and self-sufficiency to the greatest extent possible,” explained Stan Goldman, Program Director, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

JARC, an organization serving people with disabilities, is pleased to announce that it has received a donation from Beaumont Health System to purchase a special Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) device that is used when training Deaf staff members. The AED device is specially designed for this purpose, has written instructions, as opposed to verbal recorded instructions and is now used as part of JARC's annual employee CPR and emergency treatment measures training program.  As part of its Independent Living Services, JARC serves men and women who are Deaf and have a developmental disability.  All staff who work with those who are Deaf are fluent in American Sign Language; many are themselves Deaf. This new AED equipment is critical to ensure that all JARC staff receive the training necessary to provide quality care to all those that JARC serves.

We are all mourning the passing of Michael Stephen Mack who came to JARC a little over a year ago.  Michael was part of JARC's program serving the Deaf and is lovingly remembered by his many friends, the dedicated staff who worked with him and his adoring parents. 

Here is an except from a note written to JARC by Michael's parents, Ron and Carolyn Mack:

Thanks to JARC for all you did for us and for Michael over the course of the past year to make Michael's time of independence a dream come true.  He had talked for years about wanting a place of his own but we never imagined it was even possible.  We know that Michael's many health problems added challenges for the staff but they all rose to the challenges and gave Michael a better life, with new friends and activities.  It also offered relief and a peace of mind (us) and for all of this, we are grateful.  Please extend our deepest gratitude to everyone there.

January 2014