Volunteers with disabilities give back on MLK Day

Dozens of volunteers spent the holiday doing something good for others on Monday. Many of those volunteers have intellectual disabilities.

The Arc is a group that holds this event every year on MLK Day and it’s the first of many volunteer events they do throughout the year.

THE GOAL

The Arc says the goal is to give people with disabilities the chance to give back and show they’re not always the ones receiving help.

"Partially, one of the reasons we really try to coordinate as many potential opportunities as possible, is to just change the narrative that people with disabilities aren't just recipients of aid, but they are vital and valuable contributors to the community,” said Callie Hall, the Community Inclusion Coordinator at The Arc Oklahoma.

Hall says it’s important to keep providing opportunities for people to give back.

"A lot of times, they're just not given the opportunity, but when given the opportunity, there's a world of possibility,” said Hall.

VOLUNTEER EFFORTS

Teri Burnstein is a volunteer at The Arc and spent the holiday volunteering to pack food for the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma.

"Today, we're doing the cereal, we're putting it in bags, scooper in the bags, and then putting them in the box,” said Burnstein.

WORKING TOGETHER

Volunteers with disabilities and volunteers without disabilities work together and Hall says that helps create new friendships.

"We can always learn more about other people, and this is just a great experience, getting to talk to other people and understanding their lived experiences,” said Hall. "I just love getting to work with the friends that I do because they're people just like we are, they're our neighbors, they're our family, they're volunteering on MLK Day when it's 20-something degrees outside."

Hall is glad to see so many people show up, and says it gives people something to do and socialize while doing good for others.

"They look forward to these opportunities. Not all of them have jobs, not all of them have family support, not a lot of them have additional volunteer opportunities or extracurriculars. This is an opportunity where they get to show up, give back, and make a friend they might not have otherwise."

LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Burnstein loves being in the group and even serves in some leadership roles.

"It gets me to know people,” said Burnstein. “If I don't know people, I introduce myself, that I don't know, and I just like meeting at restaurants and going to officers' meetings."

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

The Arc is also thankful for all the other organizations who volunteered to help their volunteers at the Food Bank.

The Arc holds volunteer events monthly and is always looking for corporate partners.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information, you can visit The Arc’s website.