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Fundraising
Events
The Arc participates in several community fundraising events in addition to accepting monetary, vehicle, and property donations in order to raise money to support our clients and our programs and services. If you would like to support these (or any) Arc activities please contact Sherri Pitto or call 209-267-5978. ******************************************************************************** Mother Lode
Hot Ja
Since 1978, The Arc has been a part of the Mother Lode Hot Jazz Party. This year's event will feature old favorites as well as some surprises. The 33nd annual party will be held this spring! Dixieland and Jazz musicians from all over California will be performing. This event is widely regarded as one of the finest small festivals of this type anywhere in the world.
PUSH America - June of every year This year the event will be held Tuesday, June 5th. Please see our Arc News page!!
ArCreations! - 1st Saturday in December The Arc of Amador and Calaveras is hosting their 7th annual Christmas Art Show and Sale on Saturday, December 1st at our Sutter Creek site. All art exhibited is created by artists with developmental disabilities. The Arc's 41st annual Christmas Raffle will be held in conjunction with the Art Show. This artwork will inspire you and change the way you view people with disabilities! To be added to our Jazz Party or ArCreations! mailing lists please email Sherri Pitto or call 209-267-5978, ext. 25. The Arc receives a percentage of the Jazz Party proceeds based on the number of badges we sell. If you can not attend this event you might consider purchasing a badge for someone in our Recreation Program just write "Recreation Program" on your badge order and we will see to it that the badges go to someone in our program who could not otherwise afford to go. Thank you! ******************************************************************* Special to the Amador Ledger Dispatch - August 19, 2011 Kayaking to San Francisco to benefit Arc of Amador & CalaverasBy MIKE SWEENEY Editor’s note: Over the years, Mike Sweeney has embarked on many strenuous adventures, in order to raise awareness and money for The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. The arduous journey outlined below is Sweeney’s latest, and he will be telling our readers about the joys and pains along the way. At the recent Journey of Hope picnic for the inspiring PUSH America cyclists, Ledger Dispatch sports editor Jerry Budrick and I shared a pleasant lunch. As we watched camaraderie unfold among the people we serve and the cyclists, talk turned to summer plans. I told him that I was planning another hike to raise much-needed funds for our nonprofit, The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. I said I might do another Death Valley to the top of Mount Whitney trek, revisiting the theme of hiking from the lowest to the highest points in the continental United States. I asked Jerry if the Dispatch would be willing to give us some coverage. He looked at me and said “It’s already been done. Do something different.” The next few days, I got out maps and looked at options. I kept coming back to trying to complete a hike I started in 2010, when I began the American Discovery Trail in Nevada, with the goal of walking east to west across the state to the San Francisco Bay Area. I tried to get Governor Schwarzenegger to declare Pika Awareness Day, sending him lots of information on American Pikas, but I never got past his aides. He probably had lots on his mind as he got ready to leave the governorship. As it turned out, it seems he had even more on his mind than I figured. I stopped my trek in Sacramento and awaited word from the governor that never came — good thing I wasn’t waiting for a pardon. By then, I knew the American Discovery “Trail” is a trail in name only. It goes across the country, connecting real trails, roads and levees, with some cross country thrown in. You can lose the “trail” easily and I did — often. I’d rather not spend time this summer wandering around looking for the ADT. One day, while looking at maps of Northern California, it hit me; I could follow the Sacramento River all the way to the northern part of San Francisco Bay. The Arc’s Kayaking Fundraiser was born. The route follows the river to Rio Vista, then through Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Strait to San Pablo Bay. Why do this now? Well, our Supported Employment and Supported Living programs are struggling financially. We need to raise money to keep these critical services viable. Also, it’s more evident with each passing day that we are all only temporarily able. Illness and age rob us of our abilities over time. If I don’t do this now, when might I do it? We are targeting a mid-September window, when the tides will be right for paddling west. We are asking people to pledge on a per-mile basis. You can pledge the entire way to the Bay, the halfway point, at Rio Vista, or several other spots along the way. Pledge sheets can be obtained by calling The Arc at 267-5978 ext. 21 or online at www.arcofamador.org. We will be providing the Ledger Dispatch with updates on the trip along the way. (Jerry likes the kayak idea.) The folks we work with teach us that you can accomplish a great deal by setting goals, persevering and having a positive attitude. They teach us every day that it’s not your body or your test scores that define you, but your heart. Please consider making a donation to help us keep critical job placement and housing services available to people with disabilities in our area. Thank you for your continued support of our mission. For more about Sweeney’s quest, see today’s Letters to the Editor. ©Amador Ledger Dispatch — All Rights Reserved
Special to the Amador Ledger Dispatch - September 2, 2011 Sweeney kayaks the Sacramento RiverBy MIKE SWEENEY
These two don’t communicate well. Their conversations go something like this — RM: “So, what’s the plan?” LRM: “Well, you have to finish walking to this marina in Sacramento and then get in your kayak and zip down the Sacramento River to San Pablo Bay.” RM: “First of all, we don’t own a kayak. Second of all, we don’t kayak. We don’t know how to paddle, let alone zip. What’s wrong with you?” LRM: “Well, I’ve saved you some REI catalogues. They have everything, even classes.” RM: “Have you trained? Taken a class?” LRM: “Well, I took Rusty, the wonder dog, for a walk yesterday. He’s all for it.” And so it goes. Reality Man took a class in July and finally got his gear together the last week of August and headed out for a shakedown cruise. Turns out you need flotation bags, bilge pumps, dry bags, water shoes, personal flotation devices — they don’t call them life jackets anymore — etc. There’s so much stuff in the kayak there’s barely room for you. Plus, you need to figure out how to transport the kayak on top of your Toyota Camry. This involves foam pads, bungee cords and ropes, as well as an abiding faith that, against all odds, your boat won’t go airborne and take out take an RV. Day One: By the time I got to the Sacramento Marina, I was wound up tighter than a snare drum. I was doubting my skills; other boater’s skills; the route; the little 9-foot kayak (my friend Terry Holland called it a toy); and the time it would take me to get to Garcia Bend Park, nine miles down river. Only when the gear was finally loaded and I pushed off without flipping the boat over did I begin to relax. As I got into the rhythm of the paddle, I could hear the plaintive lyrics of Moon River (sung at The Arc’s recent Talent Show by the inimitable Roger Klopp) in my imagination. All worries melted away, as I finally remembered to breathe and let the healing power of nature work its magic. The first day, I saw three turtles sunbathing on a log sticking out of the water. I watched a blue heron glide like a 747 across the river right in front of the kayak. Belted kingfishers, with their bright blue feathers and elegant markings, flew out of trees along the shore to hunt for their fish dinner. An osprey took flight from an abandoned dock and led me down the river for a mile or so. Paddling is a lot like walking — if you stay with it, you eventually get somewhere. If you stop, you don’t. The famous Delta Breeze was in my face as I headed west, so I had to keep my arms moving or stop dead in the water. About 3:15 p.m., I asked a couple of young guys launching a boat how far it was to Garcia Bend Park. “Dude, you’re there,” they replied. Good thing I asked. I’d done about nine miles in just a few hours on a windy afternoon. Living Room Man’s calculations weren’t far off after all. I learned a lot that first day. I learned that my upper body needs some work. I learned that, while there is a lot of litter along the banks of the Sacramento River, there are also lots of people cleaning it up. I learned that, while some flashy power boaters fly by oblivious to how their wake might impact a little kayak, most boaters are kind and friendly. They slow down and wave, very mindful of their wake. As I write this, we have received more than $5,000 for critical job placement and housing services from this fundraiser. We are blessed with an incredibly generous community that values what we do. I am thankful for this and for the opportunity to be out in nature. We look forward to sharing how this trip unfolds with you. Next stop, Walnut Grove. Donations can be sent to The Arc , 75 Academy Drive, Sutter Creek, 95685, or call 267-5978 for more information.
Special to the Amador Ledger Dispatch - September 23, 2011 Sweeney’s kayak hits the Delta breezeBy MIKE SWEENEY This is part three of Mike Sweeney's account of his attempt to kayak from Sacramento to the San Francisco Bay Area as a fundraiser for The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. After my shakedown cruise in late August, I was anxious to get started on the next section of river. I got back on the water before Labor Day weekend and took two days to kayak from Garcia Bend Park in West Sacramento to Walnut Grove. It was an idyllic, 23-mile paddle with a variety of birds, such as belted kingfishers, snowy egrets, great blue herons and osprey leading me down the river, while big fish occasionally leaped up and out of the water next to the kayak. As I paddled past the Locke Marina, I said “good morning” to a grizzled Delta senior citizen smoking a cigarette on the dock. He nodded his head almost imperceptibly in my direction and finally said “Shouldn’t be too hard. You’re going downstream, for Christ’s sake.” I didn’t argue that it didn’t feel “downstream” when the wind stopped me dead in the water. It was not a debate I was likely to win. Patty Porter-Redkey, my river angel along the route, and I spent one night at the funky Ryde Hotel. The Ryde was built in 1927, at the peak of the Prohibition era. It was quite the place back then, with a beauty salon, a barbershop and a speakeasy, where you could get whiskey, jazz and access to the bordello. Mobsters, movie stars and politicians were attracted to the Ryde and President Herbert Hoover is among the dignitaries who stayed there. Today, it retains its art-deco charm and was mostly quiet after the staff left at 5 p.m. and we had the place to ourselves. The 15-mile section from Walnut Grove to Rio Vista was like going from the kayaking minor leagues to the majors. At first, you are still amongst the friendly fishermen trolling the slow-moving Sacramento while you glide past Ryde, Isleton and cute little delta resorts. Then you meet and merge with the “Sacramento Deep Water Channel,” the shipping route from Sacramento to the Bay Area. All of a sudden, you are in a huge body of water with lots of big boats (no ships yet) and a serious headwind that makes all previous headwinds look like light breezes. When I first got out to this Y in the river, I noticed flocks of birds in the middle of the water just before the big channel. There were geese, ducks, shorebirds, egrets and herons, all milling around in the water. It seemed like a good area for me to visit before I ventured out into the shipping lane. It wasn’t until I was about 25 yards from all this wildlife that I noticed that many of the birds were walking, not swimming. Whoops. I made a hard right turn to avoid the sandbar and headed out into the channel. The strong wind was good practice for the next section, which will include Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Strait. In an hour or so, I made it under the Highway 12 Rio Vista Bridge, past the U.S. Coast Guard Station to Sandy Beach Park. This is the perfect spot to start the second half of my journey, when the tides are right later this week. Our decision to avoid the Labor Day weekend partiers was a good one. On Sunday, Sept. 4, four young boaters traveling at “freeway speeds” hit a wake by the Sacramento Marina where I originally started out and flipped their boat. All four ended up in the hospital with serious injuries. It’s a lot more peaceful sharing the water with Geritol-fueled fishermen than the Red Bull crowd. Thank you all for your support, kind words and donations. We appreciate it. To date, The Arc has received more than $7,000 in donations in support of this fundraiser. Donations can be sent to 75 Academy Drive, Sutter Creek, CA 95685. All proceeds benefit The Arc’s Supported Living and Supported Employment programs, which provide housing and job placement services to people with disabilities. ©Amador Ledger Dispatch — All Rights Reserved
Special to the Amador Ledger Dispatch - September 30, 2011 Mike Sweeney encounters fierce headwinds on Suisun Bay By MIKE SWEENEY
Mike Sweeney found an idyllic campground on a windswept beach along Suisun Bay. photo courtesy to the ledger dispatch 
Mike Sweeney's kayak nestled under the power lines along Suisun Bay. photo courtesy to the ledger dispatch This is part four of Mike Sweeney’s account of his attempt to kayak from Sacramento to the Bay Area as a fundraiser for The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. I get it now — “Small Craft Advisory” warnings are extremely relevant if you are in a nine-foot kayak in 24-mile-per-hour winds. Sometimes it takes awhile for fundamental concepts to sink in. The camping portion of my trip from Rio Vista to San Pablo Bay started out well enough. Living Room Man calculated that the trip should take three days, which meant camping out for two nights. The first morning, I covered about 10 miles on the way to Collinsville, paddling against a headwind, but helped by an outgoing tide. It was after noon that things got interesting. As I approached the two islands near Collinsville, I was leaving the Sacramento River proper and heading out into Suisun Bay. The wind picked up dramatically. Also, about noon, the tide started coming back in. Common sense would suggest that this might be a good time to camp and wait until the next day, when the winds and tide might be more favorable. Sometimes common sense is an elusive commodity. I went from paddling three miles per hour to covering a couple of hundred yards per hour. At one point, I could see a rock on land to my right about 75 yards away. I looked forward, trying not to check the rock for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only five minutes or so. When I again looked right, the rock hadn’t moved. It was clearly time to head to shore. I turned around and promptly lost about 100 yards of progress. I couldn’t find a place to stop on the rocky shoreline, so I turned back around and into the wind. After another half-hour or so, I again pulled even with the aforementioned rock and saw a little slice of sand up ahead. I paddled for it like I was trying out for the Olympics, and I managed to land the boat in a suitable place for camping. By now, it was 5:45 p.m. and, although the tide would finally be going back out soon, I was done for the day. I sent a satellite message to Patty and called her on the cell phone. She found me on Google Earth and confirmed I was on Montezuma Island, a mile from Collinsville. I spent a gorgeous evening on my own little island, watching marsh-hawks at sunset and listening to owls and seals from my tent. The lights of Pittsburg and Martinez beckoned across Suisun Bay. It was a magical spot, but not far enough along the route to keep me on schedule. Next morning, it was time for Plan B (which included taking all planning authority away from Living Room Man). I called Patty and asked her to pick me up at the Pittsburgh Marina. The breeze was already getting stronger at 7 a.m., but the tide was in my favor as I paddled across the Bay in about three hours. Patty met me mid-morning and we headed back to Amador. I now know that the hours before noon, with the tides in your favor, are not just the best times to paddle west, they are the only times you can paddle west. Every day, after noon, there is a “small craft advisory” in Suisun Bay and the Carquinez Strait. Also, I was probably pushing the limits of my little kayak, asking it to carry camping gear. Plan B is now three more “day” paddles: from Pittsburgh to Martinez; from Martinez to Benicia; and from Benicia to the mouth of San Pablo Bay. The people we work with have taught me the value of both setting goals and persevering. Tides will be right again at the end of the month. Thank you all for your support and generosity. All proceeds from this fundraiser will go towards finding jobs and safe housing for people with disabilities.©Amador Ledger Dispatch — All Rights Reserved Special to the Amador Ledger Dispatch - October 14, 2011 Mike Sweeney slips by the military to complete his Arc mission By MIKE SWEENEY This is Mike Sweeney’s fifth and final report on his kayak trip from Sacramento to the Bay Area. The trip is a fundraiser for The Arc of Amador and Calaveras’ employment and housing services. This summary covers the last section, completed on Oct. 3. The challenge from Pittsburgh to Martinez is that it’s too far to do in one day. Also, most of the coastline along southern Suisun Bay is owned by oil refineries and the US Navy, and there is only one obscure boat launch, McAvoy Yacht Harbor, along the route. It’s a rather blue-collar “yacht harbor,” replete with salvage yard and coffee shop, but in a perfect location. The paddle from Pittsburgh Marina to McAvoy was the most pleasant morning I spent on the bay. The wind was calm and vistas and wildlife refreshed my spirit. Cormorants and pelicans fished along the way, along with the ever-present egrets and herons. I arrived at my destination very thankful for the respite from the wind. The following day’s 10-mile paddle from McAvoy to Martinez started out beautifully, as well. I embarked at 7 a.m. in mild weather and watched the sky and water turn pink, then orange. These are moments to cherish, surrounded by the healing power of nature in calm weather, and secure in the knowledge that the tide will soon turn in your favor. I made my way along the US Naval Weapons Station property, knowing full well that this was a restricted area, but also well aware it was the shortest route to where I needed to go. It’s also protected water, as it’s sheltered by Seal Islands to the north. I tried to ignore the warning signs “Keep Out — Restricted Area — Explosives.” Eventually, a military police SUV began paralleling my route on a road along the coastline. I yelled “good morning,” but got no response. I figured it was probably best to keep my head down and keep paddling, at least until somebody yelled at me. The SUV eventually lost interest and turned off, and I was alone with my thoughts again. The next obstacle was the “Moscow Sea,” a giant oil tanker parked next to a refinery just past Point Edith. It was belching black smoke while generating metal-on-metal screeching noises as I pulled alongside, praying that it would not choose this moment to pull away from its mooring. I waved at a guy on the deck and he didn’t wave back. Hmmm, not a very friendly neighborhood. By then, it was mid-morning and the wind was back with a vengeance. I made for the Martinez Bridge, hoping to make it through to the Martinez Marina before the wind got worse. It was choppy under the bridge, but the tide was with me as I skirted two more tankers and made it to the marina about 11:30 a.m. The final 10-mile segment, from Martinez to the Vallejo Marina, again started out perfectly, with another gorgeous sunrise and calm water. I paralleled the shore along Benicia, making good time until arriving at a point about a mile from the Carquinez Bridge. The distance to the bridge seemed to take forever, as the wind and waves picked up steam. Finally, I was under the bridge, surrounded by wind-blown waves and water swirling in every direction. I’d read that the currents here could be “hairy” and that was an accurate assessment, albeit somewhat understated. My personal assessment is that, if the devil has a cauldron, he keeps it under the Carquinez Bridge. At long last, I made it all the way through to San Pablo Bay and began my right turn to the Mare Island Strait and Vallejo. The paddle through this protected waterway was as peaceful as the cauldron was hairy. I looked at Mare Island and thought of my dad, who was stationed there as a young Navy seaman many years ago. Patty’s bright yellow cycling jersey beckoned from the dock in the distance. Thanks to your generosity, The Arc has raised over $8,000 from this fundraiser. We appreciate your support and never take it for granted.
Mike's Kayak Fundraiser!!! The Arc of Amador and Calaveras 2011 Kayaking Fundraiser Letter
Dear Friends, Family, and Arc Supporters: August 22, 2011
2011 marks my 23rd year with The Arc of Amador and Calaveras. I continue to be inspired by all who support our mission; the employers who hire our folks; our board members; our dedicated staff; our general members; and everyone else in our beautiful foothill communities who go out of their way to support us on a regular basis. I continue to be especially impressed with the people we serve. They demonstrate on a daily basis what it takes to live a successful life: perseverance; resiliency; and a positive attitude.
Like most small businesses, The Arc faces challenging times in 2011. Our funding has been reduced even as the need for services has grown. A key component of our success in this challenging climate has been our fundraising ability. Fortunately, we are blessed with an extraordinarily generous group of supporters.
You are most likely receiving this letter because a few years back you supported my Badwater to Mt. Whitney fundraising hike from the lowest to the highest points in the continental United States. This year’s fundraising project grew out of a goal I set last summer, to hike from the Nevada border near Lake Tahoe to the San Francisco Bay Area. Last year I made it as far as Sacramento. I was following the American Discovery “Trail” which goes from the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States. It was an interesting hike but since the Discovery Trail follows roads; trails; and levees etc. it can be hard to follow and so you are somewhat lost much of the time. One day recently I looked at a map and realized a person could stay on the water from Sacramento to the Bay Area and pretty much know where they were all along the way. This epiphany coupled with our need for a new 2011 fundraiser spawned The Arc’s Sacramento to Bay Area Kayaking Fundraiser. The idea is to continue my journey west from Sacramento via the Sacramento River; Suisun Bay; Carquinez Strait and on to San Pablo Bay. I will be using a kayak as my means of transportation.
Why? Well it’s a fun way to raise critical money for our mission. Money raised will be dedicated to Supported Employment and Supported Living programs which provide jobs and safe housing for the people we serve. These are two of the most important services we offer and they have been hit hard by budget cuts. It’s also true that as I get older I am even more aware of the fact that we are all only temporarily “able.” Accidents, illness, and age itself will rob us of our “abilities” over time. If we don’t do this fundraiser now, when might we do it?
The attached sheet explains how this fundraiser works. We are asking you to consider donating per mile paddled. I’m thinking I can make it all of the way to San Pablo Bay if I strive for those traits the people we serve demonstrate every day: perseverance; resiliency; and a positive attitude. Thank you all for your support of our mission. We appreciate it and never take it for granted.
Sincerely,
Mike Sweeney Executive Director
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