From the TARC, Inc. Board President

This past year TARC along with the Greater Topeka community has faced many challenges and unprecedented circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic. In keeping with TARC’s legacy and mission, we chose to adapt, expand our mindset, and found new, safe ways to serve children, families, and adults with developmental, intellectual, and related disabilities in Shawnee County.

TARC’s team swiftly implemented polices and made the necessary changes to allow our much-needed services to be safely provided to children, families and adults. Staff and support personnel were equipped with appropriate PPE and workspaces were adapted to safely and effectively accommodate employees working in the office and at home. We are proud to report that these new policies and changes did not stop the inner office flow, quality of services, and important work done daily by TARC’s team.

Last year, TARC’s tiny-k program did not stop! It was critical to continue to serve children and their families. By introducing telehealth visits, we knew this would reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread and effectively deliver a successful outcome for our families. Over 66 hours of training were provided for both staff and families to utilize technology for the telehealth/virtual visits. This allowed the tiny-k program to serve 840 children and their families at no cost in 2020 – an amazing accomplishment!

The community support received year after year, especially in 2020, has given TARC the ability to stay the course and deliver early intervention programs that continued to be a necessity in our community. Each dollar invested in home-based programs like TARC’s tiny-k can save $11 in future interventions. The 2020 data shows that 26 percent of children who exit TARC’s services do not require special education programs.

TARC Industries and Employment Services (TIES) works diligently day in and day out with the business community to create job related opportunities along with paid training for those who choose to work. TIES has partnered with more than 500 local and national businesses to meet sub-contracting, mailing and printing, and document destruction services. Independence is so important to the adults we serve and this program allows them to personally thrive.

Our annual fundraising events, the TARC Benefit Golf Tournament and Winter Wonderland, consistently raise significant dollars that allows TARC to deliver on a number of key, high quality services. Last year, Winter Wonderland exceeded all previous years’ records for visitors and funds raised. We have been blessed to see an up-swelling of community support for TARC and our programming.

As a board and organization, we are grateful for the constant, unwavering community support. We believe in creating an environment where everyone reaches their fullest potential, and YOU help us every day to achieve that goal. We are beyond thankful.

Michael Munson
Board President, TARC Inc.