The Arc/Mercer, Inc.
180 Ewingville Road
Ewing, NJ 08638
Phone: (609) 406-0181
Fax: (609) 406-9258
arc@arcmercer.org
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ARC History
In 1950, a group of 12 parents met
in a Trenton, N.J., home to talk about a common
concern: How to provide their mentally retarded
children with a quality education, enjoyable
recreational activities and a well-rounded social
life – in other words, the things all parents want
for their children.
But these parents needed something else: they needed
a way to support and empower themselves -- and their
children -- as they faced the special challenges of
raising a mentally retarded child. And so, they
banded together, a group of volunteers, and began
what would become The Arc Mercer.
From its humble beginnings at a living room meeting,
The Arc Mercer today serves more than 1,000 mentally
retarded and developmentally disabled children and
adults daily through a myriad of programs and
services that empower them through opportunities for
personal development, job training, fun and
recreation, and independent living. Specific
programs offered by The Arc Mercer include:
The Arc Mercer’s growth is continual, with the
addition of new programs, services and buildings.
September 2004, for example, saw the launch of a new
program that was developed jointly with the Trenton
Board of Education for cognitively impaired students
between the ages of 13 and 17. The program is
designed to give students a chance to explore career
directions though a pre-vocational/educational
training program that takes place at Trenton High
School and at The Arc Mercer.
In March 2005, The Arc Mercer will officially open
its new building located at 801 New York Avenue in
Trenton. Many of the Adult Services programs that
are currently take place at the 180 Ewingville Road
building will relocate to this state-of-the-art
facility.
It’s clear that The Arc Mercer is on the move. While
we are committed to keeping pace with our times in
all ways possible, we continue to hold fast to the
basic principles on which this organization was
founded 55 years ago. Every change and addition to
our programs and services is done with one objective
in mind: to empower our consumers’ lives with
opportunity. It’s what we’re all about.
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