70 Years of Showing Up: The Arc Rockland’s Step Up Walk Is This Friday

This Friday, October 16, the grass at Clover Stadium in Pomona will fill with walkers for a cause that’s been part of Rockland County life for more than 70 years. The Step Up for The Arc Rockland walk — registration at 8:30 a.m., step-off at 9:30 — is the local nonprofit’s 2026 morning fundraiser, and this year it arrives during the organization’s 70th year of service.

The Arc Rockland is one of those organizations that’s easy to miss and impossible to replace. From its headquarters at 210 Route 303 in Valley Cottage, it supports more than 600 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities — and employs more than 630 staff to do it. Its work starts with early childhood education and runs all the way through employment services, residential supports, day habilitation, recreation, self-advocacy, community habilitation, and health services. The mission, in the organization’s own words, is helping the people it supports make personal choices and live fully in community life.

The physical footprint tells a story of steady growth. A few years ago, The Arc Rockland moved its headquarters and day center into a renovated 19,900-square-foot building on Route 303, trading a warehouse-style office in Congers for a purpose-built home. The ground floor became participant day space — program rooms for learning and daily living skills, opening onto landscaped patios. In a nod to the building’s former life as a jewelry exchange, the design team even repurposed a ground-floor bank vault into a programming room.

Beyond Valley Cottage, The Arc Rockland owns and operates nearly 30 residential homes across the county — including a six-bedroom South Mountain home in New City designed for full accessibility — giving residents safe, supported places to live independently.

And then there’s the part where you come in. The Step Up walk is designed to be the easiest possible on-ramp: $25 registration, a walk around the ballpark from 9:30 to 10:30, and a post-walk celebration at 10:30. Clover Stadium is at 1 Phil Tisi Way in Pomona, home of the New York Boulders. Event registrations include a one-year membership in The Arc Rockland, which supports its advocacy work. Proceeds go to The Arc Foundation of Rockland.

Seventy years of showing up, every day, for hundreds of your neighbors. This Friday, you can show up too — for a morning.

To register or ask about sponsorships, contact Colleen Smith at 845-905-6527. The Arc Rockland’s main line is 845-267-2500, and its website is arcofrockland.org.