In 1955, a Vineland realtor named Lewis DeMarco met Bill Evanoff when he asked Mr. DeMarco to assist him in renting a house. During the course of their business, Mr. Evanoff told Mr. DeMarco of his dream to build a rehabilitation center for children with developmental disabilities and asked him to keep his eye out for any such suitable properties in the Cumberland County area. The next weekend, Bill Evanoff, his wife, and ten year old son were killed in a plane crash.
Lewis DeMarco made Bill Evanoff's dream his own and, in 1956, purchased and then donated five acres of land in Vineland to the Cumberland-Salem County Unit, NJ ARC, a small but hard working group of parents whose children had limited educational, vocational, and recreational opportunities available to them. He spearheaded a drive, which organized many volunteers to obtain the building materials, labor, and funds required to construct our present administrative and program services building, known as The Evanoff Center.
It was through the dedication and vision of the original founders of this organization, that the Cumberland Unit, NJ ARC, was incorporated in 1970 and continued to offer programs and services at the Evanoff Center located at 1680 West Sherman Avenue in Vineland, New Jersey.
Today, we are known as The Arc of Cumberland County. While our name has changed, our dedication to the development and delivery of services to individuals with developmental disabilities in Cumberland County remains as focused as in the days of our founding fathers. We are proud of our heritage and equally excited about our future.