Memphis showed up.​

 

Memphis has shown up for this night 31 times.

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Self-advocates opened the 31st Annual Awards & Benefit Gala at The Great Hall on October 3, carrying The Arc Mid‑South’s programs to the front of the room on banners: Advocacy, Family Support, Respite Care, Camps & Retreats.

What the night raised goes to one of the only programs in Memphis for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who aged out of special education at 22.

 

Two students were honored alongside a congressman, a pastor, a bail fund director and a 21-year Home Depot employee.

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Ron Childers has championed The Arc Mid‑South since 2015. The live auctions he has run at 12 galas have raised over $100,000 for its programs, and in December 2023, the classroom was renamed in his honor. On October 3, Ron Childers put the naming rights to his own classroom up for auction, and Steve Ehrhart won them.

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Rev. Dr. Keith Norman pledged $20,000 toward a second Ron Childers Literacy & Life Skills Classroom on October 3: $5,000 of his own and $15,000 through Baptist Memorial Health Care, where he serves as vice president of government relations. More than 70 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities are waiting to get into the first classroom.