DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It was announced on July 4th that Lloyd Lewis, president and CEO of the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, was the recipient of the World Citizenship Award by Civitan International at its 102nd Civitan International Convention on July 4th in San Antonio, TX.
The award will put Lewis in a distinguished group of recipients that include President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of Special Olympics. Civitan International, a volunteer service organization that includes more than 22,000 members in over 500 clubs in 25 countries across the globe, gives its World Citizenship Award to an honoree who has “made significant contributions to mankind.” The prize is voted upon by Civitan International Board of Directors and is not given every year, but only when it’s dutifully earned. The organization started giving out the award more than sixty years ago.
Lewis was chosen to receive the award in recognition of his nearly two decades of supporting advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The journey that brought him to this place, however, was anything but ordinary.
View a video of Lloyd telling his remarkable story here.
Before joining Arc Thrift Stores, Lewis had a successful financial career in Philadelphia and most recently in Denver. But in 2003 his world changed when his son Kennedy was born with Down syndrome. Before that moment, Lewis knew very little about intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
“My world changed in a split second,” he said. “From that moment on, it was time for me to do my part to help change the world for my son, and for others like him.”
Lewis joined the Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado, a nonprofit corporation that includes 31 thrift stores across the state, in 2005 to help change the way people think about, connect with, and employ people with disabilities. Under his leadership, Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado is the state’s largest funder of advocacy for persons with IDD, having provided over $120 million to advocacy programs benefitting 15 Arc Chapters in Colorado. The Arc Chapters of Colorado, affiliated with The Arc of the United States, help individuals with IDD find jobs, housing, medical services, and services in schools, serving over 10,000 individuals and families. Additionally, Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado is one of the state’s largest employers of people with IDD, employing nearly 400 of these wonderful individuals working in all sorts of jobs, from production to office staff, including supplemental education, social, and community service programs for these employees. Lewis also takes pride in having led Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado in becoming one of the state’s largest social enterprises, with a $3 billion economic impact on Colorado during his tenure.
Under Lewis’ leadership, Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado has also funded hundreds of nonprofits throughout the country through its vehicle donation program and is one of Colorado’s largest providers of food and vouchers and other supplies for marginalized populations (including seniors, people experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, substance abuse, those living in poverty, people exiting the criminal system, refugees, immigrants, rescue missions, shelters, senior centers, etc.).
In total, charitable funding for all of these programs under Lewis’ leadership is approximately $225 million since 2005.
“The Civitan award is a remarkable honor,” Lewis said. “What guides me every day is a desire to promote dignity and equality. Each of us has something to contribute to the world we live in.”
“Under Lloyd Lewis’ leadership, Arc Thrift Stores of Colorado has become a shining example of what all chapters of The Arc in this country can achieve,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc of the United States. “He is truly a citizen of the world and a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion of all people.”
“We give this award out rarely and only to those who are truly deserving. Lloyd Lewis is making a difference beyond just his community but to the global community,” said Scarlet Thompson, executive vice president of Civitans International.
“I have known Lloyd Lewis for years,” said Michelle Sie Whitten, president and CEO of the Global Down Syndrome Foundation. “He and I both have children with Down syndrome. Because of Lloyd, I know that my daughter – and thousands like her—will have bright and productive futures.”
Lewis was honored at the 102nd Civitan International Convention on July 4th in San Antonio, TX.
ABOUT ARC THRIFT STORES OF COLORADO: arc Thrift Stores of Colorado operates 31 thrift stores and 15 “donation stations” throughout Colorado. Store operations provide funding to 15 Colorado Arc Chapters, which in turn provide advocacy for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. arc Thrift Stores of Colorado is one of the largest employers of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the state of Colorado. http://www.arcthrift.org.
