Thank You Thursday!

This week’s roundup of donations to the Imagine! Foundation include:

• A generous donation from Richard Lirtzman

• $4 from participants in IBM’s payroll deduction program

As always, thanks to all of Imagine!’s generous donors.

Thank You Todd Saliman

Last night at Imagine!’s Board of Directors meeting, Imagine! SmartHome resident Gerald presented Todd Saliman with a framed piece of artwork that Gerald painted himself in honor of Todd’s tireless work on behalf of Imagine! and individuals with developmental disabilities across the state of Colorado.

Todd’s resume is quite impressive. From 1994 to 2002, Todd served in the Colorado House of Representatives. During his term he spent four years on the influential Joint Budget Committee. From 1996 to 2002 Todd also served on Imagine!’s Board of Directors. From 2003 to 2006, Todd served as a lobbyist for Imagine!, and in 2006 Todd was appointed by then Colorado governor Bill Ritter to head the state’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. After helping with the transition into the current Governor John Hickenlooper’s administration, Todd has returned to lobbying for Imagine! and other clients, joining forces with Tanya Kelly-Bowry as part of the Policy Matters lobbying firm.

The common thread running through all of Todd’s accomplishments is a deep commitment to protecting some of Colorado’s most vulnerable citizens – individuals with developmental disabilities. His often heroic efforts during a time of deep economic uncertainty has meant that funding for services in our state has avoided some of the deep and painful budget cuts that otherwise may have hit our field. As Imagine! CEO Mark Emery put it, “There isn’t one individual with a developmental disability in our state that hasn’t benefited because of Todd’s work.”

In the picture below, Imagine! CEO Mark Emery (far left) claps as Todd (second from left) holds up Gerald’s painting. Greg Wellems (second from right) and Gerald look on.

Congratulations Todd, and thanks for all you have done for us!

Congratulations, Leona!

Today we’d like to offer our congratulations to Leona Stoecker, past president of the Imagine! Foundation Board of Directors and one of the staunchest supporters of Imagine! and our SmartHomes project. Leona has been named as a finalist for the Longmont Community Foundation’s “Giving Spark” Award. Whether she wins or not, her spark is invaluable to us at Imagine!.

To learn more about all the great things Leona does for her community, click on the graphic below. The story is from when Leona was recognized as an icon of Boulder County by the Boulder County Business Report in a special publication called “Milestones: Icons and History of the Boulder Valley.” To make the picture bigger so you can read it better, just click on it again.

Thanks Leona, for all you have done for our Imagine!

Thank You Thursday!

This week’s roundup of donations to the Imagine! Foundation includes:

• $5,000 from Sandy and Sally Bracken for a Gold Sponsorship of the 2012 Imagine! Celebration. Gold Sponsorships are used directly to support our SmartHomes, and this gift will be used to support the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder.

• $5,000 from Hannelore Jend of Louisville

• $2,500 from Art and Marion Seder of Virginia in support of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome

• An additional donation in memory of Margaret Wilson, the mother of one of Imagine!’s clients, from Rickie Sewell of Missouri

As always, thanks to all of our generous donors.

Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive Helps Support Imagine! Children’s Program

Imagine!’s Dayspring department’s community calendar activities introduce young children with developmental delays and disabilities and their families to places in our community that offer great activities and opportunities for children to meet their goals through fun and play. All activities encourage motor, sensory, social-emotional, cognitive, and speech-language development.

Much of young children’s learning takes place when they direct their own play. Learning occurs as children touch, manipulate, experiment and talk about things, while interacting with people who facilitate without directing. During play, children are provided with sensory experiences and opportunities to move. Young children need to climb, run, jump and challenge themselves motorically. Children are natural explorers and instinctively touch, taste, hear and observe the world around them.

Dayspring’s community activities are made possible in part by donations from generous local organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, who have donated more than $41,000 to this program in the past through their Annual Tootsie Roll Drive.

Several Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drives are scheduled locally in the next few weeks. Please consider supporting them. Here’s where you can find them:

Boulder

Saturday, Sept. 24
Safeway, 4800 Baseline Road, 9 AM – 4 PM
Safeway, 3325 28th Street (Iris and 28th), 9 AM – 4 PM

Saturday, Oct. 1
King Soopers, 3600 Table Mesa Drive, 9 AM – 4 PM
King Soopers, 1650 30th Street (30th and Arapahoe Ave.), 9 AM – 4 PM

Longmont

Saturday, Sept. 24
King Soopers, 1611 Pace Street, 2-4 PM
King Soopers, 2255 N. Main Street, 9AM-6 PM
King Soopers, 995 S. Hover Street, 2-4 PM

Sunday, Sept. 25
Safeway, 1632 N. Hover, 9-6 PM
King Soopers, 1611 Pace Street, 2-4 PM
King Soopers, 2225 N. Main Street, 9AM-6 PM
King Soopers, 995 S. Hover Street, 2-4 PM

Thank You Thursday

Donations to the Imagine! Foundation this week included:

• A donation in memory of Margaret Wilson, the mother of one of Imagine!’s clients, from Richard Graham

As always, thanks to all of our generous donors.

Imagine! Artists To Display Work In Longmont

Participants in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source art class are scheduled to display some of their artwork at an upcoming Art Show on Wednesday, September 14, from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

RE/MAX Alliance in Longmont will be displaying consumer art work from Friday, September 2 through the end of the month. The Art Show on the 14th will be held at the RE/MAX Alliance office in Longmont at 900 South Main Street, Suite 100. Refreshments will be provided during the art show on the 14th.

Our thanks to Julie Markiewicz, a realtor at RE/MAX Alliance and a mother of one of the consumers in CORE/Labor Source classes. Julie was the individual who originally contacted CORE/Labor Source to set up this wonderful opportunity and has always been a huge supporter of CORE/Labor Source.

Please stop by RE/MAX Alliance on the 14th, or throughout the month, to support and validate the efforts of the artist/consumers.

Thank You Thursday!

Here’s this week’s roundup of donations to the Imagine! Foundation:

• A donation in memory of Margaret Wilson, the mother of one of Imagine!’s clients, from Kathleen Clark


• $4 from the IBM employee charitable contribution campaign


• An in-kind donation of one courier trip from Denver Boulder Couriers

• An in-kind donation from former Imagine! employee Michelle Wilson of a shower chair, rolling bedside table, walker with wheels and seat, bedrail, and a turntable to assist in getting in and out of a car

• An in-kind donation of beer, water, and ice (plus wine previously donated for the Mary Williams Fine Arts Quick Draw event) from Liquor Mart for the Summer Board Get Together. The Summer Board Get Together was a delightful event where Imagine! Foundation Board Members had the opportunity to get to know one another better, NOT talk about fundraising, and eat delicious food from West End Tavern while watching the sun go down and the moon rise over the mountains.  Thanks to Foundation Board Member Jay Montgomery and his wife Kathy for hosting the event at their lovely home.

The Imagine! Foundation is very grateful to all of our generous donors. Thanks so much!

Photos From 29th Street Concert Series Benefiting Imagine!

On Saturday, August 13, Imagine! was the featured nonprofit at the 29th St. Mall Live Concert Series in Boulder. Imagine! had an information booth, received 10% of alcohol proceeds from 29th St. Mall, and that amount was matched by Boulder Creek Events. A representative from Imagine! also got to speak to the crowd about Imagine!"s services, and most importantly, the people we serve, during the band break.

A large crowd attended the event

Chase N The Dream was the band - and they rocked the house!

Dancing in the streets

Imagine! Foundation Executive Director Susan LaHoda (right) was on hand to share information about Imagine!

Thank You, Safeway Foundation!

Lindsey Carpenter (left), Safeway's Denver Division Public Affairs Manager, presented Imagine! with a check for $10,000 at the Imagine! board of directors meeting on Tuesday, August 30. Joe Hansen (right), an employee of Safeway and a member of Imagine!'s Board of Directors, had written a letter of support to accompany the Imagine! Foundation's original grant application. Imagine! CEO Mark Emery is in the center.

Thank you so much to the Safeway Foundation for its generous support of Imagine!’s mission.

Thank You Thursday!

Welcome to Thank You Thursday! This week’s roundup of generous donations made to the Imagine! Foundation include:

• $1,840 from Motorola Solutions Foundation. This represented matching gifts for contributions made by Imagine! board member Mark Zentner and Mary Dichtl at the Imagine! Celebration in January, as well as monetary support for Mark’s volunteer hours of service to Imagine! during 2009.

• Additional donations in memory of Margaret Wilson, the mother of one of Imagine!’s clients, from:

1. Gary & Crystal Daum (Longmont)
2. Thomas & Debra Hutchinson (Longmont)
3. Jeffrey & Dana Stobbe (Nevada)
4. Catherine Trujillo (Longmont)

As always, thanks to all of our generous donors.