Support Imagine's Out & About Children's Services

Imagine!’s Out & About program is running a crowdfunding campaign to support its programs for children with developmental disabilities. Watch the video below to learn more, and click here to contribute!



Can’t see the video? Click here.

Local Restaurants Celebrate Imagine!’s 50th Anniversary With Food And Drink

Several local restaurants have teamed up with Imagine! to create some specialty dishes and drinks in honor of Imagine!’s 50th Anniversary, and to help us meet our mission!

From August 1–August 15, you will be able to purchase the “Imagine! Blueberry Dream” cocktail from any Big Red F Restaurant (The Bitter Bar, Jax Fish House—three locations, Centro Latin Kitchen, Lola-Denver, West End Tavern, and Zolo Southwestern Grill), and all proceeds will go to Imagine!.

From August 1 - August 14, you will be able to purchase the “Imagine! Burger” at The Sink Restaurant in Boulder, and 20% of the proceeds will go to Imagine!.

Here are the ingredients of each specialty concoction:

“Imagine! Blueberry Dream” at Big Red F Restaurants
Muddle: 6-8 blueberries, 10 mint leaves
Add: 2 oz. Bombay sapphire gin, 1oz. fresh lemon juice, 3/4 oz. 2:1 simple syrup
Shake and double strain over fresh ice in an old fashioned glass (10 or 12 oz).
Top with splash of soda. Garnish with a mint sprig and three blueberries.

“Imagine! Burger” at The Sink Restaurant
Grass-fed Teton Waters Ranch patty on a Breadworks bun
Burger stuffed with Mouco Truffello cheese, giving it a great truffle flavor
Topped with caramelized onions and grilled Colorado peaches

Does this make you thirsty and hungry? It should, but wait until August 1. And please thank Dave Query from Big Red F and Mark and Chris Heinritz from The Sink Restaurant when you are there!

Thank You Thursday!

This week’s roundup of generous donors to Imagine! includes:

Associate ($500-$999)
The Optical Centre -- partial proceeds from silent auction held in honor of The Optical Centre’s 40th anniversary

Friend ($1-$249)
Kevin Harding
Qualcomm Foundation – Matching Gift to employees’ participation in QCares Experience

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

50th Anniversary Ale Has Arrived!

The beer is here! Yesterday we got our first peek (and taste – but only after the work day was over!) of Imagine!’s 50th Anniversary Ale, brewed by our good friends at Twisted Pine Brewing Company. The staff here is especially excited about this particular way we’re celebrating 50 years of building quality lives. Thanks to all the staff and volunteers who helped transport the brew, and thanks to Twisted Pine for making such a fantastic ale!

Florists Bring Smiles To Imagine!

Many, many thanks today to Teleflora, Denver Wholesale Florist, and Lafayette Florist, for presenting Imagine! with 470 “Make Someone Smile” floral bouquets for Imagine! staff members and clients.

Teleflora donated its popular Be Happy Mugs, the flowers were donated by Denver Wholesale Florist, and volunteers from local florists help arrange the bouquets. Locally, two non-profit organizations received the generous donation of flowers. Sandi Yosihara-Sniff, General Manager of Layfayette Florist, is an executive Board Member of the Regional Teleflora Board and recommended Imagine! as one of the two agencies to receive the flowers.

And if that isn’t enough, Sandi and her team helped to deliver the bouquets!

The bouquets were delivered to clients and staff members at Imagine!’s group homes, three-person homes, our CORE/Labor Source offices in Boulder and Longmont, and our two administrative office buildings.

Pictured below is Terri, who receives services from Imagine!, proving that “Make Someone Smile” week really works!

We are so grateful for this support from Teleflora, Denver Wholesale Florists, and Lafayette Florist.

Thank You, Broomfield Chamber of Commerce

Thanks to the Broomfield Chamber of Commerce for highlighting Imagine! at its membership appreciation event last Wednesday. Imagine! serves 422 Broomfield residents and their families, and we are delighted to be part of the Broomfield community.

Pictured is Imagine!’s Director of Public Relations Fred Hobbs at Imagine!’s booth during the event.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Friend ($1-$249)
Kevin Harding
In Honor of Finley Moore
  From Timothy & Meridith Moore

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Thank You, Optical Centre!

Longmont-based The Optical Centre recently celebrated 40 years of business by hosting a silent auction to benefit two local organizations: the OUR Center and Imagine!.

Imagine! received $785.00 from The Optical Centre, and we are most appreciative.

Thank you, Optical Centre, for your generous and continued support of your community!

Celebrate 50 Years With Imagine!

You are invited to Imagine!’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on Sunday, August 4, 2013, 2-5 PM at the Millennium Harvest House Courtyard, 1345 28th St., Boulder. Join us for music, games, light refreshments, Imagine! giveaways, and a video of Imagine! through 50 years. This event is FREE and open to the public.

Please RSVP online.

Next Step Group Home Groundbreaking Ceremony A Success

Turning the dirt at the groundbreaking ceremony for Imagine!'s Next Step Group Home are, from left to right: Elaine Chavez, US Department of Housing and Urban Development; Jodi Walters, Imagine! Director of Innovations; Mark Emery, Imagine! CEO; Sam Taylor, Broomfield City Council Member; Dianne Primavera, Colorado State Representative; and Chris Mirto, PEH Architects.

Yesterday, Imagine! hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for Imagine!’s Next Step Group Home in Broomfield, CO.

The Next Step Group Home will provide safe and affordable housing for six people who have developmental disabilities as well as the multifaceted issues that come with aging. Individuals with developmental disabilities are living longer than ever, and as they age, their needs may become increasingly complex. In addition, with the “sliver tsunami” of retiring and aging baby boomers approaching, the demand for services for seniors is increasing rapidly. Imagine! is poised to be a leader in services for both the population of elders with developmental disabilities and the larger elder population. This home represents another step forward for Imagine! in developing the skills and tools needed to serve these populations.

The wide variety of attendees at the groundbreaking provided a clear demonstration of how an undertaking like this can truly only succeed with the support of the community. Attendees included: Trent Gustafson and Chuck Wellman, members of Imagine!’s Board of Directors; Mark Feilmeier, Dennis Thacker, and Elaine Chavez, from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (which is providing $633,700 in funding for the home); Broomfield City Council Member Sam Taylor; Colorado State Representative Dianne Primavera; Michele Craig, from the Colorado Department of Human Services Division for Developmental Disabilities; John McMillen from FRIENDS of Broomfield; and Michelle LaFluer, a neighbor to the West of the property who is also the owner of 2BG Equestrian School.

To learn more about this home and our groundbreaking, check out this story from yesterday’s edition of The Broomfield Enterprise.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Gold ($5,000-$9,999)
Longs Peak Arches, Inc. (Bob and Dianne Charles) – for Charles Family SmartHome 

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Marilyn McIntosh – for Dayspring, with this note: “A heartfelt thank you to each and every one of the Dayspring Family. You have poured your knowledge, your endless efforts, your humor, caring, and your loving spirit into our daughter. You have fostered so many positives, begun the process of opening doors, revealed potential pathways, and offered encouragement, giving a little girl every chance to learn, flourish, and thrive. We will be forever grateful.”

Friend ($1-$249)
Anonymous – for Imagine! Endowment
Nancy Heagney
Dan & Sandra Stevens

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Volunteer Spotlight

Today we'd like to highlight to fantastic Imagine! volunteers.

Susan Sahm

Susan Sahm began as a volunteer with Imagine!’s Family Support (FSSP) program in March. From
the start, Susan has been eager to learn all aspects of Family Support and is always willing to help wherever needed. From clerical and office work for Early Intervention, data entry for the Boulder County Initiative (BCI) program, or phone calls to FSSP families, Susan has had a positive impact on each of our programs in one way or another. She was instrumental in helping plan and prepare for the Family Support Provider Fair this past April, using her strong technical background and computer skills to help track registrations, plan logistics, prepare signage, and assist staff and providers at the event.

As Susan is becoming more familiar with our programs and how her many skills and talents fit with the department, her volunteer role is evolving and growing. We look forward to Susan playing a bigger role in our programs, particularly with BCI, and working more directly with individuals and families to assist them with accessing vital community services and supports. We would like to express our gratitude and appreciation for Susan’s time and volunteer work to assist Family Support and the many families we serve.

Mark Killinger

Marc Killinger has been volunteering with Imagine!’s Family Support Program for a few months now. Marc’s first volunteer assignment was helping translate and interpret information for Spanish speaking families who attended the Family Support Provider Fair back in April. His outgoing and caring personality was a tremendous help to us, as we had many Spanish speaking families in attendance. Marc has also been involved in interpreting for Spanish speaking families with adult children in the Boulder County Initiative program during appointments. He has shown enthusiasm from the very start, and has been an eager learner about developmental disabilities. We are grateful for Marc’s time and bilingual talents. We want to express our gratitude for his volunteer work and for already making such an impact with the families in our department.

Thank You Primrose School of Lafayette

Today we’d like to offer a hearty “thanks” to Primrose School of Lafayette, an accredited private preschool that provides a premier educational child care experience, for their donation of $800 to the Imagine! Foundation.

The $800 was a portion of the funds the school collected during their “Spring Fling” event. The school also generously offered Imagine! employees who attended the event 10 free tickets to partake in the many fun activities during the event.

We sincerely appreciate Primrose School of Lafayette’s generosity and admire its commitment to community.

Thanking The Flower Bin

The Flower Bin has been supporting people served by Imagine! in many ways for more than five years. The Flower Bin has been gracious in donating the vegetables and flower seeds to the Growing Gardens class. In this class, the consumers learn how to plant and maintain a garden, when to harvest the produce they grew, how each vegetable can be used, and sample each vegetable. The vegetables are also used to make healthy dishes in the cooking classes.

The Flower Bin has also employed supported employment work crews for more than five years, where the crew members put together The Flower Bin’s cardboard trays that customers use to carry out their plant purchases. Being employed gives consumers the opportunity to build their confidence, learn job skills, fulfill goals of independence, earn their own money, and interact in the community.

The clients we serve and CORE/Labor Source Longmont are so thankful for the Flower Bin's support, kindness, and caring over the past years. Thank you, Flower Bin, from all your friends at Longmont CORE/Labor Source.

In the photo are some of the Growing Gardens class members giving an appreciation plaque to Kim, The Flower Bin’s annual manager, since Don Weakland, the owner was unavailable at the time of the photo. From left to right are Kim, Corrina, Jackie, and Mandy.