Wish List Wednesday

Welcome to the latest edition of The Wish List. Included below are items that would augment and enhance Imagine! programs and services for the individuals we serve and would be much appreciated. If you are able to provide an item, please contact Susan LaHoda at slahoda@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6443. Pick-up for large items can be provided, and your contribution is tax deductible. If you prefer to provide a cash gift to be used for the purchase of one of the items below, that would also be most welcome. Please check out this blog every Wednesday to see new Wish List Items.

Today’s Wish List items:

• Recreation Center passes or punch cards for clients 
• A new oven for Garden Place Home in Longmont 
• A new kitchen table and non-fabric chairs for the kitchen and living room of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome 
• Games/activities made especially for those with Alzheimer’s/dementia for the Foothills Group Home 
•  Gift Cards to educational stores so that staff may buy materials for all residential sites: www.beyondtheblackboard.com; www.lakeshorelearning.com; www.reallygoodstuff.com; www.educatorsoutlet.com; www.banksschoolsupply.com  

Next Step Group Home Construction Update

Here are the latest construction photos from Imagine!’s Next Step Group Home in Broomfield.

Here is a view of the Next Step Group Home and its new paint job from 156th Street, just North of the home.

 

Here is the view from our pasture to the South of the home. You can also see the prep work that is being done for walkways and walkway lighting. 

This view is from the Southeast. 

Inside, work is being done to complete drywall work before applying interior wall texture and painting, which should be completed mid/late next week.

Following the work to texture and paint interior walls, Interlock Construction will begin working to install wood flooring throughout the home, ceramic tile in bathrooms, install interior door and hardware and begin installing the casework.

Stay tuned!

Wish Granted!

Recently, we mentioned that the Imagine! Foundation was starting a new effort to increase opportunities for donations that will help Imagine! meet its mission – The Wish List. The Wish List includes items that would augment and enhance Imagine! programs for the individuals we serve.

Well, we’ve already had our first wish granted! Many thanks are in order for former member of Imagine!’s Board of Directors Mark Zentner for donating a gently used treadmill for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. The treadmill is scheduled to be deliver May 1.

Thank you Mark, for your generous donation!

The Wish List will be updated as items are acquired and new needs are identified, so please check back frequently on Imagine!’s website, or every Wednesday on this blog.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499) 
Palmos Development Corporation – Table at the Imagine! Celebration

Associate ($500-$999)
Front Range Community College – Second Half of a Table at the Imagine! Celebration

Friend ($1-$249)
Kent Arnold
Kathy Coyne
East Boulder Optimist Club

As always, we thank all of our generous donors. 

Wish List Wednesday

The Imagine! Foundation is starting a new feature on this blog – the Wish List. Included below are items that would augment and enhance Imagine! programs and services for the individuals we serve and would be much appreciated. If you are able to provide an item, please contact Susan LaHoda at slahoda@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6443. Pick-up for large items can be provided, and your contribution is tax deductible. If you prefer to provide a cash gift to be used for the purchase of one of the items below, that would also be most welcome. Please check out this blog every Wednesday to see new Wish List Items.

Today’s Wish List items:

• Luggage for children with developmental disabilities entering a new foster care placement 
• A new set of silverware and a new dish set for Garden Place Home in Longmont 
• Garden supplies and plants for the 19th Street Group Home in Boulder 
• Arts and crafts baskets or gift certificates to Hobby Lobby/Michael’s for the Foothills Group Home in Boulder 
• Non-fabric couch and chairs for Manhattan Apartments 
• Twenty tickets to a Rockies game on May 17th for Out & About’s Catalog Program for adolescents and adults. Tickets are $15; total cost $300.

SmartHome Vs. SmartHome Softball Challenge!

It is a SmartHome vs. SmartHome softball challenge! Residents and staff members from the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder will be competing against the residents and staff members from the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont in a friendly softball game this coming Saturday. If you would like to attend and cheer on both teams, then join them Saturday, April 26th from 1:30-3:00 pm, at Martin Field located on 36th and Eastman St. in Boulder. Questions? Call Shannon at (775)-230-1375.

Imagine! 2014 Provider Fair A Big Success

On Saturday, April 12, Imagine! hosted a Provider Fair, which proved to be an exciting opportunity for families of those served by Imagine! Family Support Services and Case Management’s Children’s Medicaid Waivers to connect with providers and to learn about services available to them.

We wish to express our gratitude to all of the following:

• Over 100 individuals who attended, comprising 51 families.
• The 26 providers that participated, including four Imagine! internal providers (see lists below).
• The following generous organizations: 

1. Both the Colorado Aging and Disability Resource Center, Adult Resources for Care and Help (ARCH) and Vitamin Cottage donated reusable grocery bags. 
2. A special raffle prize for those who signed up early was a $50 Target gift card, partially donated by Target, plus an Imagine! Klean Kanteen water bottle; a Wrightslaw book on Special Education Law. 
3. King Soopers donated some of the refreshments. 
4. Panera Bakery delivered meals for providers, staff, and volunteers at a discount. 

• The four community resource groups which participated: 

1. Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association 
2. Healthy Communities/Boulder County Housing and Human Services Department 
3. PEAK Parent Center 
4. Parent2Parent 

• Our four superb volunteers from The GAP (including Vinnie, Emily, and Zaia, pictured below surrounded by the Family Support team), who helped enormously before, during and after the Provider Fair, and Christine Kellerman, our FSSP Volunteer. 

Providers participating in the Fair included:

Behavior Services of the Rockies
Boulder Community Hospital/Mapleton Center
Boulder Parks & Recreation Department/EXPAND
Carmel Community Living Corporation
Community Advantage
Continuum Autism Spectrum Alliance
Debby Hamilton, MD Holistic Pediatric Consulting, LLC
Foundation Behavioral Services, LLC
Fox Psychotherapy Services, Inc.
Front Range Hippotherapy
Goldstar Learning Options
Ignite Adaptive Sports
Jon Garson, LCSW
KidSPOT Pediatric Therapies
Lisa Hassin, LPC
Pam Vagnieres/Nutriphysique: Nutrition and Exercise Therapy
Sample Supports
Spectra Autism Center
Stacy Goresko, PH.D.
Studio Blue: Art + Psychotherapy, LLC
Support, Inc.
Twice Exceptional Speech, Language & Educational Therapy

Participating Imagine! service providers included:

Dayspring
Imagine! Behavioral Health Services (IBHS)
Imagine! Family Recruited Employee Services
Out & About

Additionally, we appreciate all the Imagine! employees who so ably assisted us in planning and carrying out the Fair, especially staff from Family Support, Early Intervention and Case Management, without whom this event would not have been possible, let alone such a huge success!

Staffers include:

Willow Witte
Kelsey Westerveld
Meagan Rountree
Sarah Fry
Victoria Kennedy
Doris Franco (Bilingue)
Maria Klickna
Carla Rapp
Lucy Williams
Claire Findlay (Bilingue)
Judy Mier (Bilingue)
Marco Longo (Bilingue)
Virginia Martinez de Escobar (Bilingue)
Sarah Baglee
Finally, Anthony Aponte, who so ably managed setting up the conference center for this event.

Here are a few more photos from the event:

Next Step Group Home Construction Update

Here are the latest construction photos from Imagine!’s Next Step Group Home in Broomfield.

Grading work preparing for concrete paths/walkways

 

Utility trench to bring phone, electricity & gas into the home… and yes we already have water. 

Stone work is near completion, and on the inside … the bat and spray-foam insulation is in and drywall is going up! 

Next up, after drywall is completed, our team will be prep walls for texture & painting, hard wood flooring, and case work. Stay tuned!

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Silver ($2,500-$9,999) 
The Longmont Community Foundation – Grant for $2,250 for General Operating Support and an Award of $250 for winning the Charitable Story competition.

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499) 
Imagine! Employees – Third Quarter Payroll Deduction

Associate ($500-$999) 
 Dennis & Becky Fase – Partial payment for Merrill Lynch’s Silver Sponsorship at the Imagine! Celebration

Friend ($1-$249)
Bob & Judy Charles – Donation for Heads or Tails game at the Imagine! Celebration
The Chinese Medicine Clinic LLC
Pepsico Foundation – Match to gift from Joseph Stanek
Jack & Sophie Walker
Thelma Whitaker

As always, we thank all of our generous donors. 

Wish List Wednesday

The Imagine! Foundation is starting a new feature on this blog – the Wish List. Included below are items that would augment and enhance Imagine! programs and services for the individuals we serve and would be much appreciated. If you are able to provide an item, please contact Susan LaHoda at slahoda@imaginecolorado.org or 303-926-6443. Pick-up for large items can be provided, and your contribution is tax deductible. If you prefer to provide a cash gift to be used for the purchase of one of the items below, that would also be most welcome.

Please check out this blog every Wednesday to see new Wish List Items.

Today’s Wish List items: 

• Supplies for Dayspring’s “Messy Play Day” for toddlers 0-3 years old: finger paint, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, inflatable pool toys, small plastic kiddie pools, Jell-o, shaving cream, and cornstarch - all good materials for a sensory experience that allows young children with developmental delays or disabilities to explore and learn in a fun and safe environment
• Welcome bags for children with developmental disabilities entering a new foster care placement (blankets, PJs, stuffed animals, etc.) 
• iPads (Many departments use these for clients); heavy duty iPad covers 
• A set of four kitchen chairs for the Garden Place Home in Longmont 
• A treadmill for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder 
• Twenty tickets to a Rockies game on May 17th for Out & About’s Catalog Program for adolescents and adults. Tickets are $15; total cost $300.

Thank You, Longmont Community Foundation

 

We were excited to learn last week that Imagine! has been selected as a winner of the Longmont Community Foundation’s (LCF) “Your Charitable Story” contest. As a winner, our story (about Bell, who receives services through Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source and recently began working at Celestial Seasonings in Boulder) will be featured on LCF’s website and in other LCF promotional materials. We also will receive a grant of $250 as a result of being selected as a winner!

Additionally, LCF awarded us a separate grant of $2,250 for services for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

 Thanks, LCF. We’re honored by your continual support of Imagine! and the Longmont community!

Comfy Couch Donated To SmartHome

The residents at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder recently received a donation of a new couch (pictured with resident Chris).

The donors are the parents of Shannon Bundy, who currently works at the home and will be the new Site Supervisor there when the current Site Supervisor, Chantelle Tweten, takes over as the Site Supervisor at Imagine!’s brand new Next Step Group Home in Broomfield. 

SmartHome resident Mandy wrote a lovely thank you note to Shannon’s parents:

Dear Judy @ Brian, 

Thank you very much for donating the really nice furniture to us. That was exstremely generous and thoughtful of the two of you. We always sit on it when we are watching television because it is very comfortable and we can put our feet up, lean back and relax. it goes well with the rest of the furniture. 

we are all very excited to have Shannon as our new supvisor. We know how important it is to Shannon to be able to take over her new position. We know Shannon has our best interest in mind. Shannon is a great person. Thank you for everything you do and thank you for the Tshirts also. 

Mandy

Thank You Thursday!

Here’s a roundup of recent generous donors to the Imagine! Foundation:

Cash Donations

Associate ($500-$750)
Knights of Columbus – Longmont Council #1313 – For Dayspring
City of Louisville – Grant for Family Support Grant for Louisville Family

Supporter ($250-$499)
Anonymous (7) – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
C.J. Gauss – Partial Payment for Merrill Lynch’s Silver Sponsorship of the Imagine! Celebration
Sarah Giammaria

Friend ($1-$249)
Ball Corporation – Match to Gifts from Harry & Ellie Poehlmann and David Wilson
Sherry, Hal, and Annie Bruff – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Madelaine Bulkley – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Iliana Chase – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Elena Ciaravino – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Marguerite Ciaravino – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Michelle Conkey – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Charlie & Jean Dinwiddie
Katrina Doumbia – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Trent & Jennifer Gustafson – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Bruce Hansen – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Fred Hobbs – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Pat Hofmann – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Melissa Kilberg – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Christina Kohlruss – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Mariah Kohlruss-Ecker – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Susan Leary – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Colette Marie – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Adrianna Markley – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Andy & Connie Minden – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Leonard & Doris Muniz – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Nativity of Our Lord Broomfield – For Out & About’s Center Stage Activity
Don & Grace Pierce
Harry Poehlmann
Lou & Mary Smario
Gary Stebick – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Alexa Trujillo – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Michael Watry – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
Gregory Wellems – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity
David Wilson
Sterling Wind – For Out & About’s Centre Stage Activity

In-Kind Donations

In Kind Supporter ($250-$499) 
Jeff Kupfer – Table and four chairs for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and a long country style dining table for Imagine!’s Garden Place residence

In-Kind Friend ($1-$249) 
Snow Goose Companies – Coffee Maker, Coffee Grinder, and Service Cart

Next Step Group Home Construction Update

Here are the latest construction photos from Imagine!’s Next Step Group Home in Broomfield. We’re getting close to completion!

Exterior stone work photos. 

Spray foam insultaion being applied to condition attic space.

 

Next week, we have interior door frames being installed, inspections scheduled with the City/County of Broomfield, and dry wall will start going up. Stay tuned for more!

Thank You, Imagine! Volunteers

April 6-12 is National Volunteer Week, which celebrates ordinary people doing extraordinary things to improve communities across the nation. Today we’d like to thank all of our volunteers - we couldn’t do what we do without you!

241 Imagine! volunteers contributed a total of 7,638 hours to the organization last year. Here's a breakdown of the volunteer hours:
 
111 volunteers served directly with Imagine! consumers (3718.5 hours) 
15 served on the Imagine! Board of Directors (468 hours) 
21 served on the Imagine! Foundation Board (1,518) 
15 served on the Imagine! Celebration Committee (182 hours) 
10 served on the Human Rights Committee (480 hours) 
12 served on the Family Support Council (288 hours) 
57 served in other roles including; events, clerical, building/vehicle maintenance - (983.5 hours) 

 If you are interested in volunteering for Imagine!, click here.

Thank You, University Baptist Church Volunteers

Last Thursday, a group of seven volunteers from University Baptist Church in Arkansas did some work at the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont as part of their short-term missions trip. The volunteers completely organized, inventoried, and cleaned the basement and storage areas and helped move large adaptive equipment for the residents. It was a hard day’s work, but amazing results were accomplished due to their service. Thank you to the group and all those at Imagine! who made this possible.