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.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Gold ($5,000-$9,999)
Micro Motion – Gold Sponsor of the Imagine! Celebration – to the Charles Family SmartHome

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Greg Wellems

Associate ($500-$999)
Susan LaHoda
Primrose School of Lafayette – Proceeds from Spring Fling Charity Event -- to Dayspring
Jodi Walters

Supporter ($250-$499)
Mark Emery
Erin Fleming
Martha Heimbaugh
Eva Klemens
Elizabeth Reed
Mia Sanchez O'Dell
Caroline Siegfried
Sterling Wind

Friend ($1-$249)
Rick Brown
Helen Calvo
Carol Chesser
Joan Clexton
Sandra Crowell
Susan Gabriel
Fred Hobbs
Kimberly Kane
Maureen Kelly
Patrick Krause
Colette Marie
Rebecca Novinger
Heather Sabo
Gail Scott
Chantelle Tweten

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Platinum ($10,000+)
Bob & Judy Charles & Family -- for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome and the Charles Family SmartHome

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Lynn and Helen Clark Fund – Grant of $1000 for the Charles Family SmartHome

Associate ($500-$999)
Bank of America Charitable Gift Foundation -- Match to Dennis Fase’s gift as part of Merrill Lynch’s Silver Sponsorship of the Imagine! Celebration

Friend ($1-$249)
Dan and Sandra Stevens

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Donna Donates Her Ponytail To Locks Of Love

This photo and story came to us through an email from Whitney Vaught, one of the staff members at Imagine!'s Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder.

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Donna has been thinking of getting her hair cut, and just Monday, she not only got a haircut but had 13 inches of her hair taken off. Pictured is Donna with Whitney, who is holding the ponytail that Whitney cut off.

When asked if she had kept the ponytail as a souvenir, Donna, in a matter of fact tone, told us that she had donated her hair to Locks of Love, a public, non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Way to go, Donna!

Just last night Donna told us that she is very happy to have her hair shorter, and that life is just easier with her hair shorter. Donna's husband Gerald assured us he likes her new hair style too.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Friend ($1-$249)
Apple Matching Gift
In Memory of Maureen Kelly (for Dayspring)
  From Lynn Henry

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Dayspring Family Sends Thanks to Therapists

Below you will find some comments made by a parent in a survey for parents who have children served by Imagine!’s Dayspring department. The parent, DeeDee Correll, was so generous with her praise of Imagine! and her Dayspring therapists we asked her if we could share her comments with others, and she agreed. Thanks for the kind words, DeeDee!

One of the things our family likes best about Dayspring is the fact that they do home visits – this cut down on so much driving for us. Phyllis Villar, our Case Manager for Imagine!, was very attentive about matching us with therapists she thought would be a good fit for us. Her choices of Jenny Koslowski for speech (pictured below on the right) and Sara Ostrom (pictured below on the left) for feeding were excellent. I found them both to be professional, knowledgeable, empathetic, and very supportive

So I guess I’d say they were what we liked best, but I also appreciate how responsive Dayspring/Imagine! were in increasing my daughter’s services. I also thought Dayspring did a marvelous job in providing all the extracurricular activities.

My only suggestion as to what Dayspring could do better is to cover my daughter for another few years! Seriously, we have no complaints. It has been an entirely rewarding experience for us.

We are especially satisfied with working with Sara and Jenny – they are top notch. I already miss them. I think they both deserve raises – or at least hazard pay for dealing with me and my kin!

My satisfaction with Dayspring services and providers exceeded my expectations.

Employer Of Imagine! Clients Hosting Open House June 13

In Clover is hosting an Open House on Thursday, June 13, from 11am – 3 pm at 3133 Indian Road in Boulder, and you are invited. Come ready to have fun, learn, and possibly win prizes!

In Clover, a Boulder company that makes pet supplements, has employed members of Imagine!'s CORE/Labor Source work crews for more than six years. In Clover employs crew members to weigh and package the pet supplements, and more recently has hired another crew to do janitorial work. In Clover employs up to 15 individuals who receive services from CORE/Labor Source and has been very supportive of the people we serve and great to work with. Pictured is Donna, a member of one of the In Clover CORE/Labor Source work crews, carefully sealing one of the packages of a pet supplement.

In Clover is dedicated to holding their products to the highest standards and is one of the few companies to receive the bench mark of quality from the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC). All products are made in the USA, and all ingredients are purchased from tested suppliers, and then undergo independent lab tasting to further check the quality.

Innovations Food Drive Collects 282 Pounds of Nonperishable Items

The Imagine! Innovations department's Food Drive is over and it was an outstanding success. The goal that had been set for this food drive was 170 pounds in food and household items, and between the Dixon and Coal Creek Buildings, 282 pounds of nonperishable items were donated. The items were given to Community Food Share, which has been an amazing resource for Innovations for years. Innovations would like to thank everyone who donated items for the food drive and would like to thank everyone for their continued support. The next food drive will be in October and Innovations looks forward to setting the goal even higher. Thank you!

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Bronze ($1,000-$2,500)
John & Susie Hayes

Supporter ($250-$499)
In Memory of Gary Daum
  From Elevations Credit Union

Friend ($1-$249)
David & Susan Boennighausen

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Associate ($500-$999)
Seth & Jennifer McGuire

Supporter ($250-$499)
Amgen Foundation Matching Gift to Bob Edson
Rick & Jackie Nelson through the Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign
Daniel & Sandra Stevens

Friend ($1-$249)
Lisa Curtis
United Way of Tri-County, Inc. on behalf of Robert Kretsch

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Save The Date: CORE/Labor Source Art Show June 21

Please save the date, Friday, June 21, for an Imagine! CORE/Labor Source art show and performance at the Dairy Center for the Arts, located at 2590 Walnut Street in Boulder.

The art opening and reception will begin at 5:00 pm, with refreshments provided by the Dairy Center for the Arts. The performance will begin at 7:00 pm. Admission is free, and donations are accepted.

The art work will be available for purchase, with money from art sales to be distributed between the artist who created the piece and CORE/Labor Source to help pay for more materials and opportunities for learning, growth, expression, and integration. Proceeds from the performance will go to CORE/Labor Source.

Pictured below are: Gerald learning to mix colors with Art Instructor Bridget in preparation to paint a canvas for the art show, Stephanie creating her splatter paint masterpiece, Joey carefully creating his canvas masterpiece for the art show at the Dairy Center, who began laughing and smiling from ear to ear as Erika took his photo, and Lindsey delicately mixing colors with the assistance of Art Instructor Bridget.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Silver ($2,500-$4,999)
Faith Community Lutheran Church – Grant for $2,775 to provide financial assistance in crisis situations affecting Longmont residents with developmental disabilities

Friend ($1-$249)
Apple Matching Gift Program
Bob & Amanda Brown
Vincent Cervantes
David & Darlene Foy
Iva Richter
John & Jodi VanMatre

In-Kind Donations

Friend ($1-$249)
Panera Bread – Discount on box lunches for Imagine! Provider Fair and waived delivery charge

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

CU President’s Leadership Class Students Organize Imagine! Service Dog Visit

On April 16, a service dog in training through Freedom Service Dogs visited Imagine! CORE/Labor Source classes so the Imagine! consumers in the classes could meet the dog, Koopa, and ask questions to the dog’s trainer, Jane, about what a service dog does.

The visit was organized by eleven students in the University of Colorado President’s Leadership Class. As a class project, the students chose to hook up two nonprofits in a way that might be mutually beneficial to both organizations. Only four of the students attended the visit, as they didn’t want to overwhelm the CORE/Labor Source classes, and other students had class conflicts. The four students who attended are: Andrea Arreguin, Alexandria Harding, Jimmy Owsley, and Hannah Steketee.

Thanks to all the students who helped to organize this visit, and thank you to Jane and Freedom Service Dogs for bringing Koopa to visit the CORE/Labor Source classes.

Pictured in the photos below, (top) from the left are Cari (in yellow sweater) with Art Instructor Bridget, Koopa, and his trainer Jane; (bottom) Frank pets Koopa with Jane to the left.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Bronze ($1,000-$2,500)
Maureen Kelly -- for Dayspring

Supporter ($250-$499)
Sandy Gryzmala

Friend ($1-$249)
Brighton Smiles, P.C.
Jeff & Shalee Euston – for Dayspring
In Honor of Sheila Goetz, “who has been such a tremendous help to our son and family” – for Dayspring
  From Scot Davidson
Yu-Chen Lin
Robert & Barbara Mohr
John & Sandy Ross

In-Kind Donations

Associate ($500-$999)
Eugenie Morton – dishwasher, microwave, and stove for Imagine! residential sites

Friend ($1-$249)
Denver Boulder Couriers – Two courier trips
King Soopers-Lafayette -- $25 gift Card for the Imagine! Provider Fair
Target -- $25 Gift Card for the Imagine! Provider Fair
Vitamin Cottage – 50 reusable grocery bags for the Imagine! Provider Fair

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Girl Scouts Make Gift Baskets For Imagine!’s Children’s Foster Care Program

All the children in Imagine!'s Innovations for Children's foster care program had a wonderful surprise this spring thanks to a local Girl Scout troop! The troop completed a community service project that involved all of the girls designing and then making spring time gift baskets for the foster children. The gifts baskets were composed of small gifts and boxes of Girl Scout cookies. The foster children who received the baskets were extremely thankful and excited, and the girl scouts reported that creating the baskets and being able to give to the kids was a great experience!

Pictured below with baskets to take to their foster children are Pema (left, in black) and Tenzing (in white); and Dhargay (left, in gray), and Yangchen (in blue).

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Associate ($500-$999)
Michael Zimmerman

Supporter ($250-$499)
Anonymous


Friend ($1-$249)
Ball Corporation – Matching Gift to contribution by David Wilson
Barbara Farmer
Ina Gwin
Ron & Carolyn Hughes
Nancy Jelen – for the SmartHomes Project
In Memory of Maureen Kelly, “my son’s beloved speech language therapist, who was a gentle, supportive, brilliant therapist and a kind person . . .”
  From Elizabeth Lichtenstein
Melanee Krueger
Pat & Kurt Lindeman
Kathryn Lynott
Charles & Romy Purshouse
Dan & Sandra Stevens
James & DeDe Williams

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Thanks, Whitney!

Today we’d like to say “thank you” and “good luck” to Whitney Blair, who resigned her position as President of Imagine!’s Board of Directors at last night’s monthly board meeting.

Whitney is leaving to pursue a fantastic job opportunity out of state, and we wish her all the best. But we will miss her greatly. Her passion for Imagine! and the people we serve is inspiring, and her enthusiasm is infectious. Her solid board leadership has kept Imagine! focused on our mission through challenging times, and we are deeply thankful for her commitment and hard work.

Thanks, Whitney, for all you have done for this organization!

Imagine! CEO Mark Emery and Whitney Blair

Thank You, Provider Fair Volunteers

Last week we made a post about Imagine!’s Provider Fair, held April 18. Today, we’d like to offer a special “thank you” to some of the volunteers who helped make the event such a success.

Pictured below from left to right are Lucy Williams from Imagine!, volunteers Alex Glade, Rhonda Hoffman, Vinnie Cervantes, Jennifer Kellond, Emily Crawford, Mike Gaisbauer, and Carla Rapp from Imagine!.

Susan Sahm and Marc Killinger also generously volunteered their time to help out at the Provider Fair, but are not pictured here.

Vinnie, Jennifer, Emily, and Mike are all from The GAP. Vinnie made a very generous donation of $200 to Imagine!, and The GAP matched that donation.

Thanks so much for your support!

Congratulations, David!

David Braddock speaks after being awarded the first ever
ANCOR Foundation President's Award

Congratulations are in order for David L. Braddock, a longtime supporter of Imagine!, for being honored as the recipient of the first ever ANCOR Foundation President's Award. The award recognizes a person whose contributions to the field of disabilities have uniquely led to leading practice and profound innovation. Presentation of the award was made at the 2013 ANCOR Conference: Because We All Matter on April 28, 2013 in Washington, DC.

David Braddock, Ph.D. is the Coleman-Turner Chair and Professor at Colorado University and the Executive Director of the Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, with which ANCOR has been a partner for the past four years. He is the author of the important State of the States in Developmental Disabilities monograph series.

"Without David Braddock, our industry would not be where it is today," said Bill Tapp, president of the ANCOR Foundation. "It is very fitting that he receive this honor for his visionary leadership and tireless work toward ensuring the best policies and supports for people with disabilities."

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Associate ($500-$999)
Blake & Joanna Buhlig

Friend ($1-$249)
Kathy Coyne
Invest in Others On Behalf of Alexis Kahn -- for Out & About
Jeffrey Lynch
John Satkowski
Michael Schwartz & Angela Marlino
Scott & Jeannette Sutton
B.Wray and Kathy Vaughn

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Imagine! Provider Fair A Big Success

More than 111 individuals and 58 providers attended the
2013 Imagine Provider Fair

Last Thursday, April 18, Imagine! hosted a Provider Fair, which proved to be an exciting opportunity to for families and individuals served by Imagine! to connect with providers and to learn about services available to them.

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

• The 111 individuals who attended, comprising 76 families.
• The 58 providers that participated, including six Imagine! internal providers (see lists below).
• The generous providers, individuals, and companies that offered a total of 29 raffle prizes and gifts, which included: 1. An Imagine! client’s artwork, which was the special raffle prize for those who completed exit evaluations. 2. Another special raffle prize for those who signed up early was a $100 Target gift card, partially donated by Target. 3. Both the Colorado Aging and Disability Resource Center, Adult Resources for Care and Help (ARCH) and Vitamin Cottage donated reusable grocery bags. 4. King Soopers donated some of the refreshments. 5. Panera Bakery delivered meals for providers, staff, and volunteers at a discount.
• The five resource groups which participated: Self Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE), Family Link, the Association for Community Living (ACL), the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services, and the Colorado Community Health Alliance (CCHA) – the Region Six Regional Care Collaborative Organization (RCCO).
• Eight superb volunteers, including four from The GAP, who helped enormously before and during the Provider Fair. We especially want to express our appreciation for the $200.00 check donated to Imagine! at the end of the event by The GAP employee Vinnie Cervantes, and also to The GAP, who have matched his donation.

The Providers present were:

*Abundant Health Chiropractic & Acupuncture LLC
Alliance of Therapy Specialists, Inc.
Amanda Bryant, MT-BC, NMT
Applied Behavior Consultants
*Armstrong Physical Therapy, LLC
Aspire Autism
*At Home Fitness
*Austin Chiropractic Center
Behavior Services of the Rockies
*Boulder Learning Co-op, LLC
*Calming Kids Yoga
Carmel Community Living Corporation
Center for People with Disabilities (CPWD)
City of Boulder Parks & Recreation Department/EXPAND Program
College Living Experience
*Community Advantage
Community Link
Crutcher Physical Therapy, LLC
Cynthia Shiko, OTR, CMT, LLC
David Kalis
Debra B. Fitzgibbons, LSCW
Deep River Healing Arts
Dreamcatcher Direct Instruction Centers
Elizabeth Matthews
*Equinox Counseling and Wellness Center
Flatirons Naturopathic Clinic
*FLO Kneads Inc.
FRIENDS of Broomfield, Inc.
*Front Range Hippotherapy
Goldstar Learning Options
Help-Autism.com
Ignite Adaptive Sports at Eldora Mountain Resort
Jon Garson, LCSW
Kim McMillin, RN, MT-BC, LMFT
LAARC, LLC 
*Laradon
*Laura Antelmi Iyengar Yoga Center of Boulder
Lotus Brain Integration LLC
Melissa Jones, LCSW 
*Miracles Therapeutic Riding Center
*Northern Colorado Speech & Language Therapy, Inc.
Overture (Chestor House)
Pam Vagnieres/Nutriphysique: Nutrition and Exercise Therapy
*Positive Beginnings, LLC
Sample Supports 
*Sensory Learning Institute
*Sheryl Joel, RCMT
Spectra Autism Center 
Spectrum Community Services
Support, Inc.
The Infinite U, LLC
To The Rescue

*Those donating raffle prizes are starred above. Additional prizes provided by Mica Graves Therapeutic Riding (who could not attend) and by Matthew Denman.

Imagine! Internal Providers present were:
Dayspring
Imagine! CORE/Labor Source
Imagine! Behavioral Health Services (IBHS)
Imagine! Family Recruited Employee Services
Out & About
SmartSupports

Additionally, we appreciate all the Imagine! employees (it seemed like a cast of thousands) who so ably assisted us before, durin,g and after the Fair, especially staff from Family Support and Case Management, without whom this event would not have been possible, let alone such a huge success!

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Gold ($5,000-$9,999)
Western Digital Foundation – Grant of $6,000

Bronze ($1,000-$2,500)
C.C. Shoffner & Ruth A. Shoffner Revocable Living Trust: “To thank you for everything you did for Ted. You made his life enjoyable, you taught him so much, you did things with him ‘above and beyond duty.’ . . . . I think of all who helped Ted as ‘angels’ with beautiful halos.” – Note from Ruth Shoffner (Ted’s mother – Ted was an Imagine! client who passed away several weeks ago).

Supporter ($250-$499)
Donation jar proceeds at Out & About’s free Centre Stage Performance = $348.75

Friend ($1-$249)
Philip & Beth Osnes – Donation at Out & About’s Centre Stage Performance

As always, we thank all of our generous donors. 

Honored For Going Green

Last night, Imagine! was honored by the City of Lafayette, Colorado’s Green Business Program.

We are thrilled to be recognized for our efforts to go green. As a community-based organization, we feel we owe it to our community to leave as little of a footprint as possible.

Thanks, City of Lafayette!

Thank You Thursday

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

Cash Donations

Silver ($2,500-$4,999)
Art & Marion Seder

Bronze ($1,000-$2,500)
Combined Federal Campaign – Results of Fall 2012 Campaign (all anonymous)
Imagine! Employees Third Quarter Donation
Ken and Cathy Winter Family Field of Interest Fund/Longmont Community Foundation – Grant of $1000 for General Operating Support

Associate ($500-$999)
Dennis & Becky Fase – A portion of the payment for Merrill Lynch’s Silver Sponsorship of the Imagine! Celebration
Steven Holmes Fund/Longmont Community Foundation – Grant of $500 for General Operating Support
Longmont Rotary Charity Fund, Inc. – Grant of $700 for an iPad, applications, case, and mounting hardware for the Charles Family SmartHome

In-Kind Gifts

In-Kind Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Joy Newell – Refrigerator, Stove, Dishwasher, and Microwave for Residential Homes

As always, we thank all of our generous donors. 

Celebrate National Siblings Day

Today is National Siblings Day, so we’d like to take this opportunity to give a great big shout out to all the siblings of the individuals served by Imagine!. Siblings play a vital role in the lives of their brothers and sisters with disabilities, and many of the folks we serve are blessed with incredibly supportive siblings. In fact, several members of the Imagine! Foundation Board of Directors serve on the board because of their experiences growing up with a sibling with an intellectual disability.

If you are interested in learning more, check out The Sibling Leadership Network (SLN), a national nonprofit dedicated to providing siblings of individuals with disabilities the information, support and tools to advocate with their brothers and sisters and to promote issues important to them and their entire families.

Thank You, Longmont Community Foundation

Last Friday Imagine! received two grants at the Longmont Community Foundation's Annual Grants Breakfast: $1,000 from the Ken and Cathy Winter Family Field of Interest Fund of the Longmont Community Foundation, and $500 from the Steven Holmes Fund of the Longmont Community Foundation. Both grants are to be used for general operating support. Pictured with the checks is Leona Stoecker, past president of the Imagine! Foundation Board of Directors.

Imagine! Employees Transcend $10,000

Today, we’d like to send a big “thank you” to Imagine! employees.

As of the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2012-2013, Imagine! employees have already contributed $10,117 to support Imagine!’s programs and services as part of our “Transcend $10,000” Campaign! We are on track to make our goal of $11,500 – a 10% increase over last year’s total raised ($10,492).

We are so fortunate to have employees that contribute to Imagine!’s mission in so many different ways.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Bronze ($1,000-$2,500)
Mutual of America – Table at Imagine! Celebration

Supporter ($250-$499)
ATG Holdings, Inc. – Tickets at the Imagine! Celebration
Dan & Sandra Stevens

Friend ($1-$249)
Invest in Others Charitable Foundation, Inc. – For Out & About

In-Kind Gifts

In-Kind Silver
Liquor Mart – Wine and sparkling wine for the Imagine! Celebration plus Craft Brew and five Wine-A-Month live auction items for the event.

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Thanking The Virginia W. Hill Foundation

Today, we’d like to thank The Virginia W. Hill Foundation for its recent grant of $5,000 to support Imagine!’s Dayspring department’s Community Calendar Activities (CCA) program. We very much appreciate the Foundation’s support of this valuable extension of our early intervention services for young children with developmental disabilities or delays.

Through CCA, Imagine!’s early childhood special educators and pediatric occupational therapists work with babies and toddlers during group play and fitness activities in community settings, encouraging motor, sensory, social, emotional, cognitive, and speech and language development. CCA enhances the impact of direct therapies during a critical window in human development, thereby increasing the chances that these vulnerable children will “catch up” to their age peers. In addition, the program provides the children’s families both an introduction to appropriate activities in their communities and the confidence to access them independently.

This is The Virginia W. Hill Foundation’s second grant to support CCA. In all, it has provided $8,000 toward this vital program. Because no federal or state funds are available for CCA and it relies completely on community support, this generous grant is very important and much appreciated.

The Virginia W. Hill Foundation, managed by Wells Fargo, was established by the late Virginia Hill, a noted Denver philanthropist. Mrs. Hill was known in her lifetime for her charitable giving to better the lives of people living in the American West. She was, for example, a major donor in the early 1960's to the restoration of Ft. Laramie. In recent years, Mrs. Hill's Foundation has contributed significantly to improving the health—especially the mental health—of people living in the Denver Metropolitan area.

We are extremely grateful to The Virginia W. Hill Foundation’s continued support of young children and families in our community.

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Associate ($500-$999)
Knights of Columbus -- Father Charles Forsythe Council –Boulder #14877 – for Dayspring

Friend ($1-$249)
Bob and Allie Richardson – for Labor Source
MGM & United Artists Services Company – Residuals from Billy Montgomery’s performance in Rain Man

In-Kind Gifts

In-Kind Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Colorado Doorways, Inc.  – Computers, battery backups, and monitors

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Congratulations, Linda!

Congratulations to Linda Cain, owner of Cain Travel Group, for her election to the 2013 Class of the Boulder County Business Hall of Fame.

Cain Travel Group has been a longtime supporter of Imagine!, and all of us at Imagine! are delighted with this recognition of one of our favorite friends!



Source

Thanks To The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County

We’d like to express our sincere gratitude to The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County for its recent grant of $2,000 to go toward Family Support Grants for families living in Boulder County.

Family Support Grants help pay for the extraordinary costs of caring for a family member who has a developmental disability. Funds may be used to help pay for respite care, professional services, medical and dental senses, transportation, assistive technology, home modifications, and parent and sibling support.

Anyone who has a family member with a developmental disability knows how difficult it can be to pay for some of these expenses, and these grants can make a huge difference. As one family told us: “This grant will help ease the financial stress and burden that comes with having a special needs child. It helps offset costs that insurance does not cover. Each year it seems that insurance covers less to help our child function in the world. We have dealt with that by cutting down on therapies, respite and recreation activities. This grant helps us keep some of those things in place.”

The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County has been generously supporting Imagine! programs for quite some time. In fact, the total amount of donations it has provided to Imagine! over the years is $63,147! Wow, that is fantastic, and we are most appreciative!

Thank You Thursday!

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

Cash Donations

Gold ($5,000-$9,999)
Virginia W. Hill Foundation at Wells Fargo – Grant for $5,000 for Imagine!’s Dayspring department's Community Calendar Activities

Silver ($2,500-$4,999)
Motorola Solutions Foundation – Match to donation by Mark Zentner to equal a Gold Sponsorship of the Imagine! Celebration
Safeway Foundation – Grant of $4,732 for Labor Source Supported Employment

Bronze ($1,000-$2,499)
Knights of Columbus – Longmont Chapter #1313 – for Dayspring
Sargent Bickham Lagudis LLC – Table at the Imagine! Celebration

Associate ($500-$999)
Santa’s House Project – Proceeds from Christmas Open House – for Dayspring

Friend ($1-$249)
GE Foundation – Match to contribution by Al LeBlang
Daniel & Sandra Stevens
Vectra Bank – Donation in support of the Imagine! Celebration

As always, we thank all of our generous donors.

Imagine! Celebration: Another Success!

This year’s Imagine! Celebration had a new reason to celebrate, as 2013 is Imagine!’s 50th year of operation. The milestone was honored with 50th anniversary balloons, signs, flowers, notepads, and a brief history given by Imagine! Foundation president Sandy Bracken of just how far services for people with developmental disabilities have come during those 50 years.

Imagine! Foundation Board President Sandy Bracken (left) and

past Board President Leona Stoecker at the Annual Imagine! Celebration,

which honored Imagine!’s 50th Anniversary.

Bracken noted that when Imagine! was begun by a group of parents in 1963, the standard advice from doctors was to institutionalize any child born with a developmental disability. But this group of parents wanted to keep their children at home and create a life of meaning and fulfillment for them. Thus Imagine! was created, but many challenges still loomed. For example, Bracken noted that even though the 1960s Civil Rights Act increased equal rights pertaining to race and gender, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the Individual’s with Disabilities Education Act declared students with disabilities as also having inalienable civil rights to a public education. Today, after many years of continued effort, Imagine! takes pride in its ability to help the 2,850 individuals whom it serves each year to have quality lives and to be an integral part of a thriving community.

Though the history was sobering and gave context and meaning to the event, the evening at the Plaza Conference Center in Longmont was also festive! A total of $230,000 was raised to support Imagine! programs and services. Generous restaurants, hotels, businesses, and individuals donated 215 auction items. The silent auction item that proved most popular was a coin proof set from 1975 that sold for 367% of its value! In the live auction, conducted by auctioneer Gary Corbett, a Jax Fish House Chef’s Table Dinner sold for five times its value, and former Foundation president Leona Stoecker’s “Year of Home-Baked Bread” sold for 11 times its value!

The latest technology, which Imagine! is known for, also played a role. Last year, for the first time, guests were able to bid on silent auction items using their smartphones, and smartphone bidding accounted for 11% of the bids. This year, nearly one-fourth of all bids placed were placed on smartphones.

Emcee George Karakehian, an Imagine! Foundation emeritus member, spoke of the $5.3 million raised by the Imagine! Foundation to date and introduced a video produced by Imagine! employees Alex Andrews and Fred Hobbs. The video shared the stories of two individuals Imagine! has served – Joe Hansen, who works at Safeway and is a member of the Imagine! Board of Directors, and Chris Miller, who has gained a sense of belonging from Imagine!’s Out & About summer camp and after school programs.

Imagine! CEO Mark Emery (left) poses with Margie Shaw and her son,

Chris Miller. Margie and Chris were featured in a video, which

debuted at the Celebration, about Imagine!’s services.

Parents Cindy and Dwight Newell were kind enough to share the personal story of their daughter Lindsey, who has received many services from Imagine! during her 22 years. The Newells expressed particular appreciation for Imagine! staff members who provided care and help for Lindsey above and beyond what might be expected as she went through a difficult crisis and who truly made it possible for Lindsey to continue to live at home. The Newells courageously and eloquently reminded everyone in the room of why they were there, which provided a fitting ending to an important evening for those we serve.

Special thanks to the Imagine! Celebration Committee and to our event sponsors for their significant contribution to the event’s success.

Thank You, Louisville

Today, we’d like to thank the City of Louisville, CO for their grant of $400 toward a Family Support Grant for a Louisville family.

Family Support Grants help pay for the extraordinary costs of caring for a family member who has a developmental disability. Funds may be used to help pay for respite care, professional services, medical and dental senses, transportation, assistive technology, home modifications, and parent and sibling support. Anyone who has a family member with a developmental disability knows how difficult it can be to pay for some of these expenses, and these grants can make a huge difference.

As one family told us: “This grant will help ease the financial stress and burden that comes with having a special needs child. It helps offset costs that insurance does not cover. Each year it seems that insurance covers less to help our child function in the world. We have dealt with that by cutting down on therapies, respite and recreation activities. This grant helps us keep some of those things in place.”

Thank you, Louisville, for your generous support of families in your community!

March Is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

Twenty-five years ago, spurred by advocates across the nation, then-President Ronald Reagan declared March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month urging “all Americans to join me in according to our fellow citizens with such disabilities both encouragement and the opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

In observance of DD Awareness Month, the Imagine! Foundation encourages everyone to celebrate the strengths and achievements of Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). After decades of progress, today people with I/DD are living and working in the community, pursuing higher education, growing their faith, making their voices heard, and even taking a lead in using technology to find more independence.

Thank You, Safeway Employees!

Yesterday, the Safeway Foundation presented a check to Imagine! for $4,732 to help support our mission. Pictured in the photo above, from left to right, are Kevin Wehrly, Vice President of Retail Operations for Safeway, Gary Stebick, Imagine! Communications Coordinator, and Heather Halpape, Public Affairs Manager for Safeway. The donation was one of 19 made by Safeway to various non-profit organizations from funds raised through payroll deduction donations by Safeway employees.

Thanks, Safeway employees, for your support of your community!

Congratulations, Bob!

Congratulations are in order for Bob Davis, who serves on Imagine!’s Board of Directors.

Bob, of Re/Max Alliance, is being honored tonight as a Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Champion award in recognition of his outstanding commitment to the Lafayette chamber, special events, and area organizations that have benefited from his volunteerism. Those of us at Imagine! know first-hand about Bob’s commitment to his community. He has been an invaluable member of our Board.

The award presentation will take place tonight, March 7, at 8 p.m. at the Gatehouse in Lafayette. The cost is $35 per person and reservations are required. Go online to www.lafayettecolorado.com for more information.

Way to go, Bob!

Spread The Word To End The Word!

Today, March 6th, 2013, is National Spread the Word to End the Word Awareness Day. The day was created to bring about the end of the use of the R-word. The R-word hurts because it is exclusive. It's offensive. It's derogatory. For more information on National Spread the Word to End the Word Awareness Day, click here.

Thanking The Collins Foundation

Today we’d like to send a great big “thank you” to The Collins Foundation for their recent $2,500 grant for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. 

This is The Collins Foundation’s fifth grant to our Boulder SmartHome, totaling $15,000. The Collins Foundation was established by William R. and Ruth Collins for distribution to charitable, religious, and educational purposes and organizations within the County of Boulder. The Collins Foundation is administered by the Private Client Services division of Wells Fargo Bank.

Thanks, Collins Foundation!