Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from all of Imagine!’s SmartHome residents and staff members!

Happy Birthday, Loren!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Charles Family SmartHome resident Loren. Make it a great one, Loren!

Check Out The Latest SmartHomes Newsletter

Imagine!’s latest SmartHomes newsletter is available online.

Check it out here. 

Flood Damage Update – Financial Impact And Efforts

We’ve shared photos of the repairs on the flood damaged Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, but today we thought we give you an update on how we’re dealing with the financial impact we incurred during the floods. Imagine! is pleased that all of its homes that were damaged in the flood have now been repaired, and all live-in staff who were displaced have now moved back into their residential settings. Grants have thus far brought in $26,000, insurance provided $30,000, and our online crowdfunding campaign raised $35,237. We have some additional grant requests that have been submitted, we completed an application for FEMA, and we have applied for a Small Business Administration loan. But, at present, Imagine! is still facing a shortfall of approximately $130,000. This shortfall will most likely translate into belt tightening in all departments. If you haven’t had a chance to help as yet, please consider a gift to: Imagine! Foundation, 1400 Dixon Avenue, Lafayette, CO 80026 or the online on our website at www.imaginecolorado.org. Thank you!

New Decorations Make The Holidays Bright

You probably know by now that the basement of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome basement was under four feet of water during the historic flooding that took place in Boulder County this fall. Among the many items that were destroyed were the home’s holiday decorations. Thankfully, a donation from the ARC of Colorado allowed the residents to have some new decorations and the house is bright again, just in time for the holiday. Thanks so much!

Technology Tuesday

A group of University of Colorado Engineering students in a 2013 Fall Semester class taught by Associate Professor Melinda Piket-May worked on projects to design simple adaptive technologies that aid increased independence for some of the individuals Imagine! serves. Here are two short videos of students explaining their projects. Both of these projects are designed to help improve fine motor skills and spatial recognition.

3-D Hand Operated Maze
 
Can’t see the video? Click here.

Interactive Activity Board
 
Can’t see the video? Click here. 

SmartHomes In The News

There was a great article and video from this weekend’s Daily Camera about The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Technologies, featuring some of the work being done at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. We are so fortunate to have the Coleman Institute, Dr. David Braddock, and students like Jeff Hoehl in our backyard. They keep us focused on the future of our work. Check out the article here.

Getting Ready For The Holidays

Last Sunday at Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont, the staff and residents had a fantastic time decorating the house and tree for Christmas as well as celebrating Toby's birthday with his parents. A few volunteers came in and helped, and everyone had a jolly ‘ol time. Thanks to new Site Supervisor Christopher DiRosa for sharing the picture and info.

Happy Birthday, Lana!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays today to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Lana. Make it a great one, Lana!

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Scheduled to tour The Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont this coming Friday: Carly Knauf, Adult Program Manager for Extreme Sports Camp, which is based in Carbondale, CO and serves local, regional, and national populations across the autism spectrum through experiential, community based learning opportunities to enhance health, abilities, personal growth, and social engagement.

Technology Tuesday

A group of University of Colorado Engineering students in a 2013 Fall Semester class taught by Associate Professor Melinda Piket-May worked on projects to design simple adaptive technologies that aid increased independence for some of the individuals Imagine! serves.

Here some short videos of students explaining a couple of the projects.

Interactive Money Game

 

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

 

Wheelchair Arm Stop

 

 

Can’t see the video? Click here.

Support The SmartHomes On Colorado Gives Day

Colorado Gives Day is tomorrow, December 10, and we encourage you to participate! Donations made online at www.coloradogives.org/Imagine on December 10 will be eligible for partial matching funds. Donating through Colorado Gives eliminates all processing fees for Imagine! for donations totaling up to $50,000 per year.

Colorado Gives Day was a great success last year. Our total was $44,125 from 74 donors, and included $867.28 in partial matching funds from the FirstBank Incentive Fund. This total was nearly four times the amount raised in 2011, thanks in great part to the donation of $25,000 from an anonymous donor for the new Next Step Group Home in Broomfield.

If you are thinking about making a gift to Imagine! before the end of the calendar year, please consider doing it online on Colorado Gives Day. Whether you go through our website (www.imaginecolorado.org) or directly to Colorado Gives, you will end up at the same place. You may also designate a particular Imagine! program, including our SmartHomes, in the “Any comments or special instructions” box if you would like. The only gifts that are ineligible are donations for which you receive something in return, such as tickets or sponsorships of our Imagine! Celebration.    

Thank you!

Getting Ready For The Holidays

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident John and Kelsey Young, who works for Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source department, are getting in the holiday spirit!

Happy Birthday, Toby!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Charles Family SmartHome resident Toby. Make it a great one, Toby!

Playing Sorry At The SmartHome

Here’s a nice picture of a youth group that came to volunteer at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. They played the game “Sorry” with the residents, and one of the volunteers practiced some sign language with Rebecca.

Technology Tuesday

This week’s Technology Tuesday is about a promising project Imagine! is undertaking with Alex Matteo, an engineer from Plexus.

Alex has agreed to help create a prototype of a mobile sensor system that could set up a perimeter, or an “invisible wall,” that could send notifications to caregivers when the perimeter is breached. This could be especially useful for individuals who are prone to elopement or for individuals who aren’t able to use certain appliances (such as stoves or ovens) safely.

Imagine! has been exploring the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for similar purposes, but so far it has not proven to be an effective process. It is expensive and getting the RFID sensors to function properly was problematic. So Alex and the good folks at Plexus have agreed to help create a new system that doesn’t rely on RFID but can meet the same needs. Additionally, the hope is this sensor system will be much more flexible and have the capability to be tailored to individuals.

Thanks Alex and Plexus! We’re excited to see where this project will take us!

SmartHome Flood Repair Update

Here’s some pictures of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome basement flood repairs. At the time of the photos (Nov. 26), the work was about 95% done, just a few finishing touches were needed. It will be nice to be back to normal! The “Moose 4” on the vent is a welcomed little memento from the AmeriCorps team who helped fix everything up!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday, John!

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident John. Make it a great one, John!