Happy Halloween From The Charles Family SmartHome!

The residents of the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont attended a fun Halloween party this weekend. Check out the cool costumes!

Check Out Donna’s Latest Blog Entry

What scary, stealthy characters are Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents Donna and Gerald going to dress up as for Halloween? The answer is in Donna’s latest blog entry. Click here to find out . . . if you dare!

Imagine!’s Assistive Technology Laboratory – We're Almost There!

We mentioned a while back that we have been working on creating an Assistive Technology Laboratory that will serve as our new headquarters for helping individual consumers identify, obtain, and learn to use the specific assistive technology devices that will allow them to reach their full potential. The lab will help us with the second phase of our SmartHomes project – expanding the use of technology beyond the SmartHomes into individual and family homes. We’re almost ready! Here’s some pictures of our tech staff putting some of the final touches on the lab. Exciting stuff!

Strategically Incorporating Technology

On October 14, 2011, Imagine!’s SmartHomes guru Greg Wellems gave a presentation at the annual ANCOR Technology Conference. Greg spoke about the importance of strategically implementing technology for organizations which are looking to use technology as a way to enhance services for individuals with developmental disabilities. This was a powerful and important message to share as more and more organizations are realizing the potential that technology has to offer, but aren’t quite sure where to start. Greg’s presentation offered solutions for building a solid foundation on which to develop technology use in the DD field.

Take a peek at his presentation below.

Strategically Incoporating Technology

View more presentations from Fred Hobbs

Leona Stoecker: Imagine!’s SmartHomes Giving Spark!

Today we’d like to offer a well deserved “congratulations” to Imagine! Foundation board member and past president (as well as a super SmartHome supporter) Leona Stoecker, who on Friday was awarded the Giving Spark Award at the Longmont Community Foundation Giving Celebration.

We’d like to quote here an email that Kathy Coyne, another Foundation board member, wrote to Leona last night after the ceremony, as it is said so beautifully and captures how we all feel. Kathy was attending on behalf of HospiceCare of Boulder & Broomfield Counties, which was a finalist for the Longmont Community Foundation’s Collaborative Excellence Award.

Leona,

It was so nice to see you tonight and I do hope I’m one of the first to congratulate you on the honor and award received at the Longmont Community Foundation Celebration!

You’ve been such a gift to the Longmont community and to Imagine! I can’t thank you enough for your efforts.

I wasn’t surprised, but everyone at my table mentioned how wonderfully you served the organization with your comments upon receiving the award. So perfectly done!

You’re such a treasure and I so appreciate your leadership!

Many thanks and congratulations again--also to your beloved Bernie, for his support of your efforts, as I know that means a lot to you and to our community!

Thanks so much, Kathy, and especially and always to our dear Leona!!

In the pictures above, Leona is shown with her award, and also with her husband Bernie.

Check Out Donna's Blog!

You may be aware that SmartHome resident Donna has been doing an online diary on the SmartHomes blog for awhile. She has become skilled enough with her speech to text software that she is now making more frequent dairy entries. So now is a great time to re-introduce her own blog – “Donna’s Diary.” Click here to check it out (the latest post is an original story about aliens!), and be sure to come back often for updates!

Gerald's Creative Writing

We’ve mentioned before how technology is helping Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Gerald learn to read and write. Here are some pictures of his hard work coming to fruition as he writes his own creative story about Halloween using his DynaVox. Gerald uses the elbow switch on his wheelchair to type. He is writing as part of a creative writing class in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor department. Way to go, Gerald!