SmartHome Shout Out!

Many thanks to Doyle Albee, president of Metzger Associates, for sharing our video about using assistive technology at Imagine! to provide access to Social Media to those we serve on the Metzger blog. Doyle founded the Social Media Practice Group at Metzger in 2005 and is an expert in the field, so we sure appreciate the shout out!

Mandy's Short Story

Mandy lives at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder, and is using some of the technology in the SmartHome, including speech to text technology, to write articles for the Imagine! employee newsletter. Here’s her latest contribution, an original story (which may sound slightly familiar!):

It was a snowy day. The kids were out of school. They were bored. They wanted to go out and play. The kids wanted to drink hot chocolate. After they drank hot chocolate, they went out to play in the snow. They took a scarf and a pair of mittens, and they took some buttons that their mom had and a hat. And, they went out to build balls of snow. They used one for the head, one for the body, and the put a hat and some boots on this thing. It got really cold. The snow creation got more frozen, and when they got outside the next day, the snow creation started to move. The snowman, his name was Happy. It was very magical. It ran around with them all day and built the Christmas tree at their house. They decorated it, and he even dressed as Santa Claus and brought the kids presents on Christmas Day. But, eventually it got hot, and he melted away. The kids were sad, but he had told them before that he’d be back someday.

THE END

Christmas at The Charles Family SmartHome

As we approach the New Year, it is a good time to reflect on some of the important things in life, like being with friends and family.

In that spirit, here’s some photos of a group of folks who became housemates this year and are now sharing the experience of living in a technologically advanced home designed to provide them with opportunities to become more independent and have better community access. They are rapidly becoming good friends and it shows.

We hope you will enjoy these nice pictures of residents of the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont celebrating Christmas at the home and at Imagine!’s holiday party.

Donna's Diary - December 2010

Guess who will be getting new wheelchairs soon? Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents Donna and Gerald, that’s who. Learn about that and more in Donna’s latest online diary entry below.

And for more of Donna’s diary entries, click here.

Well, this is the best Christmas I've ever had because I'm able to share it with friends and loved ones, some I haven't seen in a long time.

Since my last diary entry, on Thanksgiving we went to Zolo Southwestern Grill for a totally free Thanksgiving dinner, with lots of great food, drinks, and dessert. It was a wonderful time, and very generous of the man who owns the restaurant to provide us with such a good meal.

Gerald and I are getting new wheelchairs in January. We got evaluated and just received a letter in the mail saying the chairs will come in January. We were hoping they'd make nice Christmas presents but January is soon enough. At least I have a power chair to tide me over. Gerald has been temporarily using a manual chair, and in case you don't know, he is used to operating his power chair with a head switch so not having that chair has been a challenge for him. He deals with it well. That's my husband, he makes the best of things.

We have a decorated tree up in the house, and some of us will be celebrating Christmas here. Some of my housemates will be visiting their families. Me, Gerald, Mandy, and Chris plan to be here at the SmartHome though. It's nice the others will be with family, but I will miss them.

I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011.

Imagine! Holiday Party

A couple of weeks ago Imagine! hosted its annual holiday party. Several SmartHome residents attended, including Anthony, Rae, and Gerald, and got to enjoy the company of a jolly old elf!

Why I Like Living In The SmartHome

University of Colorado at Denver, School of Public Affairs student Amber Butterfield recently completed an evaluation of Assistive Technology at the SmartHomes for her MPA Capstone project. Lots of interesting and helpful information, and we sure appreciate her hard work.

One of our favorite sections included quotes from residents about why they liked living at the SmartHome. Here’s some samples:

Computers.

Bedroom.

Everything.

Touch screen computers.

Sinks and countertops that go up and down.

Like it all. Love the computers. Love to write stories. Latest story was about Snoopy.

Much better than the duplex that I lived in before. There were too many doors to go through.

My wife.

DynaVox helps me talk.

Enjoy living here.

Kitchen counters. Like to cook.

Music. Likes to listen to music.

My room. Like the space.

Thanks Amber for your hard work and sharing this information!

Congratulations Nate!

Congratulations are in order for Charles Family SmartHome staff member Nate George, who was recently honored as one of Imagine!'s 2010 Employees of Distinction.

This year’s Employees of Distinction were selected from an impressive list of nominees because of the great work they do every day to ensure that Imagine! is able to meet its mission of providing opportunities for the individuals it serves.

As you may already know, we are so fortunate! at Imagine! to have so many dedicated, talented, and passionate people working here at Imagine!. Even among this impressive group of employees, there are workers whose work ethic, compassion, and creativity allow them to stand out in a very gifted crowd. They are truly Employees of Distinction.

Learn a little bit more about why Nate was selected by reading the quote from his nomination form below. You can learn about all of Imagine!'s 2010 Employees of Distinction by clicking here.

Congratulations, Nate!

“Nate does a great job at keeping a cool, clear head in any difficult situation and continues to provide a subjective point of view and innovative ideas when tackling unexpected problems.”