Thank You Rotary Club of Longmont St. Vrain

Today we’d like to say “thank you” to the Rotary Club of Longmont St. Vrain for their generous donation of $500 for the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont.

Check Out Donna's Latest Blog Post

SmartHome residents Donna and Gerald went skiing last week. How did it go? Check out Donna’s latest blog post to find out.

Pledge To End The R-Word

Today (March 7) is Spread the Word to End the Word Day. Get the details below, and pledge your support to eliminate the demeaning use of the R-word.

WHAT

Spread the Word to End the Word is an ongoing effort by Special Olympics, Best Buddies and supporters to raise the consciousness of society about the dehumanizing and hurtful effects of the word “retard(ed)” and encourage people to pledge to stop using the R-word.

The campaign, created by youth, is intended to engage schools organizations and communities to rally and pledge their support at http://www.r-word.org/ and to promote the inclusion and acceptance of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

WHEN
The official annual day of awareness is held the first Wednesday of every March. While most activities are centered on or near that annual day in March, people everywhere can help spread the word throughout their communities and schools year-round thru pledge drives, youth rallies and online activation.

WHO

Spread the Word to End the Word was founded by college students Soeren Palumbo (Notre Dame 2011) and Tim Shriver (Yale 2011) in 2009, and continues to be led by passionate young people, Special Olympics athletes and Best Buddies participants across the United States and in many other parts of the world.

Celebrity activist John C. McGinley is a spokesperson for the campaign.

WHY

Respectful and inclusive language is essential to the movement for the dignity and humanity of people with intellectual disabilities.

HOW
Visit http://www.r-word.org/ to learn how you can Spread the Word to End the Word.

Guess Who's Touring The SmartHomes?

Thanks to Imagine! Foundation Board Member Rick Nelson, who brought three guests for a tour of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome yesterday.

If you’d like to take your own tour, click here.

Thank You, Boettcher Foundation

Today we’d like to thank the Boettcher Foundation for its generous grant of $20,000 to support the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder.

Since 1937, The Boettcher Foundation’s mission has been to invest in the minds and mortar of Colorado. The grant from the Boettcher Foundation was used toward the construction of the SmartHome.

This support is vital to one of Imagine!’s most ambitious projects. Over the past five years, Imagine! has built, and is currently operating, two SmartHomes. Imagine!’s SmartHomes provide permanent affordable housing for individuals with physical and developmental disabilities, and they incorporate cutting edge technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of services and supports for the residents.

As the first such homes in the nation, Imagine!’s SmartHomes are serving as a model for the future of residential care for people with developmental disabilities. They enhance the lives and independence of residents, augment the effectiveness of staff as caregivers, and provide cost and energy savings to Imagine!.

In addition, the SmartHome model has enormous potential to impact groups of people with related concerns (dementia, autism, chronic mental illness, and Alzheimer’s), as the homes are serving as living laboratories to create and test “SmartSupports” – assistive technologies that can be used in family homes to keep individuals with any kind of cognitive impairment living in their own homes for as long as possible.

Wall Mount Is A Big Hit

Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Gerald’s wall mount (designed by CU School of Engineering students) for his DynaVox computerized communication device is proving to be a big hit. Gerald loves the new mount, which allows him to control his TV and computer from bed. Gerald can scroll through channels, mute the TV, open up his YouTube account, or send an email, all on his own from the comfort of his own bed. A great example of a simple technology making a big difference. Thank you CU students!

Here’s a video of the wall mount:

Check Out The Latest SmartHomes Newsletter

Imagine!’s latest SmartHomes newsletter is available online. Check it out here.