Donna's Diary - April

In her April online diary entry, Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Donna talks about upgrades to her computer designed for ease of use. And, she'll be in the Bolder Boulder next month! Learn more below. And click here to see all of her diary entries.

All of us at the SmartHome got new setups for our computers. The new setup has bigger icons, which makes it easier to click on them. It’s great that we’re learning new ways to help us use all the neat equipment we have here.

Also at the SmartHome we’re in the process of putting up pictures of some art we made in art class. They’re framed, and they look good hanging on our walls.

Many of us are going to participate in the Bolder Boulder again this year. We have to use our push chairs as the Bolder Boulder isn’t allowing motorized chairs this year, for safety reasons. I appreciate that the staff are willing to push us and to help us finish the race. I love all the staff who work here at the SmartHome. My favorite part of the race is just being able to do it with my friends. Even though I can’t do it by myself, I do it with my friends and that makes it a wonderful day.

Mandy's Poetry Reading

Nice picture of Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome resident Mandy reading her poetry last Friday as part of her public speaking class. Great job, Mandy!

Latest Longmont SmartHome Interior Pictures

Man, does this house look good! Take a look at some interior pictures of the Longmont SmartHome.

Looking Presentable

Part of our goal with our SmartHome project is to educate others in the field of serving individuals with intellectual disabilities and related issues about the amazing potential for technology to improve the lives of those we serve. We have worked hard at this, and members of the SmartHome team have traveled across the state and even the country to give presentations on this ambitious and unique project.

Here’s just a few presentation we have scheduled for the next few months:

On April 30, SmartHome guru Greg Wellems will provide an educational session on SmartHome Medical and Nursing Supports at the Colorado Association of Developmental Disability Nurses 2010 Spring Education Conference in Lafayette, CO.

On May 12, SmartHome project manager Sterling Wind will be presenting our SmartHomes Project at the National Association of Housing & Redevelopment Officials Colorado Conference in Pueblo, CO. He will be a member of their “Aging Gracefully in Place” panel.

Keeping busy, Sterling will then turn right around and head to Keystone, CO, to present May 13 and 14 at the Colorado Association of Homes & Services for the Aging Conference. The presentation title will be “Lean & Green: Breaking the Residential Service Delivery Routine.” Joining Sterling will be Hanni Ruehrdanz, Imagine!’s Staffed Sites Manager.

May 20 – 22 Greg will be back on the circuit, giving a presentation on the history and future of the SmartHome in Dublin, OH at the Ohio Association of County Boards Serving Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Spring Conference.

On June 17, SmartHome team member Fred Hobbs will be presenting at the Alliance June Training Summit in Fort Collins, CO. His presentation will be: Getting Social: Why Service Organizations Need To Embrace Social Media.

Video Update

We made a few changes to the SmartHome video we debuted at January's Imagine! Celebration Dinner and Auction to reflect some of our latest breakthroughs. Take a look!

Rae At Work

SmartHome residents don’t just play on computers all day. You’ll often run into them working at their jobs, paying taxes, and spending their hard earned money in the community. Check out these pictures of Charles home resident Rae working at her job at King Soopers.

SmartHome In The News

In case you missed it, there was a really nice story about our recently completed Longmont SmartHome in the Longmont Ledger. The article featured Anthony Plumley, who will soon be moving into the house. If you haven’t yet seen the article, check it out by clicking here.