Imagine!’s Autism Spectrum Disorder Program

The Autism Spectrum Disorder Program (ASD) at Imagine! is a three-year program that provides funding for individuals with an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis to access therapeutic services such as Behavior Therapy, Psychological and Counseling Services, Social Integration Activities, Equipment recommended by medical professionals, etc. The program funding for the new fiscal year is as follows: 1st year-$5,000, 2nd year-$5,000, and 3rd year-$4,000.

In order to be eligible for the program, individuals must have a medical diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, must live in Boulder County (there is currently a small Broomfield County Pilot Project with a waiting list), be over 5 years old and under 26 years old, and live at home with his or her parents or guardian (those over 18 living independently may request an exemption to this requirement). Please note that if an individual is eligible for or receiving other services funded by the Colorado Division for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities through Imagine! (such as Family Support Services, or a waiver) they would not qualify for enrollment in the ASD Program.

Please visit www.imaginecolorado.org/ASD to complete a registration form and to view additional information about the program. Feel free to also contact Maria Klickna, ASD Program Coordinator, at mklickna@imaginecolorado.org or 303-457-5648 to learn more about this opportunity.

Imagine! CEO Meets With Sen. Fenberg

On Friday morning, Imagine! CEO Rebecca Novinger had a great meeting with Colorado State Senator Steve Fenberg. The two had a great discussion about a wide variety of topics, in particular their shared interest on the need for affordable housing for all Colorado citizens, regardless of ability.

Good News Friday!

Imagine!’s Out & About Summer Camp crew can’t believe another summer has come and gone so quickly! A huge THANK YOU to our staff, participants, and families for all your hard work and support this summer! We have had an amazing summer full of fun adventures. The pictures below only begin to tell the story of a summer well spent!

Local Family Building Tiny House For Son With Special Needs

A local family is gearing up to build a tiny house on their property so that their son, who has Down syndrome and receives services from Imagine!, can have more independence.

Check out this story from the Longmont Times Call to learn more.

Stapp Inspires Imagine!

Imagine! is honored to have Stapp Interstate Toyota as a new sponsor, helping us further our mission in creating a world of opportunity for all abilities. Stapp Toyota recently produced a video promoting Imagine!’s mission, which will air on select Comcast channels between now and late September. We thank them for their incredibly generous support.

 

Enjoy Bobo's Oat Bars And Support Imagine!

It's back-to-school season, and here's a virtual bake sale that will save you money and help Imagine!. 

Boulder-based Bobo's Oat Bars will give you a 10% discount online using the promo code IMAGINE!, and Imagine! will receive a 30% donation of all sales - from now until the end of September. Yum!

Click here to get started with the deliciousness.

Imagine! To Dance With The Broomfield Stars

Imagine! dancers will perform at the Broomfield Community Foundation's "Dancing with the Broomfield Stars" on Thursday, September 26 at the 1stBank Center. Dancers from eight other local nonprofits will perform also.

Get tickets and cheer on these wonderful performers! Enjoy an evening of food and entertainment, Imagine! will receive a portion of the proceeds from this event. You can also VOTE for our group by making a donation now or at the event.

Dancers are Ashleigh Wegner, Brittany Kruse, Kacey Beightol, Miah Yager. Their instructor is Bridget Heddens.

Good News Friday!

On August 17, Imagine!’s Out & About department will be hosting its 5th annual Bike Block Party at Broomfield Community Park from 11am-3pm, where attendees are able to test drive a variety of adaptive bikes designed to ensure that people of all abilities can enjoy the freedom and excitement that comes from biking. Below are some pictures from previous years’ events. All are welcome to join us, see more details at the bottom of the page!

Thank you First National Bank for sponsoring this amazing event!

Good News Friday!

Congratulations to Imagine! employees Meagan Little and Chris Baumgart, who gave a presentation last Friday at Longmont Startup Week on how Imagine! is using Virtual Reality to help prepare individuals we serve for the workforce. This is revolutionary stuff, and the presentation was a huge hit.

In fact, the Longmont Times Call was so impressed they wrote a nice article about the presentation! 

Pups and Cups Please Employees

Last week, Imagine! celebrated its amazing employees with our second annual “Pups and Cups” event, featuring Sweet Cow Ice Cream for employees at all of our work sites and some very special guest visitors – puppies from Lifeline Puppy Rescue. Imagine! CEO Rebecca Novinger helped hand out the sweet treats, and the puppies helped lift everybody’s spirits! This is just one way we recognize the work our employees do every day to help create a world of opportunity for all abilities.

Technology Tuesday

In July, participants in Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source program were introduced to a coding program called Scratch. Scratch is a free program that allows users to program their own interactive stories, games, and animations — and share their creations with others in the online community. Scratch helps people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively — essential skills for life in the 21st century for people of all abilities.

Imagine!'s Dayspring Bulletin - August 2019

Imagine!’s latest Dayspring Bulletin is available online.

Good News Friday!

Each year, Lafayette Elementary holds a charity event for a cause chosen by the students – one that is near and dear to their hearts. This year, Stephanie Downing’s second grade class chose Imagine!, and decided to add some chill to the end of the school year with a Lemonade Stand. They raised almost $200 in about an hour! Most importantly, they appreciate that Imagine! is an vital part of our community and helps people they know – their friends, siblings, even themselves. The students are already gearing up to raise even more next year!

Imagine!'s New Electric Vehicle Charging Station

Thanks to the Don and Lorraine Freeberg Foundation for a grant which enabled Imagine! to install two additional electric vehicle charging stations. One is located on the back side of our Dixon Ave. building (pictured) and we now have two located on the southwest corner of our Coal Creek building.

July Is Employment First Month

Colorado Governor Jared Polis has declared July to be “Employment First Month” – demonstrating his commitment to ensuring that Colorado citizens of all abilities have the opportunity to contribute to their communities through meaningful work opportunities. Imagine! has been committed to supported employment opportunities for people with I/DD since 1984. Click here to learn about how we work with local businesses to find jobs for the people we serve.

Imagine!'s Family Support Bulletin - July/August 2019

Imagine!’s latest Family Support Bulletin is available online.

Good News Friday!

Next week, on Friday July 26, Imagine! Assisitve Technology Program Supervisor Meagan Little will be presenting at Longmont Startup Week. Meagan’s presentation will be titled “Virtual Reality Worksite Demo for Individuals of All Abilities.”

The goal of this presentation is to demonstrate how Imagine! is working to support individuals to develop job skills through the use of Virtual Reality (VR). Many of the individuals we support have a hard time generalizing skills from one environment to the next and the use of VR allows us to make the environments similar to support with carrying the skills over.

Imagine! is currently working with a company called Reality Garage to work on making this happen. With the company we have worked on creating different aspects within the VR such as collecting data to see where someone needs help, errorless learning system and prompting hierarchy. All of these allow for use to support the individual to increase their job reality skills within the left-hand worksite.

You are encouraged to join Meagan for this look into the future of services!

Technology Tuesday

For almost a decade, Imagine! and the University of Colorado College of Engineering have collaborated to design adaptive technologies to aid increased independence for individuals served by Imagine!. Students work with Imagine! to design assistive technologies that open doors to increased self-reliance. With the fall semester rapidly approaching, Imagine! hosted a meeting to get the semester’s projects started right, discussing new ideas, the best ways to engage students, and more. Attendees included reps from the CU, The Coleman Institute for Cognitive Disabilities, and Assistive Tech Instructors from Imagine!.

Quincy Malecki - Imagine! Excellence In Customer Service Award Recipient

Congratulations are in order for Quincy Malecki, recently honored with the Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award.

Quincy has an ability to develop a rapport with any person she meets receiving services at Out & About. She always works to make sure all children have the best support plan, staff are supported, and have all the resources they need to be the best they can. Staff gravitate to her for support and she provides it. She always is looking for how she can help and what needs to be done. She goes above and beyond to make sure there is a personal relationship developed with parents that instills the trust parents need.

Good News Friday!

Imagine! hosts a monthly orientation for its new employees, and at the most recent orientation a new video was debuted highlighting the culture at Imagine! – how our work truly does create a world of opportunity for all abilities. Although the video was designed for new employees, it does such a great job of capturing what makes Imagine! unique that we thought we’d share it further. Enjoy!

 

Save The Date - Imagine!'s Out & About Bike Block Party

Good News Friday!

Clients in Imagine!'s adult services have artwork on display RIGHT NOW at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder. Check it out from now until July 14! In late June, Imagine! and Museo De Las Americas kicked off the art gallery in style with live music, artist greetings, an arts and crafts table, and a 3D printing demonstration.