Imagine! Case Management Unsung Hero - Jonah Moss

Congrats to Jonah Moss, recently selected as an Imagine! Case Management Unsung Hero.

Jonah recently joined the Case Management department and has hit the ground running. Last month we learned through a State audit that thousands of case notes did not fully upload from our data system into theirs. Jonah jumped right in to offer his expertise and willingness to create a program with a sorting algorithm that allowed us to compare notes from both data systems. In doing so, we were able to sort out those notes that were incomplete and needed reentry into the State system. This was a significant contribution that has allowed Imagine! Case Management to save a great deal of money.

Imagine!'s Dayspring Bulletin - February 2019

Imagine!’s latest Dayspring Bulletin is available online.

Imagine! Open House and Job Fair Next Tuesday

Cassie Finds A Home

After 13 years of looking for a permanent home, "Cassie," a life-size horse sculpture, found a home on Imagine! property. Alonzo Clemons, who accepts services from Imagine!, created Cassie back in 2005. Earlier this year, the city of Lafayette, Colorado purchased the sculpture and chose the Imagine! administration building to display this wonderful art. A dedication ceremony featuring Alonzo and others close to this project will take place later this spring. Come to 1400 Dixon Ave in Lafayette to see the masterpiece up close and personal!

Imagine! Leadership Development Group Update

Imagine!'s 2018-19 Leadership Development Group. Left to right: Paula McCormick, Emily Walsh, Victoria Thorne, Gabbie Norton, and Jessie Michaud

Every year, Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group (LDG) performs a case study for Imagine!. This year’s case study is “Fostering a Collaborative Culture,” and the LDG will present it to the Imagine! Board of Directors in May. 

Paula: This case study is really exciting for me because I have found that just having the diversity of different services in the LDG has given me a whole new understanding of what happens in other areas within Imagine!. I feel this project will give us a chance to work towards everyone having a good idea of what goes on in each area as well as allowing for knowledge sharing and maybe identification of some best practices. For example, I recently heard about a new ARC opening in Longmont. Since Jessie is looking for employment opportunities for CORE/Labor Source, I was able to share that with her. If I was not familiar with Jessie and Imagine!’s Supported Employment program, we would not have made that connection. This is just one of many examples that show how important our case study topic is.

Victoria: Choosing our case study, surprisingly, took more time than I expected because we made an effort to pull each potential case study apart and deliberate. Picking the case study on how we can help foster a collaborative culture at Imagine! is exciting for two reasons. First, I am eager to meet our goal for this project: to create strategies that help Imagine!’s leadership foster a stronger culture of information sharing and collaboration. Second, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with other employees in the company who will help us gain insight and drive our project’s goals. Every project needs the passion and perseverance of its participants to succeed. I hope that this case study teaches me more about what effective communication, collaboration, and change means to each department at Imagine!.

Jessie: To be honest, at first I wasn’t sold on “collaboration” as our case study because it seemed vague. Collaboration can mean many things and can be enacted across the company in many different ways. But as we slowly narrowed down the list, this topic remained an option. As I listened to others in the group advocate for this topic, I began to see the vagueness as a benefit. Since being in LDG, I have learned so much about different departments: what they do, who they support, and how we all work in different ways to achieve the same mission. Collaboration can mean many different things across Imagine! and this “vagueness” gives us an opportunity to explore options that we think could truly be beneficial for all of us. While many of us do vastly different things in our own day-to-day, we ultimately have the same goal of creating a world of opportunity for all abilities and the more ways we can find to collaborate with each other, the better support we can offer those we serve. 

Gabbie: As busy as everyone tends to be, it is very easy to become so focused on our departments without thinking about how our jobs relate to others in our agency. Participating in LDG has altered this perspective for me. I have realized that my department, while important, is a small portion of what makes Imagine! function and impact the community so effectively. Other departments are doing amazing things, most of which I was unaware of until I got to know my fellow LDG members from various departments. I have learned so much from my group and want others in our agency to experience the same opportunities. As we head into this case study, I am excited to figure out a way for everyone to have opportunities to engage with other departments and expand their knowledge of our agency.

Emily: While we tackle this case study, I am looking forward to some thought provoking discussions among the group. One of the reasons we chose this topic is that we realized every time the LDG meets, we naturally have been fostering a culture of collaboration. Since we represent different areas of Imagine!, we each bring a unique set of ideas to the table. This nucleus of support and collaboration we have in the LDG is something Imagine! as a whole could benefit from. I am excited to bring our ideas together and see what we can come up with as a group to best serve Imagine! and our mission.

Imagine!'s Family Support Bulletin - January/February 2019

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

Imagine! Leadership Development Group Update

Today, members of Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group (LDG) talk about their experiences in the first few months of the program.

Imagine!'s 2018-19 Leadership Development Group. Left to right: Paula McCormick, Emily Walsh, Victoria Thorne, Gabbie Norton, and Jessie Michaud

Gabbie: Participating in LDG for the past two months has been an eye opening and challenging experience for me, in all of the right ways. Soon after I joined LDG, my position switched to a supervisor role, so everything that I am learning has been immediately applicable and beneficial to my new job. Most recently, we read the book "Lean In" and attended a five week course on leadership. Both the book and the class helped me realize that I have a tendency to back away from challenges when I feel uncomfortable or as though I do not have enough to contribute. I am learning how important it is to share thoughts, feedback, and ideas with others, as it is the only way we grow personally and professionally together. I am so thankful to have these opportunities during such an ideal time in my career!

Jessie: Work has been an adventure these past few months. Currently CORE/Labor Source (CLS) is going through a restructure in which I am creating and stepping into a new role, and the Longmont site moved to a new location (we are still trying to settle into the new space). Work has been busier for me than ever before. Adding the additional work of LDG can seem daunting at times; additional meetings, books to read, a 5-week Leadership class series in Denver, conferences, and then writing about it all to share with you. And yet it is also helping to guide me through all the change and the unknown. Our leadership course has helped drive my ideas as I take on new responsibilities. It has also forced me to practice my communication skills and focus on what kind of leader I want to become. Even though it has been additional work each week, it is helping me move forward with clearer intention and has provided me with new friends from other departments who can help me broaden my view as I try new things.

Victoria: LDG has helped me become more aware of and strengthened my leadership and communication abilities. It has created a positive impact on my work and encourages me to think about the impact I have at Imagine!. I have learned to tap deeper into active listening, reflection, and collaboration to better achieve tasks, goals, and personal growth. "Lean In" has had a substantial impact on my professional growth and outlook as a future leader. Most notably is the challenge of how to be successful in the workplace as a woman. I have discovered that I can create barriers for myself that impede my success. The book and my mentors have inspired me to take hold of those fears and challenge them to create my own success. I am beginning to realize that being a leader is more than just accomplishing tasks and goals. Good leaders juggle a vast amount of responsibilities while encouraging themselves and their team to grow.

Paula: I have found being a part if the LDG challenging in the sense of learning new things, time commitments/management, and balancing my job responsibilities with LDG duties. It has presented me with a chance to learn new skills and enhance ones I already had. The Leadership Series of classes that we have been attending has provided me with those skills and enhancements. I count myself fortunate, I have several individuals helping support my involvement in this process. If it were not for the support of Santa Fe’s staff, my peers, my supervisor, my mentors and my fellow LDG’ers, I truly do not feel that I would be able to do this. Thank you all for your support, it is much appreciated.

Emily: LDG has had a significant impact on me. Most notably with my time management. With the added responsibility of LDG I have had to improve my ability to delegate tasks and use my time more wisely. One of the things that we have gotten to do is complete the Leadership Series of classes. While this added a big time commitment for the last 5 weeks it also really helped me see areas of leadership that I would like to improve upon. Another impact on me has been the other LDG members. Because we all come from different parts of the company I am able to gain greater insight as to what is happening at different sites and I am able to share what challenges my team is facing. I have also gained a sounding board of four great women to share ideas, insight and support which has been really beneficial for me.

Imagine! Employees Pass RBT Exam

Tyler Buchholz

Imagine! employees Rachel Bowles and Tyler Buchholz recently passed their Registered Behavior
Technician (RBT) exams. Their current roles as Behavioral Line Staff at Imagine!'s adult day program in Longmont will benefit greatly from this extra training and education, providing thoughtful support to their coworkers and the individuals in the program.

“It’s been cool for both of us to have someone to go through this with,” commented Rachel on having Tyler as a test buddy. They completed the 85 question exam with a 90 minute time limit at a testing center in Broomfield.

Rachel Bowles

The RBT credential is a stepping stone toward being a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst), all within the ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) field. Rachel and Tyler are now registered in a national database where their contact info is listed for networking purposes.

Dr. Jeff Kupfer, a licensed psychologist and consultant for Imagine!, and Jonny Brennan, BCBA at Imagine!, both work closely with Rachel and Tyler. “They have been super helpful throughout this whole thing,” said Rachel. In March, Rachel and Tyler will present at a conference titled Four Corners ABA in Santa Fe, NM, thanks to a connection through Dr. Kupfer.

“It’s rewarding to have coworkers approach us for advice and having trust in us,” said Rachel. “Which is something I now feel comfortable responding to after completing the exam.” Congrats to Rachel and Tyler for this accomplishment! The Imagine! community is stronger for Rachel and Tyler’s brand-new credentials, benefiting from their education and experience.

Vote Imagine! For Lucky’s Market South Boulder Bags for Change!

Imagine! has been nominated for Lucky’s Market South Boulder Quarter 1 Bags for Change partnership, and you can help by voting for us! 

Here’s how it works: voting runs from January 7th through January 14th. The three organizations with the most votes at the end of the voting period will receive Lucky’s Bags for Change donations for the upcoming quarter.

The vote will exist in the form of a SurveyMonkey survey. Be sure to choose "South Boulder" for the market you frequent when prompted.

Here is the link to vote!

During the voting period, please feel free to share the link above on your social media channels as much as you’d like. Increased visibility and awareness of the post is incredibly helpful in gathering votes, which in turn will help us create a world of opportunity for all abilities.

Emma Goodenow - Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award Recipient

Congratulations are in order for Emma Goodenow, recently selected as an Imagine! Excellence in Customer Service Award recipient.

Emma gives her heart and soul to her job. When we talk about being an ambassador for Imagine!, Emma shines. Even more importantly, she is an ambassador for each and every individual we provide services to. They always come first for her.

Get To Know This Year’s Imagine! Leadership Development Group

Today, members of Imagine!’s Leadership Development Group introduce themselves.

Imagine!'s 2018-19 Leadership Development Group. Left to right: Paula McCormick, Emily Walsh, Victoria Thorne, Gabbie Norton, and Jessie Michaud

Paula McCormick: I started with Innovations four years ago as a Primary Residential Counselor, then as Assistance Residential Site Supervisor, and now as Site Supervisor at Santa Fe. Day one, I knew this was for me. I wanted to make things better for those we serve. I fell naturally into a leadership role in my positions. I love being here for the consumers. I value the relationships and trust we have. Santa Fe’s staff provides structure and stability to create a word of opportunity for people of all abilities. I wanted to be part of LDG to learn more about Innovations and Imagine!. I want to increase my abilities. To understand why we do things the way we do them. I strive to make things better for the individuals we serve and for Santa Fe’s Staff. I feel LDG will provide me with added knowledge and skills to do just that.

Victoria Thorne: Being part of Imagine! since 2014 has been a wonderful experience for me both professionally and personally. When I became part of the Imagine! team, I realized that my personal beliefs about all individuals really aligned with the mission, values and principles that Imagine! holds. My current position within the company has allowed me to support families and teams by creating fulfilling opportunities for growth. Being selected for the LDG came as a bit of a surprise, but I have discovered I have great mentors and a broader view of what we do here at Imagine! after getting to know the group. The LDG curriculum is straightforward and introspective which is what makes it challenging and at the same time rewarding. I am looking forward to incorporating all the mentoring and learnings of leadership into my professional development.

Jessie Michaud: I have worked for Imagine! in CORE/Labor Source for 5.5 years. I started as a Direct Support Professional, moved into the lead position, moved into the coordinator position, and am now the Supported Employment Program Supervisor. I work for Imagine! because it is important to me to be able to participate in making our community accessible for all. Being in Longmont for the last five and a half years has been wonderful, but at times it has been a little isolating from the greater Imagine! community as a whole. I joined LDG for opportunities to meet and work with more people across Imagine!, to learn about other departments and the services Imagine! offers, and to get support around establishing this new role.

Gabbie Norton: I am a Children's Case Management Supervisor here at Imagine!. When I first heard about Imagine!, I had no idea what a case manager did, let alone all of the impactful services and opportunities out there for our clients. As I have grown in my role at Imagine!, I have learned that there is still so much that I do not know, which is a valuable lesson. I have a desire to discover more so that I can do my job as well as possible. Leadership Development Group could not be a better opportunity to achieve this growth. My favorite part of working at Imagine! is being able to effectively help families access resources & services to ensure that they receive the necessary services. I am here because I believe in the mission that Imagine! works toward daily as an organization and look forward to learning more about that as I participate in LDG!

Emily Walsh: I have worked at Imagine! for four years. I started as a service coordinator in Early Intervention, then moved into the supervisor role in EI and am now the EI provider program manager and oversee the Dayspring department. I love working at Imagine because I think that work that we do is important to the bigger picture of our community. There are so many opportunities for me to engage with others about things that I am passionate about. One of the most important things to me about working at Imagine! is the relationships that I have built with my coworkers. Having a group of people who also believe in the mission and are supportive of one and other is vital to the work that I do. I am excited to join LDG to learn more about other programs at Imagine! and engage with others with different people and their perspectives.

Imagine! - The Year In Review

Today seems like a perfect day to recap the last year at Imagine!.

About The People We Served 

Click on the image to make it larger

How We Served Our Community

In the past year,

Imagine!’s Care Coordination team … 

Provided information and referral to 2,346 families providing at-home care for an individual with intellectual disabilities.

Distributed $1,144,502 to help 459 families with the extraordinary costs of raising a child with autism or other special needs.

Distributed $143,359 in emergency funds to 104 individuals and families facing crisis situations requiring immediate financial intervention.

Imagine!’s Early Intervention Team …

Coordinated services for 1,126 babies and toddlers with developmental delays or disabilities. 

Helped 333 babies and toddlers with developmental delays improve their communication, motor, and/or social skills through early intervention therapies.

Hosted 138 community-based activities designed for children to meet their goals in a fun and playful environment.

Imagine!’s School Age Services …

Assisted 80 children with developmental disabilities in developing life-long skills through summer camp, after school, and community activities.

Imagine!’s Adult Services … 

Supported 496 adults with intellectual disabilities through enriching and therapeutic programs and classes.

Imagine!’s Employment Services …

Provided job training and placement for 144 adults with intellectual disabilities.

Imagine!’s Residential Services …

Provided a variety of residential options for 165 adults with intellectual disabilities.

Imagine! also … 

Provided mental health services and behavioral health services to 365 individuals with intellectual disability diagnoses.

Supported 232 family recruited employees.

How Our Community Served Imagine!

In the past year,

412 Imagine! volunteers served 12,311 hours of their time.

At last year’s Imagine! Celebration, 499 guests raised $430,000 to help Imagine! meet its mission of creating a world of opportunity for all abilities.

Click here to see a list of all Imagine! donors from last year.

Wow! That was a pretty impressive year. But don't worry, we aren’t resting on our laurels – we’re already working to make 2019 even better!