Key Developments

Imagine! Celebration Brings in $218,000

The 9th annual Imagine! Celebration on Friday, January 29, 2010 at the Radisson Conference Center in Longmont brought in nearly $218,000 to benefit Imagine! clients.

A record 365 people were on hand to browse through tables of 175 exciting Silent Auction items, to applaud Imagine!’s Consumer of the Year, Doug Coker, to enjoy the repartee of emcee and Imagine! Foundation board member George Karakehian. Guests also engage with auctioneer Gary Corbett in furious bidding on the 15 Live Auction items, including Foundation board member Terry Palmos’s family villa in Greece, a Hawaiian paradise vacation from donors Brad and Nancy Schultz, and Foundation president Leona Stoecker’s loaf of home-baked bread each month for a year that sold for $1,500!

The final event was a Special Appeal/Paddle Raiser for Imagine!’s two SmartHomes – the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome in Boulder and Longmont’s Charles Family SmartHome set to open late this spring, with 75 donors contributing more than $25,000 to cap off the evening’s festivities.

Our sincere thanks to all who attended and supported the event and Imagine! clients, with a special thanks to our sponsors for their generous part in making the evening a success!

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On Saturday, October 24, 2009, close to 100 neighbors, consumers, family members, and friends attended an open house at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. The open house provided visitors with a fantastic opportunity to see first hand how technology is improving the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities.

SmartHome residents pitched in and enthusiastically helped guide tours and shared information and talked about their experiences living in the home with guests.

Thanks to all who attended, and especially thanks to all those who worked so hard to ensure the event went smoothly.

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Woo-hoo! We won! Imagine!'s SmartHomes project was honored at the Boulder County Business Report IQ Awards on Thursday, August 20, for being one of Boulder County's most innovative companies. Imagine! Board president Susan White (on the right in the photo) and Imagine! Foundation president Leona Stoecker showed off the award.

A crowd of about 250 turned out at the Lionsgate Event Center in Lafayette for the 10th Annual Awards ceremony. Nine companies in nine categories were named 2009 winners. Imagine! won in the non-profit category.

"They like us! They really like us!"

Congratulations to all the people involved in the SmartHome project for winning this prestigious award.

For more information about the IQ Awards, please visit http://www.iqawards.com/

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On June 25, 2009, approximately 120 people crowded into the new Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome at 1806 Iris Avenue in Boulder for the home’s Dedication ceremony. The Charles SmartHome is the first home in the nation to incorporate technology to enhance the lives of people with developmental disabilities. The home will also serve as a site for research into the use of technology to benefit the long term needs of individuals with disabilities in both residential and family home settings.

At the Dedication, Imagine!’s Innovations Director Greg Wellems spoke of the vision he had for creating a space where people with disabilities could use technology to increase their independence and self-sufficiency to a degree never thought possible before. He told the story of Gerald Stopa, who is one of the Imagine! clients who is moving into the SmartHome. Gerald has cerebral palsy and very limited speech and movement. However, technology has allowed Gerald, at age 47, to learn to read, communicate, play music, select his own TV programs and videos to watch, and basically control his own environment to a much greater degree than at any time in the past. Greg topped the story of Gerald with the announcement that Gerald and Donna Fairchild, another future SmartHome resident, are now engaged. The delighted crowd cheered and applauded!

SmartHome Naming Benefactors Bob and Judy Charles were honored at the event for their generosity and far-sighted investment in Imagine!’s vision. Bob Charles, Founder of the Imagine! Foundation, and Judy were among the earliest supporters of the SmartHome concept and have worked tirelessly alongside Imagine! staff to turn the vision into reality. The City of Boulder, the Eldridge Family, and the family and friends of Billy Montgomery were also honored for their significant support, and the more than 200 other donors to date were listed in the program for the event.

The eight SmartHome residents began moving in July 1. Once they are settled and acclimated to the technology, Imagine! will hold an Open House for the public, currently scheduled for August 20 from 4:00-8:00 PM. Join us then!

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The Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome has been designed to incorporate green technologies and building techniques that will help reduce energy costs, limit impacts on the environment and human health and enhance our consumers lives as well as our neighbors’ lives.

One example of green design is the Charles SmartHome use of a geothermal system. Geothermal systems use the earth’s constant temperature to regulate indoor air temperature across all seasons using an underground piping system. Homes can both be cooled in the summer and heated in the winter with the same system. With some systems delivering heating efficiencies of 300 to 600%, geothermal can lower monthly bills by two-thirds.

Drilling for the geothermal system at the Charles SmartHome began in late March. See pictures below.

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As the move in date for future Charles SmartHome residents grows ever closer, The SmartHome team has been arranging fun outings so the residents can get to know each other a little better.

On Thursday, April 30, the gang gathered at the local bowling alley to hang out in a relaxed atmosphere. As the pins fell down, so did everyone’s initial shyness, and soon everyone was laughing and having a great time

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On Thursday, March 24, 2009, future Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome residents, family members, guardians, and case managers gathered for a “meet and greet” dinner at Imagine!’s John M. Taylor Conference Center. The goal of the dinner was to introduce the residents to each other (some of them were meeting for the very first time), to talk about some of the responsibilities that will come with living at the Charles SmartHome, and to demonstrate some of the technologies that will be available at the Charles SmartHome.

A good time was had by all, and the sense of excitement was palpable. Everyone involved knew they were part of something new and unique, and the residents are extremely excited about the prospect of living in a home that will act as a testing ground for technologies designed to improve services and supports for people with developmental disabilities.

Residents will begin moving in to the Charles SmartHome in July.

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Imagine! Celebration Brings in $189,650 for SmartHomes

We are excited to report that Imagine!s Annual Celebration Dinner and Auction, held at the Radisson Hotel Conference Center in Longmont on Friday, January 23, brought in slightly more than $315,000 to be used for services and programs for people with cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Of that total figure, more than $189,000 was designated to Imagine!’s SmartHomes projects. Those funds included sponsorships of the event, a $60,000 gift from Bob and Judy Charles that was given in honor of Susan LaHoda, the Imagine! Foundation’s Executive Director, to be directed toward the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, $10,000 from the Anthony Kruse Foundation in support of the Longmont SmartHome, a $30,000 anonymous gift for the Longmont SmartHome, and a special appeal which raised close to $30,000 for both SmartHomes.

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Imagine!'s Annual Celebration
Dinner and Auction netted more
than $189,000 to be used
toward Imagine!'s two
SmartHomes. That figure
included a $60,000 donation
from Bob and Judy Charles
(above), given in honor of
Imagine! Foundation Executive
Director Susan LaHoda.

In late October, 2008, the City of Boulder recommended another $150,000 be directed toward the building of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, bringing their overall commitment to the project to $400,000. The recommendation was the result of a grant application followed up by a presentation to the City of Boulder by Greg Wellems, Imagine!’s Director of Innovations.

This means that the Imagine! Foundation has already raised $778,929, or 45%, of our goal of $1,750,000 for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. Moving forward, the Foundation has high hopes for some significant grant funding and in-kind gifts, some of the proceeds from the annual Imagine! Celebration, and, of course, the results of a targeted business and individual capital campaign, to cover the rest of the costs of the home.

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Imagine! and Local Dignitaries Break Ground on Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome

From left to right: Greg Wellems, John Mehaffy, Mark Emery, Judy Charles, Bob Charles, Jann Oldham, Jerry Rudy

On September 18, 2008, a group of almost 40 people gathered for the official groundbreaking ceremony for the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. The crowd included local government officials, representatives from SmartHome partner organizations, and Imagine! board members and staff. As the first ceremonial shovelfuls of dirt were lifted in the air, everyone in attendance knew they were witnessing the beginning of something very special.

Among those hoisting honorary golden shovels included naming donors Bob and Judy Charles, Imagine! Board president Jerry Rudy, Imagine! Foundation Board president John Mehaffy, Jann Oldham, Boulder’s Department of Housing and Human Services, Imagine! CEO Mark Emery, and SmartHome Director Greg Wellems.

The Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome will be the first home in the nation that incorporates cutting edge technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of service and supports for people with disabilities, and will serve as a model for the future of residential care.

See more photos from the Groundbreaking Ceremony below.

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The Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome

On a rainy early September day, the sounds of trucks, backhoes, and heavy construction equipment filled the air around 1806 Iris St. in Boulder, and marked a momentous beginning – the first step in the construction of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. The Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome will be the first home in the nation that incorporates cutting edge technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of service and supports for people with disabilities.

The demolished building had been home to many Imagine! consumers over the years, and the wear and tear was beginning to show. The central Boulder location of the old Iris home, located along major bus routes, was also ideal for the new Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, and so the decision was made to scrap the current building and build the new home on the lot.

With the demolition complete, the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome construction schedule remains on track, and the SmartHome team is confident that the building will be completed and ready for consumers to move in by April, 2009.

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Imagine! Celebration Brings in $335,000 For Services For People With Cognitive Disabilities

On January 25, 2008, 370 friends and supporters of Imagine! gathered at the Millennium Harvest House Boulder for the seventh annual Imagine! Celebration Dinner and Auction. Thanks to the generosity of event sponsors and attendees, the celebration was a resounding success, raising more than $335,000 for people with cognitive disabilities. This is by far the most money the event has ever raised.

An initial $235,000 was raised through table and ticket sales, sponsorships, a silent auction, a live auction, and a special appeal. Then the evening was capped by the surprise announcement that Imagine! Foundation founder and board member Bob Charles and his wife Judy would pledge $100,000 toward the development of Imagine!’s Boulder SmartHome. The Boulder home will be named the “Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome” in recognition of this significant gift.

The SmartHome will provide permanent housing for individuals with physical, cognitive, and developmental disabilities, and will incorporate cutting edge residential technologies to enhance the quality of life for consumers, augment the effectiveness of staff as caregivers, and provide cost and energy savings for Imagine!

More than just a fundraiser, Imagine!’s annual celebration is held to commemorate the organization’s successes in the past year, as well as to honor some of its shining stars. This year, Gerald Stopa was named Consumer of the Year, and Boulder Community Hospital was honored with the Distinguished Donor Award for its support of Imagine! through the years.

Congratulations and many, many thanks to all who helped make this happen!  And special thanks and gratitude to Bob and Judy Charles for their generosity, leadership, and true dedication to Imagine! and to our community.

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