Good News Friday!

I’ve said it many times, but it bears repeating: Imagine! is fortunate to be have so many generous supporters who help us in a variety of ways in creating a world of opportunity for all abilities. Today, I’d like to share just a few recent/upcoming examples of that generosity.

Some people support Imagine! by digging into their wallets to provide financial assistance. 

As I mentioned earlier this week, Colorado Gives Day was Tuesday, and I am so thankful to our wonderful donors! On that day of giving, Imagine! received 140 donations totaling $28,570! This total doesn’t include Imagine!’s portion of the incentive fund, meaning Tuesday’s gifts will go even further in supporting the potential of all.

While some people support us with their checkbooks, others do it with their muscles!
 

MOOV is hosting its Second Annual Kettlebell Swing-a-Thon tomorrow, Dec. 10, 2016, to raise money for Imagine! in this fun and challenging way.

Last year they raised over $4,150 for Imagine!, and you are encouraged to help them reach their goal this year.

Learn more and sign up to participate here.

So we’ve got checkbooks and muscles covered, but here’s one more way our community supports us: with their brains. 

We’ve always been fortunate to have University of Colorado administrators, professors, and students who support our mission. I already shared a blog post this week about the latest round of assistive technology projects created by CU Engineering students (if you missed it, it is well worth it just to see some of the pictures).

And then, on Thursday, a group of CU Leadership Studies students gave their Leadership Challenge presentations to an audience of community partners.

The Leadership Challenge is the “capstone” experience for students completing the Leadership Studies Minor (LSM) at CU. Students work in teams to understand the work of partner organizations, identify a leadership challenge facing an organization (with guidance from the organization), and propose a strategic plan to address that challenge. These challenges are authentic, meaning that they represent real goals or challenges organizations face.

Students Tyler Chittick, Gianna Fitzsimmons, and Lauren Huggins worked over the course of the semester on ways of improving communications between Direct Support Professionals and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists working at Imagine!’s Out & About department in order to improve the quality and effectiveness of their services. The trio offered fresh insight and workable, sustainable solutions, and we were so happy to be able to benefit from their hard work and thoughtful input.