Good News Friday!

Yesterday, I had a chance to witness history as the Colorado State Legislature issued a joint resolution aimed at guaranteeing the rights of individuals with intellectual disabilities to access to technology.

You may recall that in October 2013, at the 13th Annual Coleman Institute National Conference on Cognitive Disability and Technology, the Declaration on the Rights of People with Cognitive Disabilities to Technology and Information Access was introduced for the first time. You can see and endorse the declaration here.

The Declaration calls on all of us to assure that people with cognitive disabilities enjoy the same rights of access to contemporary technologies and information as everyone enjoys.

Colorado House District 19 Representative and former House Majority Leader, Representative Amy Stephens has, from her first read, championed the Declaration as a foundational document. She recognizes the profundity of what it calls on us as a community, as a state and as a nation to do.

In that vein, Rep. Stephens, along with Senator Irene Aguilar, also long a champion of the rights of people with disabilities, sponsored the Declaration as a Colorado House-Senate Joint Resolution, heard yesterday, March 13.

I was honored to be in attendance for this momentous occasion.

This formal adoption of the Declaration underscores its incredible importance, as well as what it compels us to do in supporting people with disabilities. And demonstrating our state’s leadership on this issue, Colorado is the first legislative body in the nation to endorse the declaration, something that should make all Colorado citizens proud.

Labor Source 30 for 30 - The Sink

Labor Source, the supported employment division of Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source department, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.

To celebrate this important milestone, each week I am publicly thanking and recognizing Labor Source’s many local business partners.

Supported employment offers people who have a disability the opportunity to develop vital job skills and become active participants in their communities. The benefits extend far beyond helping our clients, however. Businesses using our services are able to reduce recruitment and training expenses as they benefit from a diversified employee pool. Partnering with CORE/Labor Source is a “win-win” situation that is beneficial all around.

We are very grateful to our business partners who have demonstrated their commitment to Imagine!’s mission by employing CORE/Labor Source participants.

Today’s Labor Source 30 for 30 partner highlight: The Sink.

The Sink has been a Boulder institution since 1923, serving great burgers, pizza and local beers. They have been honored by visits from President Obama, Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, Madeleine Albright, Top Chef's Eric Ripert, Anthony Bourdain, and former employee Robert Redford, to name just a few! Since 2006, The Sink has run on 100 percent wind power and implemented multiple other conservation measures. All of their world famous burgers are made from beef that is either Certified Angus or grass-fed beef from Teaton Waters Ranch. The Sink utilizes seasonal produce and seek the highest quality ingredients for their scratch-made menu.

Over the past year, The Sink has employed 15 CORE/Labor Source participants at various times.

Thanks to everyone at The Sink for their commitment to our community and for providing employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Don’t Let It Go

Lately I have been thinking that too often at Imagine! we let things go.


Can't see the video? Click here.

Like Princess Elsa in the clip above from the movie “Frozen,” sometimes we get so focused on one or two aspects of our lives, work or otherwise, that we end up missing other aspects of our lives that may be equally as important. Sometimes we let go of too much.

To be more specific, I think we tend to close our minds to learning opportunities, or opportunities to be influenced in a positive way, even though those opportunities are always around us. I’m at my best when I start the work day expecting to be surprised by something that day; it could be something somebody tells me or something that somebody does. It can come from one of my family members, a co-worker, a family member of someone we serve, or especially one of the individuals who receives services from Imagine!. I find if I approach the day with a mindset open to learning and new ideas, I actually learn more and get more ideas. Imagine that!

I wish I could say that I always spend the day with a mind open to new ideas. I don’t. But I always regret it when I don’t. I never know when some new scenario or experience, or even an offhand comment in a casual conversation, will set off a light bulb in my head and open the doors of creativity and innovation.

Those of us at Imagine!, and those of us in the field of serving individuals with intellectual disabilities, have a unique opportunity to experience new learning opportunities every day, and to influence and be influenced by others in so many of our interactions. We need to grab a hold of those moments and take full advantage. We can’t just let it go.

Then again, what do I know?

Good News Friday!

Chris DiRosa, the Site Supervisor at Imagine!’s Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont, created the short video below to introduce members of the community to the home and, more importantly, to the people who live there. I love the pace and the message, and I think you will, too. Enjoy!



Can’t see the video? Click here. 

Labor Source 30 for 30 - Left Hand Brewing Company

 
Labor Source, the supported employment division of Imagine!’s CORE/Labor Source, is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year.

To celebrate this important milestone, each week I am publicly thanking and recognizing Labor Source’s many local business partners.

Supported employment offers people who have a disability the opportunity to develop vital job skills and become active participants in their communities. The benefits extend far beyond helping our clients, however. Businesses using our services are able to reduce recruitment and training expenses as they benefit from a diversified employee pool. Partnering with CORE/Labor Source is a “win-win” situation that is beneficial all around.

We are very grateful to our business partners who have demonstrated their commitment to Imagine!’s mission by employing CORE/Labor Source participants.

Today’s Labor Source 30 for 30 partner highlight: Left Hand Brewing Company.

Left Hand’s story started in December of 1990 with a small homebrewers kit. Dick Doore, the co-founder of Left Hand, received the kit as a Christmas present from his brother. According to Dick, “it was all downhill from there.” His obsession with homebrewing led him back to Colorado in August of 1993, where he met up with a former college buddy and soon-to-be Left Hand co-founder, Eric Wallace. Fast forward to the present, and they’re prospering and growing like never before! Beginning with over 30% growth in 2010, Left Hand is breaking barrelage records each year, even making the Brewers Association’s Top 50 Craft Brewers list in 2012. What started as a humble brewhouse extension in 2008 has turned into a 5 year $9 million expansion, as the brewery races to keep up with their thirsty fans. In recent years, the brewery has added no less than six 480 barrel fermenters, an additional 500 barrel bright tank, and a new KHS keg line. Moreover, they also expanded the Left Hand property, purchasing a warehouse to house offices as well as the site of a new cooler, bringing the total brewery acreage to 5.5 acres. In the fall of 2012, they welcomed their most anticipated renovation, a new bottling line that runs four times as fast than their previous system and fills 200 bottles per minute!

Over the past year, Left Hand Brewing Company has employed 18 CORE/Labor Source participants at various times. Left Hand Brewing Company has been employing CLS participants since 2006.

Thank you, Left Hand, for your commitment to your community and to providing employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Spread The Word To End The Word

 Tomorrow is Spread The Word to End the Word Day.

  

It is time we Spread the Word to End the Word and build awareness for society to stop and think about its’ use of the R-word. Most people don’t think of this word as hate speech, but that’s exactly what it feels like to millions of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families, and their friends. The R-word is just as cruel and offensive as any other slur.

Make your pledge to choose respectful people first language at www.R-word.org.

Déjà Vu

Haven’t we had this discussion before?


Can’t see the video? Click here.  

Yes, we have.