Dear Imagine friends and family,
Greetings to you all. Julie Ross Director of Services at Imagine since December 2013 will be leaving to take a new position at the Housing Choices Coalition. More on this in the newsletter. We’re glad for the opportunity she’s earned so well and wish her the very best in her next position. We also congratulate the Housing Choices Coalition on their wisdom and good luck. Julie has a lifetime membership in the Imagine Family.
I’ve heard it said that everyone who comes to the Human Services for work or for help believes in the possibility of positive change. Obviously, we feel Julie’s departure as a loss, but it is important to remember that every change of leadership brings the opportunity for our community to evolve. As Julie faces new challenges and chances, so will we with someone new bringing a new focus. We start interviewing today and look forward to a new Director of Services with different strengths, different vision and the values we all share.
The ImagineNation Wander, our substitute for this year’s Human Race, is going ok! As of this writing, 7 people have signed up as fundraisers and just over $3,000 have come in. Not really competitive with Human Race but there is still time. If you would like to participate as a fundraiser, donor or adventurer, you can sign up here.
We built the ImagineNation Wander around our principles as well as our circumstances. Because we value lifelong learning, the event is meant to encourage exploration. Because we value the individuals of whom Imagine is built, everyone can choose how and why they participate. Because we value our community, we will be sharing 10% of the proceeds with the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County. Because our community values us, Imagine’s costs and prizes will be covered by our sponsor, Aveanna Healthcare. Not sure when, but there will be t-shirts for participants.
The Risk Management Committee, during the pandemic, has provided advice and information to Imagine’s management. The committee met in May to consider significant changes to our practices intended to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. We have acknowledged how much has changed with everyone we serve having been vaccinated and caseloads far below the peak and falling. Although not everyone has let us know.
At the same time, we are conscientious that the purpose of leadership at Imagine is to creative a positive environment in which person-centered services. We depend on a diverse workforce with diverse views. Much of what we can liberalize at this moment would be different for vaccinated employees than for unvaccinated employees. Because all the people who make life better, richer and safer for our clients are precious to us and because there is a diversity of views around vaccination, we will be leaving our current protocols largely in place until we meet again in June.
In the meanwhile, we changed protocols a little in March. As a reminder, we will now support vaccinated individuals to meet up with other vaccinated individuals, to go to uncrowded public places and to enjoy the benefit of their vaccinations.
We want to thank Newman’s Own Foundation for a generous grant of $12,500. Each of their grants is a one-time grant and comes without the assurance of another. But we appreciate so much their historical support for our agency and community. Since 2008, Newman’s Own Foundation has made 15 grants to Imagine providing more than $250,000 in total. It would be easy to underestimate the impact those funds have had on our own culture of generosity and the things we can do for our clients and community.
Imagine’s office remains open from noon until 3pm. Folks are around much of the week but if you need something from the office, you can come during those hours without making an appointment.
At our last monthly telemeeting, there was a consensus that as the pandemic threat recedes, that the monthly meetings are no longer nexessary. The frequency of these meetings has changed to being quarterly, so the next one is planned for July 28th at 4 PM. Let Lili know if you want to join us in July and she’ll see you get the information you need to connect.
As ever, if you have any questions, feedback or concerns, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can write me here. I look forward to hearing from you.
Gratefully yours,
Doug