Press Release
May 18, 2007
Adaptive Devices Volunteers At Hamilton Honored With Award
Adaptive Devices Volunteers at Hamilton Middle School were selected as the Outstanding Group by the Denver of Volunteer In Agencies' (DOVIA) annual We Count On You Award Luncheon.
With over 200 members, DOVIA is a professional volunteer management organization and the largest and most successful in the country. Members are enthusiastic and committed professionals who care deeply about promoting excellence in volunteer management. The group offers professional growth, networking, and leadership opportunities to both the experienced and new members in the field of volunteer management.
The Adaptive Devices Volunteers at Hamilton Middle School were chosen based on the nomination below:
The Denver Public Schools Adaptive Devices Volunteer group invents, designs, and builds equipment for special needs students throughout Denver Public Schools. Every Monday, this dedicated and vibrant group of retirees, designs, sews and builds all types of specialized equipment needed in classrooms. Items constructed include electrical switches for activating tape recorders at the tap of small, uncoordinated fingers, to leg rests for supporting little feet that don't touch the floor, to slant boards for raising desks that meet tiny hands. Currently, the volunteers are creating wooden bird house kits which the special needs students will assemble and decorate. This project will allow them to work on their motor skills and once the students decorate the birdhouses, they will become a gift on Mother's Day.
Every week for the last 23 years, our Adaptive Devices volunteers have tirelessly donated their time, energy and expertise designing custom-made gadgets to help special needs students settle into their classroom. They're a small but mighty group and the impact of their hard work over the years has positively impacted hundreds of students.
The Adaptive Devices Volunteer Group was started by Tony Julio in 1984. Tony was a retired electrical engineer and he spent more than 1,000 days at Hamilton Middle School heading the volunteer group. Hamilton Middle School will honor Tony Julio by dedicating the Basement Workshop as the "Tony Julio Adaptive Devices Workshop" this Monday, May 21, 2007, at 1:00 p.m. The school is located at 8600 E. Dartmouth Ave. The public is invited to the ceremony.
For more information and photo opportunities, please call Alex Sanchez at 303-263-7788.