Sanitizing with a Personal Touch

Jul-06-2020

Employees

Fulfilling Imagine!’s mission comes in many shapes and sizes. This time around, it’s a 6” tall, handcrafted sanitizer holder with a warm stain finish.

Imagine! owns and operates six Group Homes and has put a sharp focus on preventing a COVID-19 outbreak in these residences. “Individuals with developmental disabilities are at a higher risk with contracting the virus, especially when they rely on hand over hand assistance to remain safe and healthy,” said Shannon Kluth, Director of Service Operations.

Imagine! needed a creative strategy to keep our employees and residents safe and sanitized at all times.

Enter Aaron Corder, Imagine! Maintenance Specialist and man of many trades. He was asked to construct 50 hand sanitizer holders, giving each group home a handful of holders to mount on their walls. With a background in woodworking, Aaron took this assignment to heart and set up a robust holder making system in his garage.

“We all know plastic breaks first,” said Aaron. “I wanted these to be a decoration rather than an eye sore.”

Aaron unpacked his miter saw, workhorse benches, folding table, and a bench top sander, then formed a one man assembly line to measure, cut, sand, and apply stain."

“As soon as I made one, my wife said ‘you’re gonna make us one for the garage, right?’” Laughed Aaron. Which he did, of course. “I like to create. It was fun that they gave me the freedom to do my own design. My dad taught me how to woodwork when I was young. After we made my first box, I was hooked.”

The tricky part to this project was that the maker couldn’t install his own product. Because of COVID-19 safety measures, Aaron wasn’t allowed into the group homes, so he pre-drilled each holder and provided instructions and hardware for essential employees to mount them.

The stained wood gives them a warm feeling, as opposed to cold grey plastic. “They look like they have always been here and fit right into the styling of the house.” Said Group Home Supervisor Paula McCormick. Their versatility allows for multiple sizes of bottles, and even to hold something else if necessary.     

“My favorite part about working at Imagine! has always been doing something helpful for the clients,” said Aaron. “Creating something that makes them a little happier or just helps with their daily routine is very rewarding for me.”

 

Thank you, Aaron, for your craftsmanship helping create a world of opportunity for all abilities!

 

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