Walt:

It’s time once again, for the Power of Potential with AIM Services, supporting people with disabilities and traumatic brain injury and our opportunity to talk with the Executive Director, Chris Lyons, and a special guest. Good morning, Chris.

Chris Lyons:

Happy Sunday, Walt, great to be with you, great to have enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family under different than normal circumstances. But once again, all the people we support are virus-free and living as independently as possible under the circumstances.

Walt:

Chris, we’re coming off a time of Thanksgiving and this week is the annual giving Tuesday event to help nonprofits throughout the country and in Saratoga Springs.

Chris Lyons:

That’s right, Walt. And as you know, normally you and I are presenting a platform for someone in the community to talk a little bit about what they’re doing under the COVID circumstances. And today we have a special guest, our Director of Creative Services. Karen Gregory. Karen has been an incredible addition to the AIM Team. Some of you, in the community, will know her as the former Executive Director of Shelters of Saratoga, where she did remarkable work with their code blue. Karen did a wonderful job with the homeless in Saratoga. I was able to talk her into coming to AIM to support a crossover population, people with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury, some of who are homeless, and we all know that many of the people that are challenged with homelessness or housing challenge have mental health issues, have developmental issues, substance abuse issues.

Chris Lyons:

So we’ve been supporting the same populations for a while and collaborating in a truly unique way. But I’m just so grateful to provide this opportunity for Karen to tell a little bit about her story, what we’ve done collaboratively with Shelters, what her new role will be at AIM, and how grateful we are, as you know Walt, to have her with us.

Walt:

Yes. And Karen you’ve joined me in the past and the star radio studios. Good morning and welcome to the Power of Potential.

Karen Gregory:

Good morning, Walt and Chris, I’m happy to be here. I just want to start off by saying, I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday. I am incredibly excited to be part of the AIM team. We’re doing tremendous work here in the Saratoga area. My new position at AIM is Director of Creative Services, and what I absolutely love most about that position is, I get to not only touch and interact with the people who we are serving, but also work hand in hand with the tremendous team here at AIM. One of the greatest parts of my position is that it’s so open and I really do get to work with everybody in many different aspects so I’m incredibly happy to be part of the team.

Chris Lyons:

We have a very special ask for Giving Tuesday this year, and that’s for many of the people we support out in the community who have a loved one with autism, particularly a family member who might be in school, a child who is challenged with autism, and many of these families are single moms or single parents that have been struck particularly hard by COVID. They’re in financial distress, the holidays are coming on. And because we provide integrative supports in the community, we are not only supporting people with challenges, but we’re aware of the family situations.

Chris Lyons:

I’m very proud of our respite program because it does work on valued goals. And so we’re asking on Giving Tuesday to raise $20,000. We have a match of 10,000 from philanthropic people in the community, including Frank Parillo, Saratoga Eagle, and others. And so we’re hoping that we can have people step up on Giving Tuesday, reach our $20,000 goal. All of that money will go to families in distress at Christmas time who have a child with a developmental disability or autism. So I’m so grateful to be promoting Giving Tuesday. I know Karen, you have a little experience with Giving Tuesday yourself.

Karen Gregory:

I do. Thank you. So I guess here’s just my message, right, this is the time of giving and really trying to see how we can help people in our community. And I’m going to give an ask to everybody out there who’s listening to us right now to see if they have someone they can give to help support the individuals that we are serving and the families to make their lives a little bit easier right now. Thank you.

Walt:

You’re listening to Star Radio Sunday, Jazz Brunch. I’m Walt Adams with the Power of Potential with AIM Services. Executive Director, Chris Lyons joins us with special guest Karen Gregory. Chris, Giving Tuesday has been a blessing for many non-for-profits.

Chris Lyons:

Here at AIM, we’re incredibly collaborative with the other not-for-profits in the area. Thus, Walt, the platform we afforded everyone through the Power of Potential over the last six months to tell their story and engender support from the community. This is what’s cool about this community, as Walt would say, is that we work together to support all those people in need so nobody falls through the cracks.

Karen Gregory:

Yes, I totally agree with that, Chris. And realistically, if you look at what we are all doing in Saratoga and in the area, is that we’re all helping people, right? We’re all helping people live a better life, we’re completely a person-centered agency. Our focus is doing the right thing by the people that we’re serving at all times. And I think every agency, every nonprofit, is doing the same thing. So it’s all about collaboration, it’s all about fostering those relationships and keeping them strong. We’re all here for one another in the nonprofit sector, and we’re excited to be doing this.

Chris Lyons:

So when you think about where are you going to put that dollar here towards the end of the tax season, remember AIM Services and all those wonderful people we’ve supported developmental disabilities, particularly those who are home right now, whose families are economically struggling. And with your support, they’re going to be able to have gifts under the tree, a turkey on the Christmas table, and be able to just make this very stressful time, a little less stressful. Consistency is the hallmark of supports of someone with autism and being able to provide a consistent environment and have things be as they have been before. So important to providing integrated, customized supports to somebody with autism or developmental disability. They’re not having that now due to COVID, and we can fill in that gap with the dollar from the community. So when you look to Giving Tuesday and you get online, think of AIM. If you want to support another very worthy cause, we encourage you to do, but please, please give til it hurts. Let’s get through the end of the year COVID-free, and we can do it if we all stick together.

Walt:

Thank you. Chris Lyons and Karen Gregory, part of our Power of Potential with AIM Services. If you’d like to find out more about the services that AIM provides or to donate on Giving Tuesday or to join the AIM Team, go to aimservicesinc.org for the power of potential.