Keys to Community June 2026 | Monthly Notes

June was a month of movement, momentum, and meaningful next steps for CommuniKeys.

This month brought together active summer programming, adaptive recreation, new mobility planning, fundraising progress, and important behind-the-scenes infrastructure work. As we continue growing, our focus remains the same: building scaffolded pathways for communication access, sensory accessibility, adult dignity, purposeful movement, and meaningful participation in community life.

Student Experiences & Community Engagement

• Continued summer programming through kayaking, pontoon boating, hiking, bowling, and other community-based excursions, creating opportunities for students to participate in real-world settings with support, flexibility, and purpose.

• Successfully hosted our June 24 adaptive biking event with the National Sports Center for the Disabled, giving students and families a chance to explore adaptive cycling, equipment options, comfort levels, and future mobility opportunities.

• Began deeper planning around adaptive biking, pedestrian safety, bike readiness, and community navigation as part of a broader mobility pathway for non-speaking autistic adults.

• Continued exploring new activity ideas across Northern Colorado, including outdoor spaces, community destinations, recreation opportunities, and quieter places where students can connect with peers.

• Continued refining RSVP systems to help support staffing, preparation, safety planning, and more consistent activity communication.

June reflected what we continue to believe: participation is not just attendance. It is access, practice, preparation, confidence, contribution, and belonging.

Organizational Growth & Strategic Development

• Received an intent to award notice from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment for the New & Innovative Ideas grant. While we are awaiting the official award documents, this is an encouraging step toward developing a Pedestrian and Bike Mobility School for non-speaking autistic adults.

• Began working with Heather Ackart of DriveWays to support planning for the mobility program model, including documentation, staffing considerations, outcomes, and service structure.

• Secured CommuniKeys’ employee and operations insurance coverage, including important organizational protections needed to support continued growth, staffing, programming, and community-based participation.

• Published the Omar Zuberi memorial donation page, creating a meaningful way for friends, family, and community members to honor Omar’s connection to CommuniKeys while supporting students and programs.

• Continued financial sustainability planning, including preparation for membership-based programming and a point-based activity model that reflects staffing, preparation, safety considerations, supplies, partner costs, and support needs.

• Advanced Sunday Sound Garden: Keys for CommuniKeys, our first major fundraiser of the year. The contract with The Lyric is signed, the event poster is complete, social media promotion has started, tickets are available through The Lyric, and a shareable event page is live on the CommuniKeys website.

• Continued building internal systems for scheduling, staff coordination, RSVP tracking, activity planning, and program communication.

This behind-the-scenes work matters. Strong systems help CommuniKeys grow responsibly, protect the people we serve, and create programs that are not just meaningful in the moment, but sustainable over time.

Looking Ahead

July will focus on implementation.

We will continue summer programming, move forward with kayaking and outdoor participation opportunities, continue planning the mobility program framework, advance membership-based programming, and promote Sunday Sound Garden: Keys for CommuniKeys.

We are also continuing to welcome community support. Sharing Sunday Sound Garden on social media, purchasing tickets, helping distribute posters, donating, or connecting us with local businesses and supporters all help CommuniKeys move this work forward.

June reminded us that growth happens in many forms: a student trying an adaptive bike, a group getting out on the water, a new grant opportunity, a donation page going live, insurance systems being secured, or a community partner helping us imagine what access could look like next.

At CommuniKeys, all of those steps matter.

Thank you for walking alongside us.

Angela Hollingsworth

Executive Director, CommuniKeys