How MAY We Help You Today?
Speaking of work (is that a groan we just heard?)... is there anything we can do to help you today? Need support in getting your products up and running? Need help with a trade-in of old products? Need information to educate decision-makers or your community about the importance of your RealCare® program? Look for some tips on how other instructors get the most out of their programs. Give us a shout! We’ll lighten your load if we can. Or we’ll fluff you up and affirm that you are indeed doing a great job on those days when you feel rumpled or underappreciated. And speaking of fluffing... special thanks go out to a very thoughtful Timothy M. Keller from Eastern Tech High School in Essex, Maryland. Last month we complained (just a little) about our mid-April snowstorm and within minutes he sent us hot summer sun, a sandcastle and a beach ball to warm us up – all through the magic of email. Thanks, Timothy, we needed that! The weatherman says nothing but blue skies from here on out. So let’s shoot the cool breeze awhile... |
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Movin’ On Up*... to New Technology
The Phoenix Union High School District 210 in Arizona recently used the Realityworks Trade-In Program to update their bustling Baby program. Ten schools in the district use infant simulators. They traded in and up to RealCare® Baby II-plus at a significant savings. “The Trade-In program takes the edge off,” says Phyllis Kroeger, FACS Curriculum Specialist for the district. “It’s a selling point for us to get the support we need to get new product. As Realityworks improves the product, it makes it easier for the teachers. It made sense for us with how much our Babies get used to trade in for better technology. Having used older models myself a few years ago, I would have loved to have had the new Babies in my classroom!” Sophomores through seniors use Babies at Phoenix Union. “They are a big part of our child development program,” says Phyllis. “Students take the class because they see the Babies. And they take it seriously. “Our state requires students to interact with young children. That’s easy to accomplish with potty-trained preschoolers but they don’t get to care for an infant for an extended period. With RealCare® Babies we can replicate the experience of caring for an infant.” The district also uses Babies at a magnet school for a career exploration program covering topics like human services and brain development. “They see the process of responding to an infant’s needs and learn that when a child receives proper care more quickly, they cry less. If this kind of thing interests them, they might take the early childhood program, nursing or education. It helps direct their interest.” Those who take child development classes at a nearby technical school also encounter Realityworks infant simulators. “As you can see, we use them a lot,” says Phyllis. Hats off to Phoenix Union for making their dollars go further, and getting the most from their products by sharing resources between several beneficial programs! |
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Poof! Your Wish is GRANT-ed!
Do you need money to fund your program? Customers tell us the biggest hurdle to putting an effective infant simulator program into place is not getting decision-makers to support the concept, but finding the dollars to do it right. Have you considered applying for grant money? Does it sound too difficult or time consuming? Think again! Ann Zenner, Family and Consumer Science educator at Mondovi High School in Wisconsin, did it and you can do it, too! “I had never written a grant before,” says Ann. “I didn’t realize how easy it was to write a grant and receive funding from outside sources.” Ann purchased two RealCare® infant simulators after getting some basic grant-writing information from Realityworks and funding from a local grantor. “The employees at Realityworks were very helpful in assisting me, and we had one of their team members here to show me how to use the new RealCare® Babies. Another option for teachers would be to check with their local school district or other area educational agencies to see what grants are available.” Our advice? Look in your own backyard, where local organizations and grantors are willing to support community-based initiatives like teen pregnancy and child abuse prevention, character-based learning and skill-building activities. Use your network of coworkers, community leaders and health advocates to lead you to local dollars set aside for programs like these. And don’t forget to think bigger... is there a like-minded organization nearby that might also benefit from a Baby program? Pool your dollars or apply for a grant on behalf of both programs and share the resources. Grantors want to see their dollars benefiting as many people as possible. Click here to request the Realityworks Funding Resource Guide and Grant Writing 101 for an overview of the grant process. Then sharpen that pencil to get your program to the next level! The money could be closer than you think. |
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One Small Life. One Rash Moment.
They are shipping around the world and you can get yours today! (Or if you don’t mind waiting a bit, tomorrow. Our shipping department can do magic but today might be pushin’ it.) Help save lives by increasing awareness of this all-too-common form of child abuse. The Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator™ from Realityworks is based on a prototype developed by a nurse working with pediatric neurosurgeons. They were devastated by what they saw and believed a realistic demonstrator would be powerful. Seeing the life-size infant model being shaken is heartbreaking. Watching the simulator’s brain light up to indicate areas of damage is riveting. An experience with the Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator™ will stick with participants for a lifetime and reduce the likelihood that they will shake a baby in their care. The fact is, babies cry a lot and sometimes they can’t be consoled. The frustration from trying desperately to quiet a crying infant can build to a point where a caregiver can “lose it” in an instant – a moment that can change a life forever... the baby’s life, the caregiver’s life, and the lives of the entire extended family. The accompanying curriculum presents documented information about Shaken Baby Syndrome, offers ways to cope with frustration, and helps caregivers put a plan in place to deal with the stress of a baby who cries for an extended period of time. Knowing that an estimated one-fourth of shaken babies die from their injuries kept us focused on getting this product into the hands of educators like you. The SBS Simulator is designed for parenting and babysitter education, emergency service and child care worker training, public health and community awareness, and any other setting where proper infant care and coping skills are shared. The package includes the simulator, instructor guide, overhead presentation, supplementary handouts and a wealth of the latest resource information from Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness experts. Do your part to make the world safer for babies. For more information, contact your product consultant at 800.830.1416 or 715.830.2040, or visit the Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator™ web page at www.realityworks.com/sbss. |
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RealCare® Baby Helps Women Make Important Decisions from the Heart
Enter and Win! |
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We’re Here For You
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It’s a beautiful day in the month of May! What are you doing in front of your computer?? Finish reading this newsletter (from top to bottom, of course) and THEN run outside, twirl around in the parking lot and breathe deep. Tell anyone who looks at you crossways that Realityworks said so! Anyone who frowns upon frolicking needs to get outside, too. A little fresh air does a body good and will recharge you for your important indoor work.
Unlike some companies, you can call the Realityworks product support line and get a real live person to help you with your product concerns. And even though you can’t see them through the phone, they really are smiling. They can talk you through just about any issue that’s keeping you from getting things accomplished (unless your issue is that pile of laundry or the ”check engine” light in your vehicle). 
Product Support Tip o’ the Month
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Pass it On!Know somebody who should get this newsletter? Forward them a copy of the Star today. Prizes! Words of wisdom and experience from smart people like you! Life-changing moments! Textures! Colors! Silly stuff! Share the love, won’t you? |
Are Your Babies Reaching Retirement Age? A friendly reminder to customers using products released in 1996, 1998 and 1999 – the deadline for support for these products is nearing. As of July 1, 2007, Realityworks will no longer supply parts for or repair Realistic Head Support Baby, Standard Baby, or the original RealCare® Baby with touch IDs. [click here] It may seem like yesterday to you, but some of your Baby models came from an era when cordless phones were still the size of people’s heads. All joking aside, our technology has come a long way, and it’s increasingly more difficult for us to repair, maintain, and supply replacement parts for older Babies. Please visit with your product consultant soon for options to get your program up-to-date with more time-saving and reliable technology. Our generous trade-in program gives you cash for returning your old product to us – and that includes software or old thermal printers, too. If you’re scratching your head and wondering what a thermal printer is, please don’t dwell on it. Remember, it’s May? Put away your thermal everything, please. |
*Star Trivia Question Who was famously “Movin’ on up to the east side, to a deluxe apartment in the sky” on a 1975-era television sitcom? |
Yo, Adrian! The answer was Mr. T in the movie Rocky III Last month we asked, “Who played a character best known for saying, ‘I pity the fool...’ AND in what unrelated movie did he appear alongside another linguistically-challenged character?” You answered, “Blah, uh, duh, go,” which sounded to us like Sylvester Stallone saying, “Naturally that was Mr. T, who played Clubber Lang in the movie Rocky III and also starred in the television series The A-Team, of course.” Congratulations, winners! The first correct answer came from Anne Richardson at Hocking Correctional Facility, in Nelsonville, Ohio. Other winners hailed from Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arkansas, North Carolina, Texas and OHHHHHHHH-klahoma (where the wind comes sweepin’ down the plain). |
"When Babies Cry, We Cope." “Education is a key component in preventing this senseless form of child abuse,” says Bonnie Armstrong, co-founder and executive director of The Shaken Baby Alliance, a national organization dedicated to supporting victims and families, and preventing SBS through awareness, education and advocacy. “The Shaken Baby Syndrome Simulator™ and curriculum developed by Realityworks gives participants a very visual understanding of the dangers of shaking a child while teaching caregivers the importance of learning how to cope with crying. Caregivers need to understand that when babies cry…we cope.” |
Got the Gimmes? Gimme a catalog with many package options and volume discounts. Gimme a DVD because I need to convince others in my community that a RealCare® program is worth the investment. Gimme the chance to participate in upcoming research opportunities. Gimme the free upgrade to my Control Center software. Gimme proof your products work. Gimme five. Gimme ten. Gimme a break. Thanks for checking in with us. See you next month! |
Visit our website at www.realityworks.com.
Comments? Questions? Send them to us at newsletter@realityworks.com.
Realityworks, Inc.
2709 Mondovi Road, Eau Claire, WI 54701 USA
715.830.2040 (phone) 715.830.2050 (fax)
800.830.1416 (phone)
Live it. Learn it.
© 2007 Realityworks, Inc. All rights reserved.
