Tuesday, July 8, 2014
How Text Messages Can Save Lives - IRIO Blog Post
How Text Messages Can Save
Lives
The world is always unpredictable. From sudden, inclement
weather to deranged and violent terrorists, danger lurks around every corner
and can affect anyone, anywhere. What if there was a way to warn all the
residents in your community of a sudden storm or a criminal on the premises
instantly? There is.
IRIO’s text messaging platform allows you to send texts to
your residents instantly and from a computer or your own phone. When your
residents opt-in to receive text messages from your community, their phone
numbers are stored on the online IRIO platform, and they are able to receive
messages from your community. This is called our Text-2-Community service.
While the community can send messages about anything to the residents using
this product, the most important feature is the Emergency Text option.
In an instant, you can warn your entire community to take
cover from a tornado, to stay indoors away from a gunman, or evacuate the
premises because of a gas leak. Those are actual Emergency Text situations that
have been sent over the Text-2-Community platform. The emergency scenarios are
endless, and the Emergency Texts are 100% customizable to your immediate needs.
Plus, they send instantly. In a matter of seconds, your text could save
countless lives in your community. Unlike emails, which have an average 19%
open rate, texts have a 98% open rate and are delivered to individuals on a
device they check 150 times per day and keep with them constantly – their
mobile phone. Your residents are almost guaranteed to see and read your text
message – that’s pivotal when a threat to safety arises.
When a sudden emergency strikes, your warning needs to be
just as quick. It also needs to be easily accessed, easily understood, and sent
en masse. Text messaging covers all of these bases.
Another great feature of the IRIO platform is the ability to
send a text to your community from your personal phone. Incoming texts will
still show that it is from the community, but the person sending it could also
be taking cover from a dangerous situation at the same time. No more huddling
by a computer trying to send an email before a tornado touches down. No more
struggling to tell residents of a power outage without a computer to send an
email from. You can send a message warning residents to take precautionary
measures while doing the same. The Emergency Text feature
allows everyone to stay safe and still send and receive vital information.
What is an emergency situation you’ve used the Emergency
Text feature for? Tell us at sales@IRIO.com.
How Text Can Keep Your Residents Happy - IRIO Blog Post
How Text Can Keep Your
Residents Happy
Everyone knows happy customers are repeat customers. The
housing industry is no different. If your residents are happy, they’re more
likely to renew their leases, keep their community clean, and contribute to
society, which in this case is your apartment community.
IRIO’s Text-2-Community program allows you to send a text
message to all of your residents at once instantly. That means you can easily invite your
residents to community events and later remind them to join in on the fun.
One of our communities used Text-2-Community to invite
residents to a Lease Renew Party with pizza and games. First they sent out an
invite a few days before with the details, and on the afternoon of the party,
sent out another text saying the party was on and inviting residents to come right
then. This is a great example of
connecting with residents as well as building excitement. It’s important to
tell your residents ahead of time about any social activities going on so they
can plan to attend, but it’s also a great idea to remind them to come within a
couple hours of the event to drive some last minute attendance.
Another property used Text-2-Community to gauge interest on
possibly building an intramural field. By asking their residents, “Would an
intramural field rock?! Let us know by replying ‘YES’ or ‘NO,’” this community
was able to glean if adding the field would be a good idea and be used. They
were also smart and only asked a “yes” or “no” question. If the question had
been open-ended, it would have been very difficult to really judge how people
felt on the issue. On the other hand, it’s much easier and quicker to see if
your question got more positive or negative responses by counting yeses and
nos.
Text-2-Community offers our customers the ability to text a
small group or even an individual if they don’t want to text the entire
community. A community in Louisiana uses Text-2-Community to text residents who
have maintenance done in their homes and asks them to rate their service on a
scale of 1 to 5. What an ingenious way to show you care about your residents
and your customer service! By texting an individual about their maintenance
experience, the community is showing that they are aware of what their
employees are doing and care that they are performing well.
These are just a few easy ways to update your residents, keep
them informed, and let them know you care. Not to mention, it makes your
community more human and inviting. You can’t have a relationship with an
office, but when that office is given the friendly face of an unobtrusive text
message, that human element is added, and relationships are forged. Relationships
are the building blocks for loyal residents, and we want our customers to have
great resident bases.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
GaitWay to the Brain Infographic
GaitWay to the Brain Program at ManeGait
This infographic has information about the first secondary program offered at ManeGait for their special needs riders.
This infographic has information about the first secondary program offered at ManeGait for their special needs riders.
Live & Prosper Article
At ManeGait Therapeutic
Horsemanship in McKinney, lives of children and adults are improved by the
healing power of the horse with the support of a dedicated and caring
community. With 20 four-hooved therapists serving an average of 110 riders each
year, hundreds of volunteers are required in every aspect of ManeGait from barn
work to helping in the arena during lessons to helping in the office to keep
ManeGait flourishing. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and each has
his or her own story to tell about their time at ManeGait.
For Brenda Alexander of Prosper, her entire family has
their own ManeGait story. Brenda became involved with ManeGait through her job
at Avalon Consulting, LLC. Her boss is on the Board of Directors and had no
shortage of great things to say about this wonderful place. Being an
accountant, Brenda’s first volunteering opportunity was on the finance
committee, one of the many volunteer-lead committees at ManeGait. It was there
she met the staff and got to witness what made ManeGait so special. “Everyone
was so willing to give of their time to guide ManeGait financially and make it
a better place for the riders,” Brenda says.
It wasn’t long before Brenda wanted to spend more time in
the arena with our riders. She went through volunteer training and became a
side-walker during lessons. “It is so heartwarming to see the riders respond to
the instructors and to witness some of the personal accomplishments of the
individual riders,” she says. “It is also very touching to get high fives from
the riders and thank yous from the parents.”
Because of her experiences, Brenda knew she had to get
her family involved. They began volunteering at events, and now ManeGait’s
annual Gaitapalooza festival is also their annual family event. From cooking
burgers to parking cars to side-walking, the Alexanders have volunteered their
time and been truly blessed by the experiences. Brenda’s husband, R.B.,
volunteers during events by cooking burgers for all of our guests. Olivia and
Kristen joined their mom in the arena and became side-walkers during lessons.
Kristen also interned at ManeGait and learned why the people of ManeGait mean
so much to her mother.
Now the girls and their mom volunteer together in lessons
and in doing so have strengthened their relationships. Brenda states, “It is a
special mother/daughter bonding experience.
We will always treasure the times we have together and remember some of
the special times in the arena.”
You and your family
can volunteer too. Visit our website at www.manegait.org to learn more about
getting involved with this organization that changes lives, not only of the
riders in therapy, but of the people who give their time to helping those in
need.
ManeGait Volunteers - A Family Affair, Article for McKinney Bubble Life
At ManeGait Therapeutic Horsemanship in McKinney, lives of children and adults are improved by the healing power of the horse and the support of a dedicated and caring community. On ManeGait’s 14 acre ranch on North Custer Road, horses are used to assist children and adults with therapy. People with varying disabilities can be positively impacted by equine-assisted therapy. Since a horse’s gait mimics the human gait, riding a horse gives many of the riders normal walking input that they do not normally receive on their own. This input leads to higher cognitive skill, better balance, and more self-confidence. With 20 four-hooved therapists serving an average of 110 riders each week, 350 volunteers are required in every aspect of ManeGait from barn work to helping in the arena during lessons to help keep ManeGait flourishing. Our volunteers come from all walks of life and each has his or her own story to tell about their time at ManeGait. For some, this story is written by every member of a family.
“I have no fear of anyone who is different than I am, and I credit that to my mother,” says ManeGait volunteer Angela Heatley. The Heatley family, of Plano, has been volunteering at ManeGait Therapeutic Horsemanship for over 3 years. For Angela, assisting the disabled has always been a family affair. Growing up, she and her mother would help a child with cerebral palsy with his physical therapy every week. “I did this on Saturdays and knew nothing else; it was just a way to help someone who needed it.” These days, Angela is passing on that acceptance to her children, twins Chad and Olivia. “I hope that is one of the lessons we are teaching Chad and Olivia along their way in life, to help, reach out, learn and be compassionate.” The twins, entering juniors at Plano West Senior High, also volunteer their time at ManeGait to help riders. They were named ManeGait’s Junior Volunteers of the Year for 2012.
The twins, along with their father, Clint, volunteer on Saturdays. Though the kids are involved in many extra-curricular activities, they both agree that volunteering at ManeGait is their favorite. “You leave happier than you came,” says Chad. “Everyone gets along, and everyone has the same goal: helping people.” Olivia agrees, “My other groups will say that ‘we’re a family,’ but that’s not true. There’s so much drama there (in the other organizations). At ManeGait we really are a family. We all love each other and we all help each other.” Bringing families together is what ManeGait is all about. The Heatleys spend time after their lessons with our riders, their families, and other volunteers chatting, helping start the next lesson, and sometimes just enjoying being at ManeGait.
“It’s a way to give back,” says Clint, “but it’s also a way to help yourself. Sometimes, we’ll have a bad day, and just need to come out here. You can’t feel bad at ManeGait. Not with all the smiles on the riders’ faces. They make it all worthwhile. And seeing my kids happy and eager to be here makes it even better.”
Riders, their families, and our volunteers often spend time together growing those connections and friendships they’ve made under the roof of the High Five Arena. Our volunteers and riders are more than just acquaintances. They make real bonds and friendships with each other.
Clint and his rider Hayes always have fun goofing off after lessons. Clint has encouraged Hayes to open up to new people by using humor to connect with him. “I got him to say, ‘Hey ladies’ and tilt his cap at girls. He loves it. When he first started riding, he would cry on the horse, but now, he’s laughing and having fun. I was able to bring him out of his shell.”
“We all have learned so much, made cherished friendships, and enjoy our time spent out in the arena with students,” Angela says about the wonder of ManeGait.
On the subject of strengthening their own family bond, the Heatleys all agree, ManeGait gives them the needed family time to grow together. “Some families have game night,” says Olivia, “but we have ManeGait day. It’s great for us.”
“With as much as Angela and I travel,” adds Clint, “you have to have something to do as a family to remind you why you travel for work in the first place. ManeGait is it for us. We can come together, volunteer together, and see how each of us is helping someone.”
It takes 350 volunteers to keep ManeGait successful in its mission to help children and adults with disabilities move beyond their boundaries. You and your family can volunteer too. Visit our website atwww.manegait.org to learn more about getting involved with this organization that changes lives, not only of the riders in therapy, but of the people who give their time to helping those in need.
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