Take Charge with Confidence and Self-Reliance

Category: Independence Training Program

  • CCB Featured in America’s Test Kitchen Podcast @Jason_Strother @TestKitchen @pang

    by

    Dan Burke

    Jason Strother gives a talk during a CCB philosophy class

    Jason Strother gives a talk during a CCB philosophy class

    In June, 2022 we hosted journalist Jason Strother for a week of training at the Center. Jason, who has worked for years as a free-lance reporter and was headquartered for a time in Seoul, South Korea, was researching a story about how blind people obtain food. Groceries, that is. His interest in this subject is personal, as he describes in the podcast linked below, Jason has a form of Macular Degeneration, and in recent years changes in his vision have increasingly presented barriers when he shops for food. So, he took a journalist’s approach to see how blind people went about obtaining their comestibles, and that included a stop at the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton.… Read the rest “CCB Featured in America’s Test Kitchen Podcast @Jason_Strother @TestKitchen @pang”

    READ MORE

  • Happy Thanksgiving 2022!

    by

    Dan Burke

    Three of our volunteer student servers for this year’s Thanksgiving feast, left to right, Rhonda, Shirley, and Aaron with hotel pans of cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole set out in front of them on the table

    Three of our volunteer student servers for this year’s Thanksgiving feast, left to right, Rhonda, Shirley, and Aaron with hotel pans of cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, and green bean casserole set out in front of them on the table
    Three of our volunteer student servers yesterday. From left to Right, Rhonda, Shirley, and Aaron serve up the cranberry sauces, the sweet potato dishes, and the green bean casserole, respectively. This is the end of the line (except for the dessert table), so by this time there’s precious little real estate on our plates!

    It is our tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving as a Colorado Center for the Blind family on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, and so we did yesterday. Students started preparing the meal in October baking and freezing yeast rolls, and finished up all the cooking part on Wednesday.… Read the rest “Happy Thanksgiving 2022!”

    READ MORE

  • Blindness adds Another layer to Privilege Walk

    by

    Dan Burke

    Jamila leading a Privilege Walk Activity in the Gym

    Jamila leading a Privilege Walk Activity in the Gym

    A while back, the Philosophy class met in the gym and student Jamila Lane led us through a “Privilege Walk.”

    Jamila, from Atlanta, previously participated in Privilege Walks in both her undergraduate and graduate studies, but it was her first time leading one.

    “Disability added a very interesting layer to it,” she said, “because everyone in this group is blind.”

    Meaning that for questions that involved disability, almost everyone had to stand still or step back, and more than once as a result, leaving most of the staff and students clustered around the center line by the end.

    “Usually, the separation is more distinct,” said Jamila, referring to the fact that the division is typically based on race and gender, with white men being overall more likely to benefit from steps ahead.

    … Read the rest “Blindness adds Another layer to Privilege Walk”

    READ MORE

  • Turning the Tables: CCB Role Reversal Day 2022

    by

    Dan Burke

    A standing woman gestures to the room of seated fellow students as she talks

    Students from every continent and every epoch imagine, even if only idly, of someday, somehow turning the tables on their teachers. Likely they don’t realize until they have done it, that their teachers also may see such a reversal as an opportunity to return the torment.

    That’s partly the story of Role Reversal Day 2022, held on Friday, February 4. Hand it to the leadership of the CCB Student Association for organizing carefully and thoroughly, putting staff into groups and planning the schedule, even reviewing lesson plans from each ”teacher of the day.” This is the group, remember, that collected necessary items for the NICU babies when Avista Adventist Hospital was forced to evacuate during the December, 30 Marshall Fire in Boulder County.… Read the rest “Turning the Tables: CCB Role Reversal Day 2022”

    READ MORE

  • ‘I am not my blindness’: What the blind community wishes you knew – from USA TODAY

    by

    Dan Burke

    Erin talks to a group during Enrichment

    Erin talks to a group during Enrichment

    This article appeared in USA Today yesterday, November 17. It features our graduate Erin Daley, of whom we are naturally quite proud. In the article, Erin mentions that she loves to travel and will be visiting the Baltic countries. Well, she’s on her way right now!

    If you’re a sighted person, you likely have misconceptions about blind people. Time to educate yourselves.

    Check out this story on usatoday.com

    READ MORE

  • Challenging the Rock with Denver Climbing Co. #ChallengeRec

    by

    Dan Burke

    Gene seen from above as he nears the top. Clear Creek visible far below.

    Late this spring we determined to bring challenge recreation back for our students. We set it aside for over a year for reasons of social distancing, etc. First, We arranged to go whitewater rafting in Idaho Springs, where we’d gone for almost ten years, and it was great to be back on Clear Creek with some old friends!

    Meanwhile, martin Becerrra-Miranda was tasked with finding a new company to guide our Independence Training Program students on rock climbing excursions.

    “I think these guys might be the ones,” Martin said after talking with Dan Krug of Denver Climbing Co. “They just get it.”… Read the rest “Challenging the Rock with Denver Climbing Co. #ChallengeRec”

    READ MORE

  • First Prize in Parade!

    by

    Dan Burke

    A Young man joyfully shakes his tambourine among his friends

    The certificate has arrived! Of course, the winners of the 2021 Littleton Western Welcome Week Grand Parade were announced back in August, but now that we have that piece of paper we can’t help but crow a little!

    And so we won first prize in the Group/School category! Hooray!

    Was it the noisemakers? Was it the matching T-shirts? Was it the goofy object Gene wore on his head? Those probably all helped, but it was more likely the excitement and the sense of release as we shook our tamborines and maracas and chanted, “Who are we? CCB!” as we marched the parade route.… Read the rest “First Prize in Parade!”

    READ MORE

  • CCB graduate wins blind division in Boston Marathon! @blackkidrunning

    by

    Dan Burke

    Chaz throwing elbow jabs at the pad in Martial Arts Class

    Chaz throwing elbow jabs at the pad in Martial Arts Class

    They love Chaz Davis in his hometown of Grafton, Mass. But we are just as proud of him here in Littleton, Colo. at the Colorado Center for the Blind!

    Chaz, a 2016 Paralympian in Rio and a 2017 graduate of CCB, won the Boston Marathon’s visually impaired division on October 11. It was the 125th Boston Marathon, but the first year that this division was available for blind runners to register in. Previous blind marathoners in Boston just … well, ran.

    Blind runners run with a guide to whom they are tethered, meaning that the guide and blind runner must be carefully matched as far as speed and endurance, and marathon runners may change guides during a race.… Read the rest “CCB graduate wins blind division in Boston Marathon! @blackkidrunning”

    READ MORE

  • It may be the flowering of a great new partnership!

    by

    Dan Burke

    three professional women smile while standing in front of a flowering crab apple tree

    three professional women smile while standing in front of a flowering crab apple tree

    We were excited to welcome Circuit Media leadership for a recent visit at the center. Rebecca, Lisa, Karen and Ellie sat down with Executive Director Julie Deden and members of the management team to discuss a possible partnership, including Circuit Media staff serving as volunteers and possible internships for students. (Rebecca, Karen and Ellie are shown in the photo above.)

    Circuit Media, a 20-year-old company headquartered in Denver, is a digital communications and design agency working in both the private and government sectors. Since its inception, it has also fostered socially-conscious service to the community. Indeed, Circuit Media has incorporated accessible digital design as a matter of conscience and compliance into its business products.… Read the rest “It may be the flowering of a great new partnership!”

    READ MORE

  • If part of a tree falls …

    by

    Dan Burke

    A man reaches into a shoulder-high tangle of branches

    A man reaches into a shoulder-high tangle of branches
    As we explored the tangle of branches it became clear that we wouldn’t be able to simply clear it all away without a chainsaw. Here Martin sizes up the situation along the west sidewalk.

    Maybe we wanted to post this today because the sun is shining in these photos, and it’s been cold and rainy for the past couple of days.

    On a warm Friday morning in April we arrived at the center only to find the sidewalk blocked by a very large portion of one of our elm trees. Okay, we didn’t quite arrived, because it blocked the sidewalk in front of the center.… Read the rest “If part of a tree falls …”

    READ MORE

Monthly Archive

Categories

Tags