In 1988, the Colorado Center for the Blind opened its doors at our first location at 2230 South Broadway in Denver. We began our program with five students and three staff members. The Center grew quickly over the first several years, and it soon became evident that we needed more space. In 1993, we purchased another building at 1830 South Acoma, and we ran programs in both buildings for several years. Even with this new building, however, we realized our programs would soon outgrow our available space again. In 1999, we determined that we needed a larger facility and one where all of our programs could be under one roof. So, we began looking for a new home.
I still remember walking through the doors at the YMCA in Littleton in the early months of 2000. We were welcomed by the staff and had a full tour including the two swimming pools, four racquetball courts, the full-sized gym and the grounds. At the time we looked at the property, we learned that the Littleton light rail station would be in operation within a couple of months. I was especially excited about moving to this new location because I grew up in Littleton! Everything came together! We moved in to our new building in August of 2000.
Littleton city employees and the City Council welcomed us with open arms. We met with them to provide training on blindness and to discuss our philosophy around full independence. They learned that it is okay to have obstacles on the sidewalks as our students use their canes to walk around them. They realized that students on Cane Travel lessons may stand at a corner for a while in order to analyze an intersection. Most importantly they learned that we do not let our blindness hold us back from living full lives.
We have had wonderful opportunities to work with the city on projects and provide training to the South Metro Fire department, the Littleton Police Department, service clubs, and others. Since 2014, we have collaborated with Arapahoe Community College’s Department of Art and Design on the Shared Visions Tactile Art Exhibit. Professor Terry Harrison from ACC’s Biology Department has led more than a dozen shark dissection clinics with our students and blind youth from up and down the Front Range.
We appreciate the Community Development Block Grant funding that we have received from Arapahoe County and the City of Centennial to make large improvements to our building, including an elevator, large training kitchen, woodshop for training students, and electrical, plumbing, and heating upgrades.
The Colorado Center provides training to blind individuals of all ages. All of these programs, from summer camps for five-year-olds through working-aged adults and older individuals who become blind after retirement, have been able to expand in scope and numbers since moving into the old Littleton YMCA. In addition, we also provide training about blindness to professionals. We enjoy working with community members and others.
We’ve grown into our building and the community as our programs have grown over the past 25 years. Early on, for example, the Littleton Elks donated their time and materials to help us refit one of the old racquetball courts with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves to hold our Braille library. Sure, the pools are filled in or covered up, but the locker rooms and racquetball courts have become classrooms, offices, meeting spaces, art and kiln rooms. Students still use Y lockers for coats and backpacks. The gym is still there, its walls lined with exercise equipment. We hold a weekly fitness class in it and occasional games of goal ball, a paralympic sport for blind athletes. And in 2012, we purchased a 24-unit apartment complex on South Lowell Boulevard where our students live while they are in training.
We look forward to the next 25 years. Thank you, Littleton, for adopting the Colorado Center for the Blind and helping us make this our home.