Founded in 1988, the Colorado Center for the Blind is a world-renowned training center located at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Littleton, Colorado, about 13 miles south of Denver.

Grounded in the National Federation of the Blind’s positive philosophy of blindness, the Colorado Center for the Blind provides innovative teaching techniques, daily challenges and self-confidence that are the building blocks of independence, opportunity and success. Day after day, year after year, blind students leave the Colorado Center for the Blind’s training program as living examples of the NFB’s motto: “With effective training and opportunity, blind people can compete on terms of equality with their sighted peers.”

Chris Parsons instructs Trevor in Tech Class

Martin workis with an Orbit Braille Display and his phone

Wayne works with Judy under sleepshades outside the front of the Center showing her how to hold the cane and get good feedback from the edge of the sidewalk and the grassy area

Vika and Martin walk along a shaded sidewalk toward Littleton Downtown Station

Two women arranging their hands on a page of Braille

staff and students on the front patio grilling and enjoying the day
Everybody was out front today on the grills, making the most of the first day of spring. Delfina, Lyne, Kyra and Libby checking on brats.

Summer students Mary and Cheyenne each mount a tandem bike with EyeCycle Volunteers while Christina waits her turn

Deya and Alma ready to dissect their Shark

Amanda coming down the steps at the Light Rail Station

Mikayla plugs a Refreshable Braille Display into the Computer

Russel at his apartment pouring pasta from a box into a boiling pot

Trevor talks to J.D. while he works with some wire and the Helping Hands Clips

David D. Skiing down the slopes through falling snow

Loice in her first snow catching snowflakes on her toung

Brittany throws Travis flat on his back on the mats

Corey decides when it is clear to go and starts the street crossing

Laura in sleepshades tends chicken on the grill

Natalia, Celia, and Steve walking along a snowy icy sidewalk

Shawn grinding a knife blade in Shop Class

Shaun, Davina, Loren, Mikayla and Dan cross at Church and Prince on the way to ACC

A dramatic profile view of Peter climbing up a rock face

Loren in front of the Littleton Downtown Station Mural

Masson learns how to put power in forward knee strikes while Rachael holds the pad. Maggie waits her turn to give it a try

Outdoor Braille Class on the Picnic Table during Confidence Camp

Lauren out on the sidewalk standing on the skateboard she made

A trim man with dish towel over his shoulder pours a thick white mixture from a bowl to a pan
Marcus’ meal featured ribs and cheesecake. Here he’s pouring the mixture for his dessert into a pan.

Suzi in Tech Lab learning to use the computer with a screen reader

Young woman wearing sleepshades focuses on reading Braille

Abdi writes Braille using a full page slate

Christina and Rocky about to get on the Light Rail

Petr and Diane H. returning from travel in the rain

Jerad uses a click rule to measure for a cut out around an electrical light fixture at the top of a wall

Stephannie writes using a full page slate

David K. walks through the snow on a winter morning

Summer Youth working together learning to write code using Swift Playgrounds on the iPad

Kyra and Trevor walking to the pond for Birding by Ear Class

Corey and David talk about traffic sounds before making a street crossing

Loren listens to the news on his phone while waiting on a train

Warren Waiting on the Bus during his Independent Drop

J.D. in the big raft with Mason, Lesse and Lexy

Cesar in a yellow Kayak at Bear Creek Lake Park Right profile straight on

Five people wearing snow shoes on a wintery forested path with snow covered branches.
Dan, Anthony and Showe with two guides on the snowshoe trail at Lake Eldora. Four inches of fresh, albeit wet, snow flell the night before.

Loice and Kirk outside enjoying huge snowflakes coming down

Amanda, Rocky and Christina at the Light Rail Station just as the train arrives

Laurie uses a pencil grip on her cane and takes her first step down the stairs - Petr instructing — Laurie uses a pencil grip on her cane and takes her first step down the stairs – Petr instructing

Paul harvested a Poblano pepper and some chives from the CCB garden to cook with some eggs

Kameron chopping Bell Peppers for part of his Grad Meal

Amanda crossing a bridge near the Light Rail Station

Beth at the coffee machine behind the counter at Dirt Coffee

Cristian and Charis Hike along the Clear Creek Trail

Allie Blanca C.G Dan andMike walkingaround the pond at Sterne Park during Birding Class

A small blind woman laughs as her hands rest on a Braille copy of the New York Times Weekly.
Though she retired 20 years ago, CCB founder Diane McGeorge volunteers with our Senior Program every week, teaching Braille and helping lead discussions in support groups.

Paul headed out from the Center with his cane

Large group of CCB staff and students walk along the curve of the sidewalk toward the Art Gallery building

Blind Senior in a red hat marches in the Parade with a group from the Colorado Center for the Blind
Eileen, 92, is flanked by Senior Services Director Duncan Larsen and Senior Outreach Specialist Chris Kinney during the Littleton Western Welcome Week Parade. In front of them is Ashley and behind them are Martin and Brad.

Stephannie and Eliza take advantage of the warm weather and study Braille outside

Monique reading Braille at her desk in her office at work

Rocky and Christina doing a street crossing

Matt at CCB reading a Braille book
Matt Wallace

A group of students about to board the Light Rail

Ashley looks at a Great Horned Owl in Birding by Ear Class

A delighted Logan making the letter L in Braille with whiffle balls and an egg carton

a smiling woman with a cart full of groceries outside the store
Lyne did her mini-meal shopping at the Walmart Neighborhood Market in early 2017. She planned, shopped, prepared and served for 15 people.

Amanda reading Braille in Jen's class — Amanda reading Braille in Jen’s class

Rebecca out on Travel near the Greenway entry on Prince Street

Smiling young man prepares to board the RTD bus
Thomas boards a bus during travel class last summer.

Stephannie and Mark work together using a color identifier to match the correct wire colors to re-wire a light fixture in Home Maintenance Class

Vika shreading chicken in a crock pot for her grad meal - Celia with a tray of cookies — Vika shreading chicken in a crock pot for her grad meal – Celia with a tray of cookies

Seniors out for a hike along one of the Greenway trails

Carina reading Braille in the Senior Program with Sam and Sue for Spanish Language Group

Lauren walking down the sidewalk and talking on the phone

Lisa makes turns in her chair in the gym to find various destinations - Duncan instructing — Lisa makes turns in her chair in the gym to find various destinations – Duncan instructing

Four rafts head toward white water
Summer staff and students white water rafting on Clear Creek on a hot July, 2017 day.

Holly, Cody and Lia paddle a green canoe at Bear Creek Lake

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Thanks for Your Support
on Colorado Gives Day!

Dec. 10 was another big success for us, thanks to all of our supporters! If you missed the day, you can still make a donation. It won’t qualify for the COGives incentives, but it will still be helpful to our students, youth and seniors!

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Upcoming Events

December 13, 2019, 11:00 am: Seniors Holiday Party
December 14, 2019, 10:00 am: NFB of Denver & FAST Holiday Party
December 20, 2019, All day: Last day for Independence Training staff and students
January 7, 2020, All day: First day back in classes for Independence Training Program students and staff
January 9, 2020, All day: Annual Try Skating & Blind Hockey event at the Pepsi Center

Julie at bat with the ball in mid air after the pitch
Julie takes a swing at the Beep Baseball at the NF Challenge Olympic Day 2017

At the Tactile Art Show, Alysa and Penny each look at casts of different emotional expressions

Group shot Making Connections Employment Seminar 2018

Martin demonstrates how to play Goal Ball at Western Welcome Week

A view down the table as Fast Saturday kids get hands on experience making simple circuits

Shelby passes out Braille cards to a large group of young people at Western Welcome Week Open House

“Incredible Days” Lead to Living the Lives We Want! #COGivesDay

A young woman holding a white cane faces us as she talks to a vendor. — Maura visits the vendor area at the 2019 NFB of Colorado Convention.

Maura finished high school last spring and plans to go on to college next year. Before she did that, however, she was determined to obtain the skills she needed to be independent as a blind person so that nothing could hold her back in college, or beyond. We’ll let Maura tell you how it’s going in this post she made last month on Face Book. And we hope you will make a donation today, Colorado Gives Day.

These past few days have been so incredible! On Friday, I completed my second CCB graduation requirement by making my mini meal. This meal is to serve 15 guests and you have to cook 3 dishes. I made rolls, potato soup and Oreo pudding pie, and I had a little over 2 days to shop for and prepare the food from scratch. Everything was a hit, especially the Oreo pie, and I felt so much excitement and energy after all was said and done.

I could not do this without the help and guidance of my Home Management Instructor, Dishon Spears, along with countless others who served, helped clean, and counseled me/kept me company during those awful hours of chopping 16 potatoes.

After I recovered from my cooking adventures, I went to see Phantom of the Opera with Cory on Saturday, thanks to a wonderful human who donated tickets to CCB. The production was fantastic, and the pizza afterward made navigating through that complex theater totally worth it. Yesterday, I chilled out at home with Kelly, Jonathon, and Christina, who graced us with her presence in a killer game of Braille scrabble.

All in all, I am so refreshed and renewed from these experiences, and I feel more and more ready to take my skills back home. Speaking of home, as an added bonus, I am thrilled to come back to Wayne for Thanksgiving this Friday!

Thanks to CCB for continuing to drive home the point that I can live the life I want, and that blindness does not hold me back. #NFB

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Posted in General Colorado Center Information, Home Management, Independence Training Program | Tagged blindness, Colorado Gives Day, Confidence, Mini-meal | Leave a comment

CCB in the Media

CCB in the Media -Blog Category

CCB in the Media – Link Collection

Independence Training Program Video

Watch this video to see our Independence Training Program in Action!

Our Independence Training Program (ITP) is designed for blind adults (18 years of age and older). Typically students complete the program in six to nine months while residing in nearby McGeorge Mountain Terrace apartments, which are owned by the Center. Participants not only build the skills that they need to be independent, but also focus on gaining confidence and belief in themselves as blind people

Program Areas

Additional Rotating Classes

Art
College Prep
Career Exploration
Gardening
Resume Writing
Martial Arts
Sewing
Yoga

Contact us for more information or to learn how to participate in our program

Year-round Youth Programs

FAST stands for Fun Activities and Skills Training. This program will meet the second Saturday of each month throughout the school year. Some Saturdays we will simply focus on having fun as we develop skills. Other Saturdays we will participate in a variety of challenge recreation activities.

Summer Programs

Contact us for more information or to learn how to participate in our program

The Colorado Center for the Blind works to change the experience of older blind and visually impaired persons from frustration to independence. With education and training seniors can and do obtain the skills and confidence necessary to stay in their own homes and continue be contributing members of their communities.

Program Areas

Contact us for more information or to learn how to participate in our program

Training for Professionals on Blindness

Christie , Scott and Brent in front of the CCB building for the 1st time with canes and sleepshades listening to environmental sounds

A woman in sleepshades slides a batch of cookies into the oven

Scott walking with his cane in front of the CCB street sign

Christie walking with her cane in front of the CCB street sign

Brent instructing Christie walking outside with a cane

Brent instructing Scott and Christie how to follow the sidewalk in front of the Center

Scott and Christie walking with canes and sleepshades in front of the CCB building

Kenny (forground) Arron (background) peeling apples

Christie going down the stairs for the 1st time with a cane and wearing sleepshades

Scott going down the stairs for the 1st time with a cane and wearing sleepshades

Scott, Christie and Brent walking down Sycamore st. with canes and sleepshades

Scott walking with a cane through the front lobby

Our Professional Training Seminars include information about causes of blindness, alternative techniques used successfully by blind people, an introduction to sleepshades and their use with a white cane or in preparing lunch, and we spend time talking about the myths of blindness as well.

Contact us for more information or to learn how to participate in our program

Be a Part of Our Story!

Alice

Chloe

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Thanks for Your Support
on Colorado Gives Day!