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.”

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.

Outdoor Braille Class on the Picnic Table during Confidence Camp

Christina and Rocky about to get on the Light Rail

Chris Parsons instructs Trevor in Tech Class

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.

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

Lauren walking down the sidewalk and talking on the phone

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

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

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

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

Matt at CCB reading a Braille book
Matt Wallace

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Rocky and Christina doing a street crossing

Beth at the coffee machine behind the counter at Dirt Coffee

Shawn grinding a knife blade in Shop Class

Lauren out on the sidewalk standing on the skateboard she made

Deya and Alma ready to dissect their Shark

Loice in her first snow catching snowflakes on her toung

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

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.

Petr and Diane H. returning from travel in the rain

Kyra and Trevor walking to the pond for Birding by Ear 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

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

Laura in sleepshades tends chicken on the grill

Mikayla plugs a Refreshable Braille Display into the Computer

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

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

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

Kameron chopping Bell Peppers for part of his Grad Meal

David K. walks through the snow on a winter morning

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

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

Amanda crossing a bridge near the Light Rail Station

Stephannie writes using a full page slate

Abdi writes Braille using a full page slate

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

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.

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

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

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

Young woman wearing sleepshades focuses on reading Braille

Martin workis with an Orbit Braille Display and his phone

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

Rebecca out on Travel near the Greenway entry on Prince Street

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

Amanda coming down the steps at the Light Rail Station

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

Seniors out for a hike along one of the Greenway trails

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

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

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

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.

Monique reading Braille at her desk in her office at work

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

Two women arranging their hands on a page of Braille

David D. Skiing down the slopes through falling snow

Loice and Kirk outside enjoying huge snowflakes coming down

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

A group of students about to board the Light Rail

Paul headed out from the Center with his cane

Loren in front of the Littleton Downtown Station Mural

Brittany throws Travis flat on his back on the mats

Trevor uses a Click Rule to measure out pieces for a model of a Light Rail Station he is building in Wood Shop

Trevor gets ready to make a cut on the Chop Saw

Cristian and Charis Hike along the Clear Creek Trail

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

Warren Waiting on the Bus during his Independent Drop

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CCB Programs in Action! Click for a larger view.

Be a Part of Our Story!

Be a Part of Our Positive Philosophy about Blindness!

“I learned I don’t have to stay in my room anymore!” That was Alice’s story after attending our intensive five-day Seniors in Charge program. “(When I lost my vision) I was just going to stay in my room and never leave unless someone came to take me somewhere. Now I’m not going to stay in there anymore!” and in the years since Alice said that, she’s been true to those words. She is still living an active, independent life as a blind senior.

Alice

Senior Programs

“They will help provide me with the confidence and resources I need to successfully get through Middle School, High School, and hopefully College and Medical School,” she says. “I like to talk with people who get it.“

Chloe

Youth Programs

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Get Involved!

Be sure to:

Volunteer With Us

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A group of CCB students sit on a bench and put on hockey gear

Laura looks at tactile art made using various types of screws

Richie, Chandler and a group of CCB students start up the escalator at Union Station

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

Alexandra Hall gives the Keynote address at the Career and College Seminar

Katy holds up her daughter Zoey who is wearing sleepshades so she can touch ta tactile art piece of the mountains

Three smartly-dressed women chat in a large, busy gym
Employment Specialist Monique Melton talks with Courtney and Libby at Making Connections 2017.

A student in sleepshades prepares to make a throw iwht the goal ball

Two women pass a large ball with perforations back and forth in the gym
Two visitors test out the goal ball at our 2016 tour.

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

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

Ann explores tactile art with a group of blind students at the Denver Art Museum

Martin demonstrates how to play Goal Ball at Western Welcome Week

CCB students take turns exploring numerous tactile art pieces on the walls

A large gathering along the tables at the exhibit hall at the Career and College Seminar

Workers with shoels, rakes and brooms in the snow and rain
More than 60 Comcast employees turned out on April’ 30s Concast Cares Day to take on a big landscaping project for the Center.

CCB students go out on the ice in their hockey gear

Julie Deden at the podium in a main session at the Career and College Seminar

Group shot Making Connections Employment Seminar 2018

Tactile art at the Denver Art Museum
Hands explore a tactile image at the Denver Art Museum. A sign reads: OK to Touch

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

David looking at a box frame with tactile art

Ravi flashes a huge smile from inside her hockey helmet and mask

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February 5, 2020, 10:30 am: CSDB Mentoring Program
February 8, 2020, All day: FAST: Arts & Crafts and Woodshop. Valentine’s Day
February 10, 2020, N/A: Washington Seminar
February 21, 2020, 10:00 am: Shark Dissection with ACC Biology professor Terry Harrison
March 4, 2020, 10:30 am: CSDB Mentoring Program

View our Full Events Calendar

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Latest News …

Happy Holidays! Thanks to All of You, Lives Change at the Colorado Center for the Blind

Three young students stand in front of a medical vehicle, all wearing Santa hats — Caption: Cristian, Shyanne and Kelly stand in front of the medical vehicle at South Suburban Fire and Rescue Station #12 on December 16. They had just delivered a box of holiday cookies and treats baked by students to on-duty fire fighters. In turn, fire fighters showed students one of the trucks and the medical vehicle. The three students assisted in delivering treats to Littleton Police, where they met Chief Doug Stephens, as well as other officials. It is an annual tradition, our way of thanking the community that is the home of the Colorado center for the Blind.

We’re celebrating the holidays, and we hope you are too!

Yes, our programs change lives, class by class, day by day, week by week. Thanks to all of you who donated to our programs this year, we continue to be able to provide our students with the essential tools they need to take charge of their lives as blind people, and to confidently go on to live the lives they want! And we specifically want to call out those who supported us again this year for another successful Colorado Gives Day on December 10! Thank you!

Every donation makes a difference in our programs for youth, seniors and working-aged adults. Here are some things your donations help us provide:

$25 for a white cane, and everyone gets one when they start in one of our programs. A white cane is the essential tool of freedom of movement, and thus independence as a blind person.
$40 covers the cost of a Braille instruction book as well s the essential tools for writing – a slate and stylus. These are the basics of literacy as a blind person.
$75 is what our students can spend on the ironically-named “mini-meal.” This is a meal for 15 guests, and each student finds the recipes, calculates the quantities to serve 15 people, budgets and shops for it all before they start cooking.
$100 is the average cost of a final wood shop project that each student makes. This includes the wood, hardware and any finishing materials they might use.

Challenge recreation activities such as skiing, rock climbing, martial arts and more are an essential part of our programs for both our youth and adult students – even blind seniors. Why? Because it’s important for our students to stretch beyond the limits of their “comfort zones.” Students come to realize that doing something a little scary with the right skills gives them real confidence. And if they can go skiing or rock climbing without their vision, there is very little that they can’t conquer in their lives. Blindness doesn’t have to hold them back.

But these activities, so essential to our training and our philosophy, depend on outside financial support. Here are some examples of challenge rec activities your donations make possible:

$85 for one student to go rock climbing for one day. We usually try to make sure students can go three times, because that’s when the confidence really kicks in.
$100 for one day of skiing, and also we want them to go three times. This covers the skis, lift ticket and lesson.
$100 for an 8-week class in martial arts, taught here at the Center. You can’t believe the confidence students gain from tossing each other (and their instructors) around on the mat for 8 weeks!

Yes, there are any number of important activities and experiences that your donations help fund.

Students use all kinds of power tools on their shop projects, and we need to have good tools in working order.
Our nonvisual art programs are on the cutting edge, teaching invaluable things like spatial relations and mental mapping, but we need to buy the materials, alabaster, clay and more.
Our two-week Confidence Camp for Kids (ages 5-11) costs $750 per student, and we have anywhere from 10 to 15 students each summer.
Our five-day Seniors in Charge program costs $1000 per participant. We typically have 5 to 8 participants, and offer this program twice a year. But demand is increasing. We’re almost entirely booked for 2020, so we feel the need to offer Seniors in Charge three times next year, maybe in another city outside the Denver Metro area.

Lives change for blind people of all ages when they come for programs at the Colorado Center for the Blind.

“I’m still me… But I am also not me, or not the me that arrived in June,” said Holly in a recent post.

“I feel more and more ready to take my skills back home,” Maura posted after completing her mini-meal. “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.”

We give students the opportunity to change, to become the kind of people who live the lives they want to live! Thank you for helping us create those opportunities for our students!

And a Happy New Year to us all!

Get Involved with the
Colorado Center for the Blind!

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Posted in Braille, Cane Travel, Careers, Challenge Recreation, Computer and Adaptive Technology, General Colorado Center Information, Home Management, Independence Training Program, Senior Programs, Woodshop and Home Maintenance, Youth Services | Tagged blind seniors, Blind Youth, blindness, Colorado Gives Day, Confidence, Confidence Camp, Happy New Year | Leave a comment

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CCB in the Media

CCB in the Media -Blog Category

CCB in the Media – Link Collection

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Our Programs

Independence Training Program for Adults

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

Additional Rotating Classes

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

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Youth Programs

Youth Programs Video

Watch this video to see our Summer Youth Program in Action!

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.

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Senior Programs

Senior Programs Video

Watch this video to see our Summer Senior Program in Action!

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.

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Training for Professionals on Blindness

Scott walking with a cane through the front lobby

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

Kenny (forground) Arron (background) peeling apples

Brent instructing Christie walking outside with a cane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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.