The Colorado Center for the Blind has brought high-quality, welcoming and yet challenging programs and training for youth ages 4 to college since 1990. Whether it’s our year-round Fun Activities and Skills Training (FAST) program, mentoring for students attending the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB), Confidence BELL Academy, our residential summer programs for teens, or collaborating with partners such as Arapahoe Community College for our annual shark dissection, we are committed to creating opportunities that raise expectations for blind students and help them build the confidence to pursue their dreams as successful adults.
For more information on youth programs in Colorado, contact our Youth Services Director, Chaz Davis,
(303) 778-1130, x212
Youth Program Participant Protection Policy
The Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) understands the importance of protecting individuals that participate in youth programs offered by the Colorado Center for the Blind. This includes any program directly managed by the CCB. These programs may take place at the Colorado Center or other locations. This policy affirms our commitment to taking the necessary steps to provide a safe and secure environment for program participants.
Please read the entire policy adopted by the CCB Board of Directors on April 3, 2022
Summer
BELL/Confidence
Confidence Camp/BELL Academy
Dates: June 12through June 23
Ages: 5 to 10
Location: Colorado Center for the Blind
Program Description
This two-week day program will be filled with learning, challenge and fun. Your child will meet competent blind role models who will work with the kids on cooking, cleaning, Braille, independent travel and technology. The kids will learn how to take the bus and use the light rail. They’ll have fun swimming, rock climbing, making a tactile art piece and going on exciting field trips.
2023 Confidence Camp/Bell Academy! Learn more and apply now!
And you can call Chaz Davis at (303) 778-1130, x212, or email at cdavis@cocenter.org.
No Limits to Learning
Dates: July 9 to August 4
Ages: 14 to 21
Location: Colorado Center for the Blind
Program Description
This four-week residential program will change your life. You will live in an apartment with other students and a staff member. Learn about the world of work and meet blind people who work in all kinds of jobs. Challenge yourself through our program by participating in rock climbing, goal ball, boating, and much more. Build your core skills in Braille, technology, home management and cane travel. Expand your skill set in STEM fields with hands-on experiments using accessible, nonvisual tools and strategies. College coming up soon? Learn what it takes to be successful, including how to navigate the unfamiliar new landscape of higher education. You will learn that being blind will not limit you from pursuing your dreams.
Admission Requirements
- Must be legally blind
- Interested in learning non-visual techniques
- Age 14 to 21
- Possess stamina to handle a full day of class and activities
- Independent with self -care skills
Admission Process
First, complete the online application by May 2, 2023: https://cocenter.org/summer-application/
Typically, vocational rehabilitation agencies are able to fund our program as part of their Pre-ETS programs. We can assist you with the approval process if necessary. Discuss your interest in our program with your rehabilitation counselor if you have one. The staff at the Colorado Center for the Blind will interview each applicant.
If you have questions, please contact Chaz Davis, Director of Youth Services, at cdavis@cocenter.org or 303-778-1130, ext. 212.
Year-round
Voluntary Youth Enrollment Information
Our year-round programs, FAST and Learning Box, require registration for each event. No surprise – we need to know how many students, parents, or educators will participate so we can have enough materials for everyone. But we also need to be able to say to grant funders how many students have participated in our programs. We’ve tried to make this registration process as easy as we can, but you can help us out by providing additional, voluntary information on our Youth Enrollment page. By providing this information to us, we don’t have to ask some of these questions over and over, things like date of birth and address. So, you save time, and we can accurately answer grant funders’ questions. Sounds like a win-win deal, doesn’t it?
Visit our Youth Enrollment Page
FAST (Fun Activities & Skills Training)
- October 14, 2023, 12:00 pm: FAST Activity – Chatfield Farms Corn Maze
- November 11, 2023, All day: Learn essential outdoor skills
- December 9, 2023, All day: Annual Holiday Party with Denver Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
CCB’s long-standing FAST program will continue to bring more of our signature in-person activities to our youth throughout the school year, including the annual shark dissection, sports activities and more.
Usually held each month on a Saturday, activities are designed to have something for students at all age levels, and range from rocketry to wood shop to goal ball to tactile art and crafts. There are even activities for parents! No matter what, though, the key word is “fun”!
Check our calendar or contact Chaz Davis for more information or to get on our youth email list.
(303) 778-1130, x212
Learning Box
Launched in January of 2021, Learning Box delivers creative and fun projects virtually that focus on STEM subjects, but also include tactile story books and other hands-on lessons designed to be inclusive of blind and visually impaired children. The Learning Box team designs, assembles and mails out each month’s Learning Box full of learning and project materials to students and their families prior to the virtual activity. Then on a Sunday afternoon, parents, students and even sighted siblings join in the guided activity on Zoom featuring a skilled teacher and positive blind role models. They explore and make projects related to that month’s learning Box topic. Examples include making a pretend pizza and learning about fractions, examining tactile images of some of Colorado’s state symbols and then making the state flag from colored modeling clay. Check our calendar of events to see what’s coming up, or ask to be put on our Youth email list by contacting Chaz Davis at cdavis@cocenter.org.
2017 CCB Summer Science Seminar Video
See Photos of our Youth Programs in Action!
Summer Photos
Year-round Photos
Support Our Youth Programs
The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado, the Colorado Center for the Blind and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults know that blind and visually impaired kids don’t need to be held back by their blindness, but in order for them to grow up to live the lives they want they need access to supplemental learning programs – the kind of programs that are often easily accessible to their sighted peers. Thus, a committee of determined Colorado educators, advocates and parents are developing programs for K12 students to augment educational opportunities using accessible design principles.
All of these programs are free to families with blind/low vision children, but your financial support helps us grow our blind youth in Colorado into active, ambitious blind adults!