The Colorado Center for the Blind changes people. Every person who walks through our door brings a story with them. Not just how they lost their vision—but the part we get to witness - the chapter we get to help write. And that chapter almost always starts with shared elements - low expectations, fear, and the sense that blindness has already closed the door on whatever future they imagined.
Then, with time and training, something shifts.
I’ve been teaching Access Tech at CCB since May of 2018 and now lead our AI initiatives. One of my favorite stories is a young guy who came to us after going blind at nineteen. He arrived with a list - literally a list—of everything he thought he could no longer do. The world had convinced him his life was basically over. But as he started learning, started building real confidence, he began keeping a new list - a list of possibilities. A list that grew a whole lot longer than the first one.
That’s the kind of transformation we see here every day. Not everyone who trains with us becomes an engineer or a scientist - though plenty do - but they leave with dignity. They leave knowing that their lives aren’t over, that it’s okay to pursue their dreams again – like going to college, getting a job, owning a home, and having a family.
Something amazing happens with our students, whether they’ve been blind as kids, but no one had any expectations of them, or those who pursued their dreams as sighted adults and suddenly became blind, and lots of circumstances in between. That amazing thing is that they become a community. They push each other. They laugh together. They argue, tease, cook meals, solve problems, and build this community they never imagined they could have.
And underneath all the laughter and chaos something deeper happens. If students let the process work—if they show up and take chances—they discover a life so much bigger than the fear they carried in with them.
Working here, we get to witness the moment when our students stop asking “what if” and start asking “what’s next.”
That’s what your Colorado Gives Day donation supports.
Not just programs. Not just services.
People. Blind People rewriting their own stories- finding confidence, community, and the freedom to build the lives they want.
Support the Colorado Center for the Blind this Colorado Gives Day. Between now and Tuesday, December 9, your donation is also matched by a generous $25,000 challenge from the Bob Bell family. So, double your support and help someone discover that they can still pursue their dreams!
