Take Charge with Confidence and Self-Reliance

Tag: blindness

  • CCB Featured in America’s Test Kitchen Podcast @Jason_Strother @TestKitchen @pang

    by

    Dan Burke

    Jason Strother gives a talk during a CCB philosophy class

    Jason Strother gives a talk during a CCB philosophy class

    In June, 2022 we hosted journalist Jason Strother for a week of training at the Center. Jason, who has worked for years as a free-lance reporter and was headquartered for a time in Seoul, South Korea, was researching a story about how blind people obtain food. Groceries, that is. His interest in this subject is personal, as he describes in the podcast linked below, Jason has a form of Macular Degeneration, and in recent years changes in his vision have increasingly presented barriers when he shops for food. So, he took a journalist’s approach to see how blind people went about obtaining their comestibles, and that included a stop at the Colorado Center for the Blind in Littleton.… Read the rest “CCB Featured in America’s Test Kitchen Podcast @Jason_Strother @TestKitchen @pang”

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  • Colorado Gives Day is 4 Weeks Away!

    by

    Dan Burke

    A man on skis wearing a "Blind Skier" vest moves down a snowy slope at the direction of a guide behind him

    A man on skis wearing a "Blind Skier" vest moves down a snowy slope at the direction of a guide behind him
    Vaughn Skiing at Eldora with his Ignite ski guide

    It’s Colorado’s biggest online giving event of each year, and just about our biggest fund-raising event too! It’s on the news, in your email box – just about everywhere.

    But just so you don’t forget, you can go online at https://www.coloradogives.org/donate/CoCenter and schedule a donation to roll over on December 6. That’s the day your gift will count toward our percentage of the $1 Million Incentive Fund for Colorado Gives Day!

    And how does your donation help our students? It helps with things like our ground-breaking tactile art program and challenge recreation activities like rock climbing and skiing.… Read the rest “Colorado Gives Day is 4 Weeks Away!”

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  • Celebrating founder Diane McGeorge’s 90th birthday!

    by

    Dan Burke

    Diane told the crowd that she’s decided 90 isn’t enough, and she plans to make 100 years.

    Okay, we’ll start planning that party now!

    Yes, it’s the 90th birthday of our founder, Diane McGeorge.

    “Don’t ever give up!” That was the advice Diane gave to students and everyone else at a celebration of her 90th birthday yesterday at the Colorado Center for the Blind. And Diane never has.

    A young blind mother married to a blind man in the early 1950s, she was busy with parenting, PTA, Cub Scouts, and helping out otherwise at her children’s school in Denver while continuing to work as a medical transcriptionist.

    … Read the rest “Celebrating founder Diane McGeorge’s 90th birthday!”

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  • Blindness adds Another layer to Privilege Walk

    by

    Dan Burke

    Jamila leading a Privilege Walk Activity in the Gym

    Jamila leading a Privilege Walk Activity in the Gym

    A while back, the Philosophy class met in the gym and student Jamila Lane led us through a “Privilege Walk.”

    Jamila, from Atlanta, previously participated in Privilege Walks in both her undergraduate and graduate studies, but it was her first time leading one.

    “Disability added a very interesting layer to it,” she said, “because everyone in this group is blind.”

    Meaning that for questions that involved disability, almost everyone had to stand still or step back, and more than once as a result, leaving most of the staff and students clustered around the center line by the end.

    “Usually, the separation is more distinct,” said Jamila, referring to the fact that the division is typically based on race and gender, with white men being overall more likely to benefit from steps ahead.

    … Read the rest “Blindness adds Another layer to Privilege Walk”

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  • Thank You for Our Best Colorado Gives Day, EVER! #Gratitude

    by

    Dan Burke

    Give Where You Live - Colorado Gives Day December 7 2021

    Give Where You Live - Colorado Gives Day December 7 2021

    This December 7 you surpassed previous years with your support for the Colorado Center for the Blind and our programs for blind people of all ages, making 2021 one of the best we’ve been lucky enough to experience on Colorado Gives Day. And we’ve been part of it from the very beginning.

    So, we are more grateful than ever for the incredible support of our community in one of the more difficult years any of us may have experienced.

    Every year except 2020, we’ve held a big Thanksgiving meal in November. Students prepare for weeks in advance in their Home Management class, baking pumpkin and pecan pies, yeast rolls, turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing and cranberries, plus some other dishes.… Read the rest “Thank You for Our Best Colorado Gives Day, EVER! #Gratitude”

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  • First Prize in Parade!

    by

    Dan Burke

    A Young man joyfully shakes his tambourine among his friends

    The certificate has arrived! Of course, the winners of the 2021 Littleton Western Welcome Week Grand Parade were announced back in August, but now that we have that piece of paper we can’t help but crow a little!

    And so we won first prize in the Group/School category! Hooray!

    Was it the noisemakers? Was it the matching T-shirts? Was it the goofy object Gene wore on his head? Those probably all helped, but it was more likely the excitement and the sense of release as we shook our tamborines and maracas and chanted, “Who are we? CCB!” as we marched the parade route.… Read the rest “First Prize in Parade!”

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  • CCB graduate wins blind division in Boston Marathon! @blackkidrunning

    by

    Dan Burke

    Chaz throwing elbow jabs at the pad in Martial Arts Class

    Chaz throwing elbow jabs at the pad in Martial Arts Class

    They love Chaz Davis in his hometown of Grafton, Mass. But we are just as proud of him here in Littleton, Colo. at the Colorado Center for the Blind!

    Chaz, a 2016 Paralympian in Rio and a 2017 graduate of CCB, won the Boston Marathon’s visually impaired division on October 11. It was the 125th Boston Marathon, but the first year that this division was available for blind runners to register in. Previous blind marathoners in Boston just … well, ran.

    Blind runners run with a guide to whom they are tethered, meaning that the guide and blind runner must be carefully matched as far as speed and endurance, and marathon runners may change guides during a race.… Read the rest “CCB graduate wins blind division in Boston Marathon! @blackkidrunning”

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  • Happy 89th Birthday to Our Founder, Diane McGeorge!

    by

    Dan Burke

    a small well-dressed woman in her 70s stands at a podium, microphone near her face

    a small well-dressed woman in her 70s stands at a podium, microphone near her face
    Diane mcGeorge stands at a podium, circa 2006. Not only did she found the Colorado Center for the Blind in 1988 and direct it for the next ten years, but she also served in numerous leadership roles in the National Federation of the Blind for nearly four decades.


    We send out a loving and hearty “Happy Birthday” to our founder, Diane McGeorge who is 89 today!

    Diane Served as the President of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado from 1977 to 2005 and, as such had been exploring the means to start a training center for blind people that would be based on high expectations and the belief that blind people have the capacity to achieve lives of value and independence.… Read the rest “Happy 89th Birthday to Our Founder, Diane McGeorge!”

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  • The Seniors are coming! The Seniors are coming!

    by

    Dan Burke

    people wearing masks are seated at tables, with one woman standing at the back

    people wearing masks are seated at tables, with one woman standing at the back
    For the first in-person we also tried to have a virtual component. Shon Spears sits in the center of the room managing things on a laptop. Executive Director Julie Deden slipped in at the back of the room to witness at least part of the exciting event.

    That was the cry of excitement on Tuesday, April 27 when our Senior Services Program held its first in-person group meeting at the center in nearly 14 months. A dozen intrepid souls made their way across the Metro area to sit together in one room to talk about blindness and how it affects their lives.… Read the rest “The Seniors are coming! The Seniors are coming!”

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  • From the Director: Determination, Challenge, Creativity and Resolve #ColoradoGives

    by

    Dan Burke

    Colorado Gives Day Logo 12.8.20

    Colorado Gives Day Logo 12.8.20

    Dear CCB Friends and Family –

    All of us at the Colorado Center for the Blind hope that each of you had a nice Thanksgiving. The year of 2020 has brought a great deal of determination, challenge, creativity and resolve to us at CCB. The determination came from the staff who are dedicated and committed to work with our students of all ages. The challenge has been to make sure that we could continue to provide training to all of our students and our seniors in a safe manner. The creativity has been instrumental to develop innovative ways for our students and seniors to learn and to gain confidence.… Read the rest “From the Director: Determination, Challenge, Creativity and Resolve #ColoradoGives”

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