Take Charge with Confidence and Self-Reliance

Tag: self-determination

  • 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!”

    READ MORE

  • 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!”

    READ MORE

  • 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!”

    READ MORE

  • 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”

    READ MORE

  • 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!”

    READ MORE

  • Big Thanks for Big Success of May 14 Vaccine Clinic

    by

    Dan Burke

    Two women in the 15 minute waiting tent on vaccination day

    Two women in the 15 minute waiting tent on vaccination day

    Last Friday’s vaccination clinic here at the center was a huge success, and we want to give a huge shout-out to our partners, Vive Family Wellness, St. Benedict’s Health and Healing Ministry, and the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition for helping us make it possible for 29 people to get their first Moderna shot on May 14. The convenience was a big draw for staff, students and folks in the neighborhood to drop in, and that was the beauty of the event.

    Sure the taco truck was outstanding, too. I mean, really outstanding!

    Students around the taco truck on Vax Day

    The clinic for the second shot will be held on Friday, June 11 from 1 to 4 p.m.… Read the rest “Big Thanks for Big Success of May 14 Vaccine Clinic”

    READ MORE

  • 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!”

    READ MORE

  • Waiting for the Next Snowstorm

    by

    Dan Burke

    A snow person wearing sleepshades and pandemic mask

    A snow person wearing sleepshades and pandemic mask
    Students built this snow person after a big snowstorm at the end of February, and named her Callie Rado, a true testament to these times as a student at CCB.

    When a foot of snow fell in late February, students leaped at the chance to make a snow person, as they called it. For those from warmer regions of the country, it was their first such creation. The result, pictured here, was affectionately dubbed Callie Rado. Wearing sleepshades and a pandemic face mask, she is a testament to being a student at the Colorado Center for the Blind in 2020 and 2021.… Read the rest “Waiting for the Next Snowstorm”

    READ MORE

  • Blindness Skills & Confidence More Necessary Than Ever #ColoradoGives

    by

    Dan Burke

    A woman wearing sleepshades and backpack walks uphill on a narrow sidewalk with her white cane

    The skills of independence for our blind students, and indeed for our staff, are more critical in these difficult times than ever before. Even though the world has changed we all at the Colorado Center are still able to work with our students so that they will gain belief in themselves and be able to move forward with confidence and self-reliance!

    Support us on Colorado Gives Day this Tuesday, December 8. And you can schedule a donation tonight if you like so that it will be counted on Tuesday.

    READ MORE

  • CCB 2020: Resilience in a Year of Challenge @nfbco #nfbco20

    by

    Dan Burke

    We put this video together to serve as our report to the NFB of Colorado’s 2020 Virtual Convention October 29-31. We wanted to show the creativity of our staff and determination of our blind students of all ages to obtain the blindness skills that mean independence, which are necessary despite this pandemic. In fact, the importance of independence and blindness skills is even more critical than ever. Since filming and first showing this video, we have again moved our Independence Training Program (ITP) to be virtual until after the first of the year, while also discontinuing in-person (and socially-distanced) training sessions with our blind seniors.… Read the rest “CCB 2020: Resilience in a Year of Challenge @nfbco #nfbco20”

    READ MORE

Monthly Archive

Categories

Tags