Colorado Gives

“A pivotal moment for George came after a medical appointment,” says Stefanie. “Instead of calling for a ride home as he would have in the past, he located the nearest bus stop and took the bus on his own. On the way, he even stopped at a store to pick up a few items—navigating the route, the environment, and the return trip independently. He was so proud when he told me the story the next time I saw him. We had a celebration!

Colorado Gives Day is December 9, but you can give early to celebrate our Older Blind Program!

Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday, December 4, and we’re in for the mega-million-dollar statewide day of giving, sponsored by First Bank and the Community First Foundation! Your gift to us on CoGivesDay2018 ensures that we can continue to offer programs to youth, seniors and working-age adults that challenge, impart skills and infuse the confidence in themselves our students can draw on throughout the rest of their lives!

Sure, we’ll take your gifts any time, but there are some advantages to both of us if you contribute on December 4:

Dugan graduated this fall, proudly ringing his Freedom Bell.

And students keep right on ringing their Freedom Bells this week and next, and on into the New Year! Thanks to the 69 individuals who gave online on Colorado Gives Day, December 5, as well as the two dozen or more who brought in checks or cash. We especially want to recognize the Tuesday morning Older Blind Programs group who passed a bucket around the room for contributions at the urging of John Batron. Our total for the Day was $13,353.

In addition, the weeks of November preceding the big day saw us collect another $10,000-plus.

Colorado Gives Day again broke its previous giving records, with $36,129,285 in donations from more than 150,000 donors. Our portion was modest compared to that number, but we are very happy and grateful for our small part and the opportunities these funds offer to our students. It’s great to be part of this statewide effort in its eighth year!

Each student who meets all the requirements for graduation from the Colorado Center for the Blind earns a Freedom Bell. Ringing that bell symbolizes that they are free to pursue the lives they want, free from dependence and lack of blindness skills, ready to challenge society’s low expectations with “Confidence and Self-reliance”.

It’s a very long road, and a difficult one that leads to the day our students get to ring their very own Freedom Bell, but every step is worthwhile!

We believe that the Freedom Bell signifies not only the individual’s new-found freedom, but greater freedom for all blind people from the many misconceptions about blindness and the barriers to full participation that result.

Thanks to the generous support of so many, Colorado Gives Day (CGD) is truly an important part of our annual fundraising. Your contributions support our youth and senior programs as well as challenge recreation and art activities. We thank you for your past support and hope you will continue to support us with your donations in 2017 and by spreading the word about the work we do every day to make positive changes in the lives of blind people of all ages.

For our part, we pledge to continue to bring all the energy and ingenuity we have to innovate new ways to assist blind people to “Take Charge with Confidence and Self-reliance”!

Make a gift on COGivesDay, or schedule a gift now!

Take Charge with Confidence and Self-Reliance

Colorado Center for the Blind page

Colorado Gives Day is December 5, and donations received that day online receive a share of an incentive fund, as well as being subject to lower credit card fees. But as we get into the Thanksgiving weekend and all that entails, be assured that you can go to Colorado Gives Day and schedule a donation as well!

Meantime, enjoy the video!

That’s right – it’s here again! Colorado Gives Day is December 5, just a month away! So, if you’re considering a holiday gift to the Colorado Center for the Blind to help us offer training and programs so that blind people can “Take Charge with Confidence,” why not on Colorado Gives Day?

CGD is Colorado’s annual massive statewide movement to celebrate and increase philanthropy in Colorado through online giving. Presented by Community First Foundation and FirstBank, Colorado Gives Day is powered by ColoradoGives.org

I am pleased to be able to make another large donation this year. (I know) one of your alumni and seeing the incredible impact you have made in her life makes me want to give as much as I can. God bless you all. True charity is anonymous, I do not need any recognition of accolades beyond being able to continue to see you do incredible work.

So let’s talk about Summer 2017. We’re including a few photographic highlights from this year. Along with these activities, many students had their first jobs this summer. Maggie, for example, is starting her sophomore year of high school in Arizona. She was matched with our perennial partner, “Arapahoe Community College (ACC)” to work in their e-learning Department.

Our 2016 Colorado Gives Day was our most successful ever, and we want to thank all of our friends and new acquaintances who helped make it so!

In all, we received $15,230 via the online Colorado Gives web site, and all of that counts toward a share of the $1 million Incentive Fund offered by First Bank and the Community First Foundation. In addition, we received another $11,275 in checks on December 6 from supporters who don’t favor online giving for one reason or another. No matter, we’re excited and thankful for all our donations, which totaled $26,505!

We’re still getting a few checks and online donations, and all these funds go toward the costs of programs like our Confidence Camp for Kids (see photo above), challenge recreation and special programs for seniors.