Youth Programs

Are you interested in learning about advocacy and legislation?

Would you like to meet Colorado’s U.S. Senators and Representatives?

Wouldn’t it be fun to travel to our nation’s Capital with dynamic blind leaders?

Take advantage of this great opportunity! Apply for a scholarship offered by the Colorado Center for the blind youth program.

Event: Washington Seminar, an event of the National Federation of the blind

Dates: Sunday January 27 to Wednesday January 30, 2019

Scholarship includes: airfare to Washington DC, lodging at the Capitol Holiday Inn and a food allowance. Chaperones from the Colorado Center for the Blind will be with each student.

Ho! Ho! Ho! Don’t miss our Holiday Party on Saturday, Dec. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Colorado Center for the Blind! CCB’s FAST program is teaming up once again with the NFB of Denver Chapter for this event, which will include gift-wrapping for the kids, holiday arts and crafts, and a visit from our blind Santa. He may have gifts for the kids, too!

We’ll serve lunch and cider and perhaps sing a few rounds of carols before the day is done! So, make sure it’s on your Holiday Calendar!

Saturday, November 10 was a full day – full of learning and, by about 1:30, we were all just full. Twenty-four came for our FAST (Fun Activities and Skills Training) Thanksgiving meal. A mix of blind youth, parents, teachers, staff and volunteers (and one little brother) made an early Thanksgiving meal, substituting chickens for a turkey.

Everybody got a hand in the preparations and the feast that followed! Four parents also took the opportunity to practice skills under sleepshades, doing everything from slicing carrots to taking pies from the oven.

Yes, we’re full of thanks for all who came, for the teenagers hanging out by the piano after it was all put away, and for the leftovers, naturally!

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:

Thirteen is our lucky number when you look at the Rogue’s Gallery in this photo. These are thirteen volunteers who contribute so much to the Colorado Center for the Blind and to our students. Yet they humbly protest that they get back more than they give. We suppose that’s their call, but we’re telling you they give a lot.

There are lots of opportunities for students at the Colorado Center for the Blind. Some are part of the formal program, others staff and students develop out of their own interests and contacts. This fall activities like motorcycle rides and rock climbing were mixed in with graduations and the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Convention, to name a few.

Pictured above: On September 9 students had a chance to go for a motorcycle ride into the mountains. Members of the Sentinels Motorcycle Club loaded up students and took a tour as far as Indian Hills before returning for lunch at Wrigley’s Chicago Bar & Grill in Golden. We thank Dishon Spears for organizing this each year.

Movie and Pizza for our first FAST Friday!
That sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Even better is that we’ll be watching an audio-described version of the all-time favorite, “Toy Story.” It’s Martin’s favorite movie!

Audio description provides information to blind and visually impaired viewers that would otherwise be inaccessible to them – short descriptions of on-screen scenes, action, gestures and facial expressions slipped in during gaps in the dialogue.

What:

Toy Story and Pizza

When:

Friday, September 21, 5:30 p.m.

Where:

Colorado Center for the Blind
2233 W. Shepperd Ave.
Littleton, CO 80120

How:

This is Chaz Davis’ final week as a Social Work Intern at the Center, and Director Julie Deden marked the occasion with a short ceremony and presentation of a thank-you card, followed by cookies.

“I joined the blind community four years ago, though not as a blind person,” Chaz said. “I was a social work intern at the Colorado Center for the Blind, and I learned so much. I learned that blind people are just people. They do everything that sighted people do, and they do it well. I also learned that I wanted to be a part of this community.”

Yes, summer is racing to its conclusion, and our Summer Earn and Learn students are finishing up their jobs this Friday. For many, it’s their first paid employment experience, and it’s been a great success!

Through the Summer Earn and Learn program, students have worked in various positions, gaining valuable work experience and building confidence. The program not only provides employment opportunities but also emphasizes the development of essential skills such as time management, communication, and teamwork.

As the program wraps up, students reflect on their experiences and the growth they've achieved. The skills and lessons learned during this summer will undoubtedly serve them well in their future endeavors.

We congratulate all the participants for their hard work and dedication. Here's to the next step in your journey!

Yesterday we gathered 106 people into the meeting room for an ice cream social. It’s an event we hold every June because of course it’s summer and it’s hot and so ice cream tastes great! But we also do it to mark how exciting June can be with our usual Independence Training Students and staff in the building with our Seniors, who are joined by the Confidence Camp kids and the older summer students in the Middle School, High School and College Prep programs.

And since this is the year that the Colorado Center for the Blind turns 30, it’s a moment to reflect on how far the Center has come, and how far our many students have gone since leaving.

As Julie Deden pointed out, Diane McGeorge started the Center in 1988 with just five initial students.

“It’s amazing to think that we started with five students,” said Assistant Director Brent Batron, “and today we have six programs running in the building at the same time!”