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. We didn’t hold this feast last year for obvious reasons, and we really missed it. We were excitedly looking forward to the Thanksgiving meal this year, but preparations were disrupted when a number of staff and students came down with break-through cases of COVID-19. Everyone’s recovered, and fortunately none of us were sick enough to require hospitalization.
But we had to hold virtual classes for two weeks, and you can’t bake a dozen pies on Zoom. So we rescheduled the meal for today and made it a combination Thanksgiving and holiday meal. Let’s just say, there was plenty and it was wonderful!
As is always our custom at the annual Thanksgiving meal, once we’d eaten and cleaned up and divided or put the leftovers away, we went around the room so that each staff member and student could talk about what (or who) they are thankful for.
Straight off, let’s just say that several of us were grateful for our first real snow of this winter. Of course, many of us expressed thanks for our families, for the opportunities we have had and continue to have because of the National Federation of the Blind and the center. Several students, in fact, are grateful for family members or significant others who encouraged them to come to the center for training. Many expressed gratitude for the center, their teachers, and what they’ve been learning. Here’s a sample:
“I’m grateful for people that understand me and accept me just as I am.”
“Every day you make me feel like a million bucks,” said one student to a teacher.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to become a role model for my nephew – his (blind) uncle who is going places and doing things instead of sitting at home.”
“I’m grateful because I feel useful for the first time in a long time.”
“I’m grateful for all my friends, for the things I’m learning, the laughter and joy we share every day.”
“I’m grateful that I’m proud to be a blind person.”
“I’m grateful because this is the community I’ve been looking for all of my life!”
And so our supporters, our community, this is our humble way of saying thanks to you – and for you!
