(Editor’s Note: Executive Director Julie Deden sent The letter below to the 117 donors to the Colorado Center for the Blind on Colorado Gives Day. That number doesn’t count the twenty or so students, staff, and especially seniors who contributed cash totaling $284. Nor would it include all of our supporters who give in ways that are not monetary. These of course include our volunteers, board members, and many other members in our Littleton community and National Federation of the Blind community whose support we cannot overvalue! So, as 2023 winds to its end and we prepare to hit the ground running in 2024, we want to share this letter with all of you and express our gratitude. And of course, our best to you in the New Year!)
I want to take a moment to thank you for your donation to the Colorado Center for the Blind. I have been working at the Center since 1997 and every day I feel so fortunate to be here. This year, in particular, I am finding it difficult to express my full gratitude for the generosity of donors like you.
Your contribution for Colorado Gives Day was part of our total of $33,349. That is our most successful Colorado Gives Day since this event began in 2008! By comparison, last year we received $24,976, which was our most successful Colorado Gives Day up to that point.
Our programs are based on the belief that blind people can do anything, and the training we provide helps our students to believe in themselves and go on to live the lives they want. Your support for our Center means so much to me and to everyone here. Every donation makes a difference, from giving someone a white cane for the first time, to supporting an older blind person to maintain their independence, to the arrival of that “A-ha!” moment when a student realizes that their life is not over. Every donation we receive directly serves blind people from age 5 to 95 in programs that both support and challenge.
Please know that we appreciate your support more than words can describe. I wish for you and yours the warmest of holiday seasons and a wonderful New Year.
All my best,
Julie
