[Nfb-greeley] Fw: September-October CCB Newsletter

[Melissa Green]

Blessings!
Melissa Green
Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make its colors appear. 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Carol Elzi 
To: ccb at cocenter.org 
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 3:20 PM
Subject: September-October CCB Newsletter


COLORADO CENTER FOR THE BLIND

2233 W. Shepperd Ave.

Littleton, CO  80120

303-778-1130   800-401-4632

ccb at cocenter.org    www. cocenter.org



September-October, 2011 Newsletter



Take charge with confidence and self-reliance





Message from the Director 

     

Now that fall is in the air and our summer residential programs over for one more year, you would think that things would quiet down here, at least a bit!  I am happy to report, however, that the Center is just as vibrant and busy as always.  Thanks to your support, we continue to have new students enroll into our full time Independence Training Program.  We learn about seniors who have lost their vision and get to begin working with them.  Blind children and teens participate in our year round programs for youth.  People on the street always want to learn about the Center!  Along with our students and staff, all of you are ambassadors for the Center and for blind individuals who need training.  The work that you do is vital for the prosperity of the Center.  I thank each and every one of you for your contribution!  



FaceBook and Twitter

Please keep up-to-date on all that is going on at the Center.  Follow us at www.facebook.com/coloradocenterfortheblind and www.twitter.com/cocenter4blind.  



Staff in the Spotlight

Jennifer Stevens, Director of Community Development

Jennifer Stevens began her career at the Center in 1992.  As a recent college graduate, Jennifer knew nothing about working with blind people.  Initially, she was hired as a Job Placement Specialist because she had the creativity, excitement and passion to find people jobs.  Jennifer had sleep shade training and learned from positive blind role models that blindness is not limiting in any way.  Jennifer has worked for the Center as the Director of Career Services, Grant Writer and Director of Community Development.  She has overseen building operations and construction and, like all of our staff members, Jennifer is always up for a challenge and new learning.  



Jennifer is married and has two wonderful children, Andrew age nine and Alena age seven.  She has decided to leave her full time position with us in order to devote much of her energy and talent towards home schooling her children.  We have no doubt that her kids will be enriched and some of the best educated kids around with Jennifer in charge.  Jennifer will continue to write grants for the Center.  Jennifer will always be one of us:  she is blind at heart.



Program Notes

Youth Program - Take the Challenge 

One of the cornerstones of our Independence Training Program and our Summer Youth Program is challenge recreation, for without challenge and pushing limits, confidence cannot be developed. 



Our year round youth program is designed to incorporate all of the key components of our other programs.  Brent Batron has put together exciting plans for the upcoming year for blind kids, teens and their parents and teachers.



To kick the school year off, several students and their parents had an opportunity to go rock climbing. Clear Creek is a beautiful setting just perfect for climbing.  The instructors from the National Sports Center for the Disabled set up four climbs that varied in difficulty.  Six kids of all ages and their parents were eager to begin.  Everyone put on special shoes that make it possible to climb up a sheer rock with few holds.  The group was taught how to belay.  As each participant climbed, everyone cheered them on.  Ian, age ten, loved climbing so much and after completing all four climbs he was known as Tarzan.  The parents were eager to climb with sleepshades and learned that it is very possible to feel for holds. Everyone was challenged and had a great time.   



Senior Program - "Seniors in Charge" Program Provides Essential Training to Seniors with Vision Loss

A trip to the grocery store?  An outing to the 16th Street Mall?  An email communication?  Not a big deal, right?  Not the case for seniors with vision loss.  Keeping up with changes in technology is challenging enough for those who weren't born post 1990!   Add blindness, vision loss, and a variety of other sight related diseases such as macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa (RP) to the equation, and the outcome is typically frustration and discouragement.  



Not so for the seniors who recently participated in "Seniors In Charge", a three day program offered by the Colorado Center for the Blind at no cost.  Seniors with varying degrees of vision loss took part in mobility, home management, and technology training.  "The goal of the program is to keep visually impaired seniors living independently for as long as possible.  If blindness is the only factor impacting the senior, there is no reason he or she can't live independently," says Duncan Larsen, Senior Services Coordinator for the Center.  Participants received an introduction to Braille, adaptive technologies such as electronic readers, Newsline, screen readers, and traveled with the assistance of a long white cane, a tool frequently used by blind persons to safely navigate their surroundings independently.



Often seniors feel disconnected to friends and family.  With technology taking over routine, daily communications (what once was a phone call is now an email or text), seniors often feel left out.  Colorado Center for the Blind steps in and provides basic training on these skills.  "I didn't think I could even use a computer before today, and now I can use one without a screen," said one enthusiastic program participant.    



"This is often the case with our participants.  They come the first day with all sorts of misconceptions of what they can and can't do as blind individuals.  They leave the Center at the end of the program with a new understanding of what possibilities exist," explains Larsen.  



In addition to technology class, several outings were planned throughout the three day session for the group.  A trip to the grocery store provided a non-traditional training opportunity.  Participants learned that eyesight is not the only sense that is useful when navigating a grocery store.  "If you are looking for the coffee aisle, your sense of smell is just as useful" explained Anahit LaBarre, Senior Services Instructor, who taught the group to follow the aroma of hazelnut to find the coffee aisle!  In addition, the seniors used smell and touch to discern the quality and freshness of their selections before adding the items to their grocery carts.   



Seniors also enjoyed a trip on the light rail from the Littleton station to downtown Denver. For some, the trip was filled with firsts?first time on the light rail, first time on the 16th Street mall shuttle, first time on an escalator without vision, and the first time in a crowded buffet line navigating a tray of food and a cane?all without sight. 



Inclusion of family members is a key component of the program.  On the last day of class, the participants prepared a meal for their family and friends.  Seeing what their loved ones accomplished in such a short time at the Center provided a sense of hope and a glimpse at what can be achieved with practice, the proper tools, and additional training.   



The program's success was summarized best at a recent student meeting.  "Our seniors in this week's program have raised the bar for all of us here at the Center," proclaimed Brent Batron, Youth Services Coordinator, to a group of younger students in the Independence Training Program.  Telling a group of mostly twenty and thirty-somethings they had been outdone by a group of individuals old enough to be their parents or grandparents provided ample motivation to work even harder during their time at the Center.  



More "Seniors in Charge" training sessions are planned for the future.  

Senior support groups are available each month.  For more information please call Duncan Larsen at 303-778-1130 extension 226.



Hats Off to Broadway Gala

The Colorado Center for the Blind held its annual Gala ? Hats Off to Broadway, a musical tribute ? on Saturday evening, August 27th.  Patrons, students, and staff stepped out in their finest for an evening of festivities under the stars which included fabulous fare provided by local Littleton restaurants, a musical performance by the Littleton Town Hall Art Center singers, and a live (and lively!) auction capping off the night.  The grounds of the Center were transformed into a magical open-air  musical venue complete with a Rocky Mountain sunset backdrop.  The picture perfect evening raised thousands of dollars for the Center's children's and youth programs which provide canes to children in need, Braille training and skills to lead a life without limitations.  Thank you to everyone who participated in the event!  And, a special thank you to the following:



Marquee Sponsor :  Rogue Engineering

Rising Star Sponsors:   Littleton Elks, Worley Enterprises, Jon Deden

Razzle Dazzle Sponsors:   Bellco Credit Union, LaBarre Law Offices, Bradford Auto Body, Hein & Associates, Kohls,  Jim Gashel, Diane McGeorge

Break A Leg Sponsors:  Chase Bank, C Squared, South Metro Chamber, Audio Information Network of Colorado, Bob and Julie Hunter, Fred Schroder

Bright Lights Sponsors:  Schleibaum & Associates, CCM Construction Management, Kathy Pierce, Rich and Bernie Schiavone, Gary Wunder, Joan Bruce



Upcoming Events:

The National Federation of the Blind of Colorado's State Convention will be November 4th through 6th at the Doubletree Hotel, Denver.  Please call Lisa Bonderson at 303.504.5979 to register for this much anticipated event.    



An Evening at Jake's, November 5th, 4 to 9 pm.   Metro Denver Realtor Foundation is hosting an evening at former quarterback Jake Plummer's Denver residence in Cherry Hills.  Tickets are $45 or $80 for two and include wine and scotch tastings, hors d'oeuvres, live entertainment and a silent auction.  Tickets can be purchased at the Center, or online at www.mdrfoundation.org.  The event benefits both the Colorado Center for the Blind's Youth Program and Rachel's Challenge (www.rachelschallenge.org).  Cocktail attire requested.  Ooh la la!



To refer someone who is interested in training, please call Robert Dyson at 303-778-1130 extension 249.



If you have items for the newsletter, please send them to ccb at cocenter.org.







Carol Elzi

Administrative Coordinator

Colorado Center for the Blind

2233 W. Shepperd Ave.

Littleton, CO  80120

303-778-1130

303-778-1598 fax

www.cocenter.org



Take charge with confidence and self-reliance




-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfb-greeley_nfbnet.org/attachments/20111019/d43012b8/attachment.html>