Monday, January 13, 2020

Your Blind Coloradoan is Back! For 2020

National Federation of the Blind of Colorado logo including the tagline "live the life you want"

Writer, aggregator Kevan Worley.Contributing editor Dan Burke.

Here is what you need to know



6 Must-Keep Resolutions

Happy New Year! At the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado 2019 Convention, 6 resolutions were adopted. These statements of policy will inform and guide our work in the months and years ahead. Find brief summaries of 3 of these important resolutions at the end of this Blind Coloradoan.

Colorado Seniors in Charge and On the Move

Blind seniors enjoy seasonal open-air trolley offering scenic rides along the South Platte Greenway & Downtown Denver.

From the Front Range to the Western Slope, from the Poudre Valley to Trinidad, and on over to the Kansas line we are Colorado. We are NFBCO and we are the Colorado Center for the Blind. We believe life doesn’t end when blindness and low vision begin. Life changes. And, as is often said, “that’s life.” Of course, it is often not that easy. We get it! That’s why the instructive, empowering, nurturing, and joyful Seniors Programs have become so wildly successful. Blind seniors embrace the loving, problem solving, can-do spirit of our programs. Learn more about dynamic Seniors Programs.
Spend a few moments with these motivating blind seniors; A video that is worth the watch.

NFBCO Mountains and Plains At Large Chapter is Looking for You

If there is no local chapter in your community or if the time and day of your local chapter doesn’t fit your schedule, Mountains and Plains is calling your name.

The Mountains & Plains at large chapter meets on the third Thursday of each month.  
The call-in information is as follows: 605-313-5145,,405276. This is written for one touch mobile.

ReNae Anderson, Pres.  970-393-0170 and anyone may call for any questions.

We are hoping to have an in-person event, probably in Denver, in the summer.  More information to come.

B-I-N-G-O!

BINGO NIGHT MEET UP.
Join the Wild West For fun and fundraising.

WHERE:
3445 S Broadway St.
Englewood, CO 80113

When:
January 25, 2020 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Cost:
Braille and large print Bingo cards will be $3.00.
Pizza will be available for $3.50 per large slice

Bingo prizes will be fun and memorable. Prize donations are definitely accepted.

Ileen Gallegos
303-895-0087

A Mountain, a Waterfall, a Cracked Pool, and a Christmas Tree Color Wheel

From the aggregator: I highly recommend the January Braille Monitor. During the recent NFBCO Leadership Retreat we spent some time talking of our effort to preserve our history. During the discussion we had fun regaling our colleagues with stories and lessons from our history featuring the protagonist, our beloved Ray McGeorge. And what do I see when I open the January Braille Monitor? An article featuring Ray. I highly recommend this view, blind or sighted. Ray was truly a mensch. His legacy continues to make a difference.


Attention Blind Students. Get Ready, Get Set, GO! It’s Time for the 2020 Braille Challenge

From the aggregator: We received the following note from Diane Taylor, Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind, School/Community Liaison.

CSDB will host a regional Braille Challenge event, January 16th, in Colorado Springs, and another, in partnership with the Colorado Center for the Blind, January 23rd, in the Denver Metro area.  The Challenge is part of the National Braille Challenge sponsored by the Braille Institute.

The competition includes sections testing Speed/Accuracy, Reading Comprehension, Spelling, Proofreading, and Charts and Graphs.  Pre-braille learners and students with low vision who are not braille readers will participate in daily living skill, music, literacy, and orientation and mobility activities, with a tactile focus, to celebrate braille.

Annually, more than sixty students participate in the competition and related activities. Thank you to all of the volunteers and staff members who help make each Braille Challenge positive for everyone.

Attention Sports Fans: Mark Your Calendars for February 28th

Goalball Extravaganza at the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind.

Colorado Association of Guide Dog Users All-Call!

The Board of Directors of the Colorado Association of Guide Dog users, COAGDU, will meet by Zoom this coming Sunday afternoon, January 19 at 4 p.m. All guide dog handlers and those interested in the work of our Colorado Federation Guide Dog group are welcome. Contact Ileen Gallegos after Wednesday for Zoom information, ileenshere@gmail.com.

Fort Collins Meet Up. A Red Robin Night

Where:
               Red Robin
               701 E. Harmony RD.
               Fort Collins, CO 80525
              
When:
               Tuesday, January 28, 2020
               From 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Bring your appetite, ideas, guests, and something to jot down some notes if you like.
Our goal is to network, make friends, and discuss helpful ideas involving blind people.
It will be a fantastic, fun feeling, as we fill ourselves with food.

Can’t wait to meet up.
Next step. The organizing of a new NFBCO chapter in the Poudre Valley.

Live the Life You Want, by Anahit LaBarre

From the aggregator: On the last blog of last year, we urged our readers to give some thought to the tagline of the National Federation of the Blind, “Live the Life You Want.” I received a number of comments which we will post in the weeks to come. And for those of you who subscribe to our Colorado Talk list serv, and everyone should, you likely have seen some very interesting takes on our tagline. We would like to share with you a post from Anahit LaBarre. Anahit is a long-time leader in our movement. Besides managing our state president and 2 very active, extraordinary teenagers, Anahit is a full-time instructor in our Seniors Programs (see above). Here is what Anahit shares:

Greetings everyone.
I would like to take a moment and wish all of you a very Happy and a healthy New Year! It has been very informative to read all of the thoughts and ideas shared on this thread. My story and my take is quite different from many of you. I came from a country where there are no opportunities for people with any kind of disability or limitation, or differences, for that matter. So, while we have a long journey ahead of us to reach full equality in our society here, we have so much available to us. So, what does Living the life I want mean to me? It is complex but yet very simple. It means I have the knowledge, the tools and the ability to make a choice. Every day I tell myself, as well as my students, that we are all human. And the complexity and beauty of it is that we WILL make mistakes, we will choose wrong at times. But We have the right and the opportunity to make those choices. No one organization, workplace, social group or school environment can possibly be right for everyone. There are things you might disagree with in the way things are done. However, I choose to focus on the strengths and the aspects that will support my beliefs and ideas. If I find that at its core an organization or a work space aligns with my values, if I find that I can gain from it, as well as add to it, if I find that with a productive dialogue we can make things better, I choose to belong. Does this mean that I agree with everything that is ever said or done? Not necessarily. But we come again to the power of choice and the fact that I chose to belong here, I chose to make this my home. So, this means I will share, in a productive way, what my thoughts are, I will contribute what I can at the time needed. This is what is so crucially important to me. As a person who grew up in a place where choices were made for me, I value the freedom to make my own decisions, to discuss openly, to be productive and to turn criticism into an opportunity for improvement, while appreciating all that is positive and available to me. Hope this helps. And yes, we all make mistakes, yes, we all make the wrong choice at times. But we sure try. Having. Supportive and constructive environment helps create opportunities for a better future, for collaboration and for a workplace or an organization where care and vision for a greater good prevails. My commitment is to have compassion, to listen and to problem solve together. But making a choice on a daily basis is up to me. There are hard days, where just getting out and facing the world seems almost impossible. It is on those days that we need to work hard to focus on the positive and what we have. It will help us get through the day. We need to focus on what makes us strong, unique and what we have to share with this world. And when the brighter tomorrow comes, we can extend a hand to a friend in need. Before we ask of others to see our worth, we find it ourselves. It looks different to everyone. I value honesty, kindness and loyalty. So, I focus on that for myself. Or at least I try. None of those core values are achievement-based but they are important to me. Find what makes you strong! We all have a gift to share. Thank you to all of those who have contributed. Please do stay active, bring productive ideas and thoughts, stay involved on a local level and make a difference for yourself and for others. Once we chose a home, let’s make it stronger!
Warmly on this not very warm night :)
Anahit

Are You Ready for the DAC? Are You? Are You?

To all of the blind and visually impaired of Colorado, you are warmly encouraged to join NFBCO for our annual Day at Capital. Join us at 12:15 Wednesday February 5th in the old Supreme Court Chambers. Speakers from our General Assembly, an opportunity to join fellow citizens for legislative office visits, and the camaraderie of joint action. This is what advocacy is all about. We will educate General Assembly members about initiatives of importance to people who are blind. Issues such as fair wages, NFB Newsline, and the importance of our Colorado Center for the Blind. For information contact our Legislative Chairman Dan Burke, 303-778-1130, dburke@cocenter.org.

Blind and low vision Coloradoans gathered on the steps inside the State Capital at NFBCO Day at Capital 2019


Colorado Center for the Blind, 2020 Summer Program Staff Announcement

High expectations, fun environment, and empowering experiences.
Gain invaluable job skills, make a difference and be part of a great staff!

The Colorado Center for the Blind is now accepting applications from positive blind adult role models to be residential counselors/classroom instructors in our 2020 summer programs.  Our programming consists of the following summer programs:

1) “No Limits to Learning” Transition Youth Program.

2) “World of Work” Pre-Employment Program.

3) “Challenge and Adventure” Self-Advocacy Program.

4) “Cracking the College Code” College Prep Program.

Staff must be available May 26 through August 7, 2020. If interested, please contact Martin Becerra-Miranda at (303)778-1130 extension 223 or via email at mbecerra@cocenter.org

It’s a New Year. It’s Resolutions Time

Our organization passed our resolutions on Sunday, November 3rd, 2019. Here are summaries of 3 of them:
  • National Federation of the Blind of Colorado Resolution 2019-01 Commends the City and County of Denver for Facilitating Nonvisual Access to the Ballot and Ballot Tracing Tools.
  • Resolution 2019-02 Calls upon the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Blindness and Low Vision Services Unit to Update Their Policies and Procedures to Include Funding for Summer Sessions for Blind College Students.
  • Resolution 2019-03 Is Regarding the Planned Redesign of the 16th Street Mall in Denver and Opposing the Removal of Tactually Discernible Boundaries along Streets at the Edge of the Mall.  

That’s It for This Edition of the Blind Coloradoan


Forward, always Forward!

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