Blind Coloradan
Blog
December
2024
Writer, aggregator: Kevan Worley
Contributors: Dan Burke &
Erin Daley. With assistance from Lisa Bonderson.
National Federation of the Blind
of Colorado, President, Jessica Beecham
We are still here!
From the aggregator: with deepest apologies your volunteer
aggregator has been missing in action. We will be changing the nature of our
blog a little bit moving forward. We will be posting items more frequently on
this blog page, rather than waiting to accumulate articles for a longer Blind
Coloradan. We know that many of our readers get activity notices and other
important pieces on Colorado Talk. But we know that some of our blog readers do
not get emails from our Colorado Talk list. So we hope all will sign up for
Colorado Talk. We also hope that each of you will check this blog page from
time to time for notices of upcoming events. As well as some of our longer-form
posts. I regret that a number of personal circumstances have gotten in the way.
I look up 5 months later and realized I hadn’t posted to our blog. Please accept
my apology. I think you will enjoy
reading what we are posting today. Happy happy holidays to you all! Forward!
Santa and Winter Celebration Letters
We provide blind children with Braille
letters and activities to celebrate the winter season.
The National Federation of the Blind
works to get more Braille into the hands of blind and low-vision children. We
are excited to provide Braille letters and activities to celebrate the holiday
and winter season in December. Each letter is part of a fun celebration packet
of activities. The celebration packet is accompanied by a print copy for the
whole family to participate.
Request Your Child's Santa or
Winter-Themed Letter Today
The deadline to request a Santa or
winter-themed letter for your child is December 16, 2024. Request
your child's letter today
Santa Letters
Every December, the National
Federation of the Blind helps Santa send letters in Braille to young blind
children across the country.
How did it start? Well, more than ten
years ago, Santa asked us to be his honorary elves. Ever since we've been
helping him send letters in contracted Braille to blind children who are ten
years old and younger in the United States. Along with the Braille letter,
Santa includes a print letter so that those who might not read Braille can
follow along. He also includes other fun holiday activities.
Winter Celebration Letters
We are excited to also offer
winter-themed Braille letters so that parents of children ages ten years or
younger can select the option that best fits their family. Along with the
Braille letter, the celebration packet includes a print letter so that those
who might not read Braille can follow along. English and Spanish
available.
More Information
For more information about our
education programs, please contact us at education@nfb.org
or 410-659-9314, extension 2418.
Happy Holidays from the Denver Chapter!! From Maureen Nietfeld, NFBCO Denver Chapter
Come join us for some holiday fun on
December 7 from 12 noon until 3 PM at the Colorado Center for the Blind 2233 W
Sheppard Ave Littleton. Enjoy a delicious complimentary lunch of meatball
subs!! Enjoy the delicious hot cocoa bar and if you are able, please bring a
pre-cut dessert for All to share. There will be a special visit from Santa and
lots for kids to do!! Arts and crafts and a fun scavenger hunt will bring the
holiday fun.
We haven’t forgotten about you
grown-ups 😊
Bring a new $20 gift to play in the
wild gift exchange!! This is completely
optional but if you do wish to play plan that you will bring a gift of a $20
value that is brand new. Please bring it unwrapped gift bags are a great idea 😊
We can’t wait to spread holiday cheer
with all of you!! Feel free to bring family and friends and bring in the
holiday season with us.
When: Saturday, December 7, 2
p.m.-whenever
Where: The Lakewood Grill, 8100 W
Colfax Ave
What: A festive gathering for the
season.
In this season of thanks and joy, we
wanted to host a gathering where anyone can come, hang out, and have fun!
There’s nothing you need to bring
besides yourselves!
Please, spread the word to anyone you
think might be interested.
Please join us for festivities,
friendship, and fun at our holiday celebration at the Boulder Cork at 5:30 PM on
December 18, 3295 30th St Boulder. We have a
reservation for 18 people so please invite friends. Let’s have a beautiful evening together! Here is the link to the menu. https://bouldercork.com/dinner-dine-in/
Please respond to Andrea by December
16 with your availability and the number of guests you are bringing at brandandr@aol.com.
The Olympic City Chapter of NFB of
Colorado will be hosting our annual holiday party/white elephant exchange on
Saturday, December 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Wyndham Place Apartments, 350
E. Las Animas, Colorado Springs. We will be having a potluck, the chapter will
provide lasagna, bottled water, and paper goods. We ask all to please let us
know if you want to bring a dish to share. We will be having our usual wild
white elephant exchange, please keep gifts under 15 dollars, the crazier the
better. Look forward to seeing everyone!
For any questions contact Jeanette
Fortin, 719-332-7529.
The National Association of Guide Dog
Users will be holding a Town Hall Meeting with Uber to share information
regarding the Self ID Pilot Project. We will also provide an overview of what self-ID
means and will have some time for a few questions.
If you would like to submit a
question, please send an email to board@nagdu.org with your question. The
deadline for submitting questions is Monday, December 9, 2024, no later than 12
PM Eastern Time. For those who are not able to attend the town hall in person,
we will send out the recording following the meeting.
Topic: NAGDU Town Hall
Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Time: 8:00 PM Eastern Time (US and
Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81961347763?pwd=qOpo2HygPxRgcrbfIpU0ETdaiEEpV1.1
Ciara graduates from the Colorado
Center for the Blind on Thursday. Yesterday, she completed her “Drop.” The Drop
is the final travel challenge for our students when we “drop” them in an
unknown location and they must use all the analog skills they’ve been learning
and practicing for nine months to get back to the Center. That means using the
sun to sort out cardinal directions, finding a busy street and then a bus stop,
and asking only one question of the general public.
Sound scary? Ciara felt great when she
returned.
"I feel so empowered," she
said. "When I came here 9 months ago, I was afraid to walk down the
sidewalk. Now I'm going places!"
“Going” places includes her Monster
Route, which she also finished recently. That assignment requires students to
plan a one-day trip on public transit with four new destinations in four Denver
Metro cities. One of those locations, a restaurant in Denver serving New
Orleans cuisine, was closed when she got there.
“I was walking down the street,
smelling something good and thought there has to be something around here,” she
said of the new restaurant she discovered that day.
“I was so boxed in,” she recalls of
her life in small towns in Kansas. “When I first got here, I couldn’t imagine I
could ever do these things,” she says of the Drop and Monster Route, as well as
classes in Tech, Braille and Home Management. “Now all my ‘can’ts’ have turned
into ‘cans.’”
Ciara began posting as Divah Speaks on
TikTok in 2020, but didn’t start sharing her story about losing her vision
until 2021. That’s where she first encountered a supportive community of blind
people. That’s also where she first realized that there could be more for her,
and she wanted more for her life. One of her friends was in training at one of
our sister NFB centers, doing all kinds of things.
“I want to do those things,” Ciara
realized, and ultimately decided to come to the Colorado Center for the Blind.
“Going places” also describes Ciara’s
future. She moves into a new apartment this month. She will work part-time for
the Center at our front desk. She’s active in her church, working in the
nursery (she loves working with the little ones) and serving on the community
outreach board. She will start at Arapahoe Community College next fall. Early
Childhood Education, perhaps?
First, though, she will cook and serve
a meal for the entire Center and her guests. Red beans and rice for about 60
people in all. She’s already in the kitchen working on it, smiling all the
time.
“So many things have fallen into place
for me. So many friends. So much community. Such a family I never had before.”
We believe blind people can do
anything, and that with a supportive, positive community of other blind people
they can pursue their dreams, just like Ciara.
Your
donation for Colorado Gives Day (Dec. 10) supports our training programs
that teach our students to believe that they can pursue their dreams! All
donations between now and Dec. 10 count toward our Colorado Gives Day total,
and a percentage of the $1 Million Incentive Fund from First Bank.
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Just a note to let you know that the
resolutions that were adopted at this year's state convention have been posted
to our website.
They can be found at: https://nfbco.org/2024-resolutions
Happy Holidays to you all!
Here is a story of a man I have found
most interesting. Below is just a sample of what I have learned about him.
Santa’s helper called his name. The
little blind boy jumped up and ran to the front of the ballroom where he heard
the voice of Santa just moments before. He touched Santa’s Fknee and Santa
picked him up and placed him on his lap.
“Hello little one,” Santa said. “Have
you been a good boy this year?”
“Yes Santa, can I touch your beard?”
he asked. “Do you have a cane?”
“Yes, I have a white cane. Santa
chuckled.
“Are you really blind, blind like me?”
asked the boy.
“Yes, I am blind. Santa is just like
everyone. Santa is Colored to the little Negro children. He is blind, just like
all of you here.”
After a few more questions, Santa
handed him a gift and reminded him that his friends were waiting for their
presents.
Later, when the presents were opened
and everyone had some light refreshments, the children played with their new
toys. The little boy loved his new fire truck. He got down on his knees on the
hotel ballroom floor and crawled quickly, varooming his fire truck to an
imaginary fire. It crashed into a chair. Gasps and “Oh’s” came from the sighted
Lions members and local dignitaries.
But the fears of the sighted were
unheard by the little boy as he backed up his truck and headed in a new
direction. “Man, this place is small!” the little boy said. Then making a loud
siren call, he scooted past the tables and chairs on the floor.
The Honorable Judge Ned H. Smith
played Santa at the annual Detroit Lions Club Christmas parties for more than a
generation. Over the years, he realized how important it was for the
impressionable children to know Santa was blind and that a blind child could
grow up to be whatever they dreamed of.
Ned met many blind children through
his leadership positions and activities with the Lions and other civic
organizations. He hoped that the little boy would continue to be unaffected by
the fears and limitations of the other guests and society in general. He knew
too many like him have their attitudes, curiosity, adventurism, and dreams
dashed. If playing Santa could hold the limitations of others at bay for just
one child each year, he would be happy.
Judge Ned Smith was born in Indiana in
1901 and went blind in his teens. Luckily, he had family and friends who kept
his dreams of becoming a doctor alive, even if they felt privately that Ned
could never reach his goals.
Ned entered the University of Michigan
in 1921. With no adult services for blind students, Ned worked his way through
college washing dishes. Although he was still learning to read and write in
Braille, few books, especially those pertaining to his course work were in
Braille. He hired readers, often students in his classes to read for him.
One reader who read for him was Floyd
Howard Skinner, a member of his class of ’26, and Black. Classmates and others
warned Ned about socializing and being too friendly with the “Colored.” But
Ned, now in a minority not of his choosing, found he had more in common with
Floyd than not.
Although Michigan was a northern
state, it had segregated places of business and employment options closed to
people of color. Ned found that he too was not wanted everywhere. The
University was not supportive of his career choice nor was the local medical
community. Injustice was taking on a whole new meaning for Ned. He went into
law like Floyd.
Floyd got a research position in 1925
with a local Black lawyer, Oliver Green. Green filed suit in 1925, against the
Keith Theatre in a case now known as Bolden. V. Grand Rapids. The case was
filed on behalf of Dr. Emmett Bolden, a Black dentist who was refused seating
in the theater based on his race. Floyd became well-known in the Black legal
community for that work before his graduation and had job offers before leaving
the University.
Ned took an assistant prosecuting attorney position in Detroit for Wayne County in December of 1926. His new bride acted as his reader. Ned became active in local politics and joined civic organizations. He spoke on many topics to churches and community groups. In 1936 he ran for Common Plea Judge and won, being re-elected for the next 10, two-year terms.
Judge Smith got a reputation of being
fair and willing to go beyond the courtroom to help those in need. Newspapers
such as the Detroit Times, a Black-owned newspaper endorsed Ned as a judge for
all of Detroit, not just the white citizens.
When WWII began, he did his part by
donating blood on a regular basis and encouraging others to do the same. “With
our boys spilling their blood all over hell, here’s our chance to spill a
little bit. It doesn’t even hurt,” reporters quoted Ned in their blood drive
articles.
When the blind children from the
public schools told his Lions Club they did not want gifts from Santa, rather
the money for their gifts to be used to purchase war bonds, Ned took pride and
inspiration in the patriotic spirit of the blind kids and his Lions Club did
purchase war bonds in their names. The kiddies also got gifts from Santa at
each Christmas party during the war.
Ned loved sports. Rarely did he miss a
Detroit Lions football game. He enjoyed swimming in the summer. He loved to
play bridge or cribbage with friends and poker after work in the courthouse. He
kept a Braille deck of cards in his desk at work.
He became a champion bowler in the
state’s blind bowling organization. His league was made up of blind men and
women from all backgrounds. They became friends. He even married a blind
teammate to a young blind woman in his chambers. Ned loved to unite the many
couples who came to the courthouse, especially soldiers about to head overseas,
during the war.
But it was his commitment to his
fellow blind people that inspired Ned. Often parents reached out to Ned to talk
with their blind child. He shared with the families how he accomplished his
job, the importance of being able to read and write in Braille, as well as
using human readers. He told the families how important it was to explore and
use all the senses, especially hearing. Ned proudly told of his 42-acre farm
where he liked to spend his weekends. He described how he harvested his walnut
trees, cut wood for the fireplace, and weeded the gardens. He shared his
stories of being a blind parent and the importance of community involvement.
One single mother asked Ned to talk
with her blind son, Herman Hudson. The two wrote letters in Braille back and
forth to each other. Ned encouraged Herman to go to college. When Ned learned
that Herman might have to drop out due to financial reasons, Ned helped pay for
Herman’s tuition. Herman went on to be one of the first Black professors at
Indiana University. He founded the IU’s Department of Afro-American Studies.
Although Ned chose not to travel with a guide
dog, several of his blind friends did. Ned promoted the dog guide schools when
speaking about blindness. He supported his fellow blind when they were hit by
cars on the streets of Detroit. A “White Cane” ordinance passed in Detroit in
1936, and a similar law for the entire state of Michigan in 1937. The law
protected the right of way for the blind traveler on city streets and the right
to use public services such as movie theaters and restaurants. Yet too often Ned
was called to remind the courts of the law’s existence.
Ned died September 21, 1956, in
Detroit, while still in office. An
election was held to fill his seat. A Black man, Elvin Davenport won the seat
by more than 30,000 votes. Ned would have been pleased.
The 2024 Thanksgiving serving line in
the Meeting Room at the Colorado Center for the Blind, featuring students and
staff serving themselves food the students prepared. Braille labels identify
each tray.
We have each other - staff, students,
volunteers, and many friends and supporters. We have our belief in Blind People
and the extraordinary opportunity to share that with each other every single
day! And thanks to the generous donations of supporters, friends, and alumni,
our Blind students find ways every day to change their lives.
Our tradition is for our students,
with the more-than-capable guidance of our Home Management staff, to prepare a
full-on Thanksgiving feast, which we hold a week prior to Thanksgiving itself.
As many of our students disperse to their homes for the holiday tomorrow, we
know and they know they can contribute to every part of the day’s preparations
and celebration. We can't share with you the wonderful smells or tastes of the
preparations or the feast, but we want to share with you a slice of those
preparations (pun intended). So, check out our YouTube
playlist, CCB Thanksgiving 2024.
And thank you to all our early donors!
If you haven't made your donation yet, we hope you can find a moment to do so.
Remember, all donations between now and December 10 count toward our Colorado
Gives Day total!
Celebrating Seniors and Duncan Larsen From Juile Deden, Executive Director, Colorado Center for the Blind
Make a Colorado Gives donation that
celebrates Duncan Larsen and our blind seniors!
Duncan Larsen’s commitment to
instilling confidence in all blind people goes back to her earliest
professional years in Nebraska. She was one of our founders in 1988 after
moving to Colorado. In fact, Duncan was the cane travel instructor on that
storied first day when she traveled to the Center with those first students in
a blizzard. Since that time, Duncan has changed thousands of lives.
So, we’re dedicating the Senior
Resource Room at the Colorado Center for the Blind as the Duncan Larsen Senior
Resource Room, and we invite you to designate your 2024 Colorado Gives
contribution to Duncan’s legacy.
It’s only fitting. From 2003 to her
retirement from the Center in 2023, Duncan Larsen directed Senior Services at
the Colorado Center for the Blind through an extraordinary period of growth.
When she began, we had a once-a-month senior support group. In 2023, we served
more than 150 individuals in three weekly groups at the Center, five monthly
groups in outside locations, and made dozens of home visits as well.
But of course, the hundreds of seniors
losing vision who met and worked with Duncan remember her for her warmth,
genuine concern for others, and her calm intellect. We all miss Duncan at the
Center, but even though she “retired” from the Center, it’s pretty tricky
tracking her down. And when you get her on the phone, you never know where she
might be!
So, you can designate your Colorado Gives
contribution this year by selecting “Duncan Larsen” in the “Designation”
drop-down on the Colorado Center for the Blind Donate page.
Want to Be Named as a Donor? Make a
donation of $250 or more designated to the Duncan Larsen Senior Resource Room
and we’ll include your name on the commemorative certificate to be hung in the
entrance of the room!
Colorado Gives Day is Tuesday,
December 10, but all donations made online or off-line count toward our total,
and a percentage of the $1 Million Incentive Fund from First Bank.
Isn’t that great? There’s no need to
wait to make your 2024 Colorado Gives donation!
Donate
Now for Colorado Gives Day!
It has been another great year for the National
Federation of the Blind of Colorado. We hope the above gives you at least some
idea of our accomplishments and our joy. As we move into 2025. We know that
there will be much more joy to share, work to do, and successes to create. This
blog was a bit of a “catch-up” issue. In the weeks and months ahead we will be
sharing more about the resolutions we passed at the 2024 state convention. We
will be detailing more of the work we are doing to change the world for blind, low-vision
people and our families. We will get back to sharing the profound philosophy of
the federation in these pages. We will get back to highlighting some of the important
work being done by our partners. And we look forward to your ideas and
articles. For now, we say Happy Holidays! And with love, hope, and
determination the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado will be at the forefront
of changing Colorado for blind and low vision people.
Forward, always forward!
