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It was a magical evening. May 15 marked the end to a long career at the ������ for Tom Anderson. More than 150 people came to send Tom and Linda off to Kansas after 27 years teaching Braille - and several other duties. We fed them, and gave the tribute to Tom and Linda that we felt they deserved. And we did it without electricity.

March’s FAST Saturday will involve taking a journey through prehistory with our hands at . ������ kids participating will be putting their hands on actual fossil bones as well as plaster cast replicas – it might even mean holding fossilized dinosaur poop.

I said it’s fossilized! it’s all coming about thanks to the presence of Cat Sartin as a guest researcher at the Nature & Science Museum this winter. Sartin, a doctoral candidate in paleontology at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, has worked with the ’s Jernigan Institute in its STEM-X programs, providing hands-on learning about evolution and paleontology to blind youth.

Museums have traditionally kept artifacts such as fossils and skeletons just out of reach of patrons, if not behind glass, meaning that blind visitors could enjoy a long walk through cool galleries, but not much more.

When Comcast’s Mary Spillane called earlier this month to ask if we would work with them to test and improve the Talking Guide for the X1 cable box, we were naturally excited. Comcast gave us an X1 box with a year of cable service – and a new TV – so we could use, evaluate and demonstrate the accessibility. Mary said they wanted us to give feedback, and we’ve already begun to do so.

Mary was excited to have us on board, but I think she was just as excited about tonight’s Oscars broadcast, when Comcast’s new commercial “Emily’s Oz” will debut,” with narration by Robert Redford. Woo! This is big stuff!

On Friday Comcast issued a regarding the upcoming commercial, intended to highlight its accessibility offerings to customers, and to push the conversation about disability and entertainment a bit further. Emily is a blind 7-year-old whose favorite movie is “The Wizard of Oz” … Well, go see this short, “The Making of Emily’s Oz” and more on Comcast’s Emily Oz page to get the picture – or the audio-description.

And you can watch the actual as well!

(Editor’s Note: We are delighted to be partnering with the on this year’s , a nationwide competition sponsored by the . It’s the first time that a test site has been located in the Denver Metro area. Below is the press release.) We’re all going to have a great time with Braille!

Braille Competition to Test Skills of Metro Kids:

CCB Partners with CSDB to Host Nationwide Program

Contact: CSDB: Diane Covington, dcovington@csdb.org or 719-661-0941
CCB: Brent Batron, bbatron@cocenter.org or 303-778-1130 x222

Thanks to 67 generous donors we raised $12,901 online on December 9, and received another $520 in checks and cash, bringing our total to $13,421!

In addition, the online figure makes us eligible for a small portion of the $1 million incentive fund put up by FirstBank and Community First Foundation. A total of $26.2 million was donated to more than 1600 Colorado nonprofits on Colorado Gives Day 2014

We are grateful to all of our friends who continue to support us with donations ranging from $10 to $3000, but it’s also exciting to be part of the largest giving day of the year in Colorado!

And of course, we were given the opportunity to be featured on 9News with Gregg Moss during the Where in the Town segments on the morning of November 24!

Thanks to our students and staff who passed out flyers, to all of our social media friends who shared our posts, thanks to Gregg Moss and 9News for having our great Center staff members on Denver’s morning TV, and thanks most to FirstBank and Community First for making all of it happen!

(Mosaic, our 2014 fund-raising event, will be held from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday, September 5 here at the Center. We’re especially excited out our main musical guests, Café Americana, and we want you to be excited too! Here’s a bit more about them, and don’t forget to buy your tickets using the link on this page!)

We’ve captured a few strays from the Denver area acoustic roots band Stray Dog: Eric Woods, Zac Cottrell & Anne and Joe Rigley. From numerous original songs, acoustic interpretations of classic rock tunes, 1940’s jazz standards, all the way to bluegrass and blues, they put their own mark on a broad, eclectic mix of music. Eric’s unique touch on the guitar over Joe’s classy bass backs Anne’s remarkably sweet, pure and honest voice, all while riding Zac’s magical percussion on the Cajón.

Audiences consistently remark that the unique hallmark of this group is their ability to make you feel as if you are sitting around the coffee table with them in the basement making music, with as much focus on enjoying the music as playing it.

A Celebration to Remember!

The ������ first opened its doors in January of 1988 with three staff members and five students. On September 13 & 14, 2013, the Center held its 25th Anniversary Celebration with an open house and a gala banquet.

Friday, September 13

The rain stopped and the sky cleared for a few hours on Friday, September 13, 2013. It lasted just long enough for the opening ceremony of the 25th Anniversary Celebration, along with tours of the Center, and rides in the National Federation of the ������’s ������ Driver Challenge car. Guests also enjoyed bratwursts grilled by current Center students.

Distinguished guests at the morning ceremony included Littleton’s Mayor Debbie Brinkman, National Federation of the ������ First Vice President Frederick K. Schroeder, NFB of Colorado President Scott LaBarre and founder and long-time Director at the Center, Diane McGeorge.