The last part of a twelve part series about volunteering in and around Denver in 2009. January, the 2009 resolution.  February, Rebuilding Together, Metro Denver.  March, Beacon Youth and Family Center. April, Denver Rescue Mission. May, SAME Café. June, Lighthouse Writers Workshop.  July, Institute for International Education (IIE). August, Bonfils Blood Center.  September, Socially Conscious Coffee.  October, National Kidney Foundation of CO, WY and MT. November, Growing Home Food Bank.

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Santa bent forward to allow a tiny, pixie of a girl to run her fingers and hands over his face.  Her deft fingers swept over the bumps and curves of nose and cheek.  I cringed as they touched over Santa’s glasses and curled their way into the space between eye and lens.  I imagined the smears and distortions the prints would impose on dear Santa’s ability to see.  Santa however, remained good natured and jolly throughout the exploration.  Then Santa’s hand lifted to his top button which was really a jingly bell.  The ring-a-ling-ling caught the girl’s attention and her hands floated swiftly downward to explore and satisfy her curiosity.   Those little fingers, so precious, gathered information quickly in a few fleeting seconds. 

I stood in the hall watching through a viewing window.  I had just arrived for my shift serving as one of Santa’s elves and events were well underway.  On the walk from my car to the school entrance, I passed two reindeer and a one horse open sleigh. Hey!  Now, dressed in green and red with a pointed felt hat complete with bell on my head, I waited for the next opportunity to apply my skills as child distracter cum entertainer.  As infants and toddlers waited for their turn with Santa, I got down on the floor, dumped noisy toys out of a box and shook, rattled and rolled with students of the Anchor Center for Blind Children. 

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Located in the Stapleton community on two acres of land, Anchor Center for Blind Children is the only resource of its class in the state of Colorado. Serving the needs for visually impaired infants, young children and their families since 1982, Anchor provides hope and a nurturing environment where blind children feel safe and secure and are able to reach their highest potential.  Furthermore, Anchor Center is a national model for teaching very young blind children.  The building was designed to be a teaching tool itself.  Special acoustics, light and textures are incorporated to boost the learning experience for each child.  For example, each classroom has one slightly angled wall which serves to minimize noise and provide directional sound cues to the kids.  Surfaces with great textural variety enhance touch as well as sound quality.  Benjamin’s Niche is the only classroom that gives the children an opportunity to resonate with sound due to the wood floor inside.  Cane Walk Lane uses different paving textures and a curb for children to learn cane skills. 

For children who see light, directional tools are built into the building taking form as skylights and a Light Walk (lights in the floor).  Light is used in the Kaleidoscope Discovery Wall in the Motor Room where children who can see some light are drawn to the colored windows for exploring.  Also in this room, children who are totally blind are drawn to the temperatures and textures in the windows.  Three hundred ninety-four children and families received services through the Center, home visits and rural outreach programs.  In 2008-2009, teachers and therapists provided 681 home visits to those medically fragile as well as conducted eleven trips to rural Colorado.