Community Partners

May 2023

Thank you to the community businesses and agencies who support CSDB students!

April 2023

Celebrating Community Partners at Work: Mary's Mountain Cookies

Thank you for supporting CSDB students as they learn employment skills!

Mary's Mountain Cookies Colorado Springs

March 2023

CSDB students, who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing, volunteer at Care and Share Food Bank of Southern Colorado @careandsharefb

January 2023

Community Partners at Work! Envision Xpress is a terrific partner for CSDB, working with two of our current BtL students, and employing an alumnus. We are so fortunate to collaborate with Envision Xpress at Fort Carson, CO!

December 2022

Several CSDB BTL students recently started work at the Envision Xpress Fort Carson location, helping to stock items, greet visitors, and ensure the store is clean and well organized. Store manager, James Griffin, excels at keeping the store running smoothly while providing in-person training and instruction to our students. Along with creating employment opportunities for the blind and visually impaired(BVI), Envision prioritizes providing special accommodations and assistive tech to ensure BVI employees have the tools to get the job done right. From JAWS enhanced POS systems to shelves and aisles labeled with braille, Envision Xpress is an ideal setting for our BTL students to build work skills and learn about the world of retail.

Envision Xpress is a mid-sized office and military supply store, located on the northern side of the Fort Carson military base, in Colorado Springs. Operated almost entirely by veterans and ex-military, the store caters to soldiers looking to gear up and find important supplies for upcoming deployments. Along with a basic range of office and home supplies, the store offers everything from explosives placards and ceremonial swords to hybrid tent cots and filament for 3D printers. With location all over the US, Envision’s mission is to provide quality products while supporting and providing employment to low-vision and blind individuals. The company operates in the AbilityOne network; a program created by congress in 1938, “enabling agencies serving people who were blind to sell products to the federal government.” Their goal is to, “tap America's underutilized workforce of individuals who are blind or have significant disabilities to deliver high quality, mission-essential products and services to Federal agencies in quality employment opportunities.” One of Envision’s primary product lines is Skilcraft, an AbilityOne affiliate that encompasses a line of over 3,000 items including janitorial equipment, office supplies, medical supplies, tools, and uniforms, mostly manufactured by blind and visually impaired employees.

Written by Mitch Decker, CSDB Job Coach

November 2022

Community Partners at Work! Which Wich knocks it out of the park providing an employee experience for one of our students, Carl.