DENVER — There is a school in Denver that helps children discover a world that they often cannot see. 7Everyday Hero Vickers Myers helps provide some of the focus.
The Anchor Center for Blind Children has been supporting blind and sight impaired children and empowering their families since 1982.
"She absolutely loves children," said Frances Owens, community relations manager at Anchor Center.
Myers is a master gardener.
"I have been doing the horticulture therapy program here for the past nine years. And it is so much fun," Myers said.
And she knows a lot about children.
"I was a pediatric nurse practitioner for 40 years," Myers added.
The Anchor Center serves nearly 200 children and their families every year through education, music, the arts, and horticulture. The goal is to support the children and prepare them for life.
"How do you know what a tomato is? How do you know what an orange is? So, the horticulture program here —and we grow a lot of our own food —helps these kids learn that," explained Owens.
"So, we like to use plants as away to get them to touch, smell, feel, taste their world around them," Myers added.
On a recent visit, Myers was helping a group of pre-schoolers discover the center's greenhouse.
"Did you smell these? If you run them in your fingers it smells good," Myers tells a child.
The Anchor Center helps children and their parents navigate life and build confidence. It can do that thanks to a talented, highly-trained staff and outstanding volunteers like Vickers Myers.
Myers has spent a lifetime encouraging growth, whether in children or in gardens. Using her gifts to volunteer may be the most nurturing of all.
"It is one thing to feed my own soul. But it's another to feed someone else's," Myers said, smiling.
To learn more about the Anchor Center for Blind Children, go to https://anchorcenter.org.
Mitch Jelniker anchors Denver7 in the mornings from 4:30 to 7 a.m. He also features a different 7Everyday Hero each week on Denver7. Follow Mitch on Facebook and Twitter. Nominate a 7Everyday Hero here.