On a mission to make Philadelphia the most accessible US city for the arts

Throughout her adult life, Eleanor Childs has been immersed in arts and culture, be it through attending concerts, visiting museums, or facilitating students’ access to such experiences when she was a school administrator.

But over the past decade and a half, she has been losing her sight, and she’s had to confront some difficult questions.

“You have to begin to think, What can I still do? How am I going to live my life the way I lived it when I had my vision?” she says. “Am I going to lose my ability to participate in different things that are important to me?”

Thanks to the nonprofit Art-Reach in Philadelphia, she has not had to give up her love of the arts in her retirement.

“I have gone to plays, dance performances, and concerts, [and] I even participated in a