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women of distinction Camille Caffarelli City of residence: Crystal Lake Organization/company/corporation: Horizons for the Blind Title: Founder and Executive Director the 1970s, Camille Caffarelli was married and had three small children. But after her husband died of a brain tumor, she became the sole provider for her family. While raising a family alone would have been a difficult task for many, Caffarelli’s situation was slightly more complicated because she was blind and her opportunities for work were narrow. “I was left with three children to raise, and I’m trying to think, ‘How do I support these kids? How do I make a difference? What should I do with my life?” Caffarelli recalls. “And being blind, what are you going to do?” Caffarelli was always very interested in cultural institutions and the access people — especially the blind and visually impaired — had to museums, theatres, zoos and the like. “I thought, if you could start a business that would make these places more accountable to the visually impaired, this would be something I would be very interested in,” she says. So, out of the basement of her home, Caffarelli started Horizons for the Blind, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people who are blind or visually impaired by increasing accessibility to consumer products and services, the cultural arts, education and recreation. She began lecturing at the Art Institute of Chicago and helping others to appreciate works of art from a tactile perspective, noting that sometimes sight isn’t the strongest sense. Soon, she started getting inquiries from utility companies and banks wondering how they could make billing information more accessible to people who were blind and visually impaired. “There was a time when ... I had to have somebody read my phone bill,” Caffarelli says. “As much as you like people, I don’t think you’d want them to know the balance in [your] bank account. So, we work with these institutions — the banks, the phone companies — so people have equality to access that information.” Today, Horizons for the Blind prints approximately 30,000 monthly statements in braille and large print from its Crystal Lake headquarters. Most recently, Caffarelli and her staff at Horizons — 60 percent of whom are blind or visually impaired — launched DirectionsForMe.org, a website that provides packaging information on products such as ingredients, directions, nutritional information and more. “How many times have you baked a cake or tried to make something from a package and you look at a box?” Caffarelli asks. “I’ve had to ask somebody if they can please read this, thank you so much. And I don’t mind saying please and thank you, but it’s something no one else has to do … . At DirectionsForMe. org, you can get the information you need.” People can use the website to enlarge the tiny print often found on packaging, print out ingredient lists in braille or use a speech program to have instructions read to them. “We also do work for CTA, Pace, Metra — nobody would think that it’s all happening in Crystal Lake, but it is,” Caffarelli says. “I’m just so happy when we can work together to see people empowered.” For her leadership and service to others, Caffarelli was chosen as the recipient of one of seven 2013 McHenry County Magazine Women of Distinction Awards. She was awarded with her fellow winners at a luncheon May 8 at Crystal Lake Country Club, where nearly 200 people supported their fellow community leaders. As if her achievements with Horizons weren’t enough, Caffarelli, now 66, also is the state chair of the Blind Services Planning Council of Illinois, chair of the Illinois State Library Talking Book and Braille Service Advisory Board and a chair of the Braille Authority of North America. “I think that’s what our function is in our life, is to make a difference,” Caffarelli says. “And that’s why we’re here, to try to draw out whatever is our best and make it work for us.” To learn more about Horizons for the Blind, visit www.horizons-blind.org. mc — By Stephanie N. Grimoldby WOMEN of distinction 2nd Annual Winner: Camille Caffarelli In May, seven local women were named to the 2013 class of McHenry County Magazine’s Women of Distinction for being representative role models as leaders in their fields and communities. Each month through December, we will feature one Woman of Distinction and share her story. In
