Baby Fold Experts Partner with Children's Discovery Museum for 10-year Master Plan
The Baby Fold’s highly accredited staff frequently lend their knowledge and expertise to partners across the nation and, most recently, in Uptown Normal. After welcoming more than 2 million visitors in 17 years, our amazing Children’s Discovery Museum is crafting a 10-year exhibit master plan. To help create the next generation of exhibits and experiences, museum staff reached out to The Baby Fold for expert guidance on the special needs of children on the Autism spectrum and with other sensory needs. In addition to Baby Fold staff, the museum felt that involving a parent of a child with Autism would lend a very unique point of view. It only took one phone call from our Hammitt Elementary School Autism Coordinator, Carrie Green, to have a Baby Fold parent involved in the planning. Nicci Koertle jumped right in and provided thoughtful insight from a parent’s perspective.

Nicci states, “It was an honor to attend a working session with the dedicated, bright minds undertaking improvements to enhance inclusivity at the Children’s Discovery Museum over the next few years. As a parent of an autistic/nonverbal (and oh so amazing) son, Brahm, I really appreciated having a platform to champion for change that could improve the way he and his friends engage in the museum and with members of their community.”

The Baby Fold is proud to partner with like-minded advocates to create a more inclusive community for all children, including Brahm! 

(Nicci and family are pictured. Left to right: Braydee, Justin, Brahm, Brize, Nicci, Bre - thank you for being a part of The Baby Fold family!)
Memories from Easter Past: A Collaboration with Illinois Soldiers' and Saliors' Home
A lot has changed in The Baby Fold's 120-year history, but holiday traditions continue through the decades. A Pantagraph article from 1930 highlighted the Easter celebrations at The Baby Fold and the Illinois Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home, later re-named the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School. Housemothers spent Saturday coloring eggs from The Baby Fold’s farm in preparation for the little ones to wander through the lush lawn hunting for the brightly colored treasures. On Easter Sunday, the festivities began with breakfast amid lively Easter decorations in the shapes of chicks and bunnies. Following breakfast, the Sunday School program featured special holiday readings, solos, and chorus singing from the children. A chicken dinner was served as well as bunny-shaped cookies donated from friends and neighbors. After all the festivities, the 85 Baby Fold children retired promptly at 7:00 pm. Easter traditions continue to this day, with Easter baskets, crafts, and egg hunts. Instead of dying hard-boiled eggs, our children hunt for reusable plastic eggs filled with treats and toys.
 
Our connection with the Illinois Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Children’s School doesn’t end with Easter eggs and bunnies in the 1930s. In 2018, after acquiring the former orphanage, The Baby Fold transformed the space back into a school once again for the relocation of Hammitt Junior-Senior High School. The new location and additional classrooms allowed us to welcome more special needs students than ever before. By the end of the first academic year, the space was fully occupied. In order to meet our community’s growing need for special education, a third Hammitt School location opened on Kays Drive the following year. As history attests, The Baby Fold will continue evolving to meet the emerging needs of our community. 

(Please enjoy this special collection of The Baby Fold's historic Easter photos!)
He is Risen Indeed: A Message from Pastor Lori
A greeting used by early Christians was “He is risen!”. The response was “He is risen indeed!”. Some of our Baby Fold children know this custom. One day, as I was doing my grocery shopping, I heard from a nearby aisle, “Pastor Lori! He is risen!”. I paused as I considered my options. Do I yell back the proper response, or continue my shopping? Before I had time to make up my mind, the call came again…louder. “He is risen!”. You know what I did. I called back, “He is risen indeed!”, as my Baby Fold kiddo rounded the corner with a giggle and a big hug for me. (I love my job!)

It occurs to me that we should all celebrate Easter with that kind of enthusiasm. He is risen indeed! Indeed, according to Webster, means ‘without any question.’ He is risen - no questions. Our faith hinges on this declaration. Jesus came, suffered, died, and rose so that we can be reconciled with God the Father. No doubt. As The Baby Fold ministers to children and families in all its facets, we are demonstrating our collective faith. We have hope even before our families can see it for themselves. This Easter, may we all embrace the love of God demonstrated through His Son. We are blessed indeed.
Spring into Action Campaign Continues
Last week The Baby Fold’s second annual Spring Auction featured nearly 50 custom-created spring wreaths and centerpieces designed by a small group of Festival of Trees auction item donors, to benefit the children served by The Baby Fold.
 
Runners are also springing into action! This Saturday, April 16, is the 17th annual ABC Run/Walk to benefit The Baby Fold. You are invited to join us at 8:00 am at 108 E. Willow St. in Normal, or click here to support the run virtually. The Lake Run Club’s Merlin and Meg Anderson started ABC Runs (Adventures Benefiting Children) which has blessed many local children’s charities.
 
Mark your calendars! The Baby Fold’s Day of Giving is May 20. You can support The Baby Fold’s Day of Giving by clicking here to make a special gift, sharing our social media posts, or talking to a friend about the life-changing work of The Baby Fold. You can also help by inviting friends, family, or colleagues to an informational tour of The Baby Fold, or we can come speak to your group. Prayers for the struggling children and families in our care are always appreciated as well. Whether you give, share, or pray, you have the power to bless kids and families in your own backyard.
Twelve Decades of Devotion: Journey Through the 1930s
This month we are exploring The Baby Fold’s history in the 1930s as we continue our 120th-anniversary celebration. The decade began with a big step forward in financial stability. The Baby Fold’s endowment fund began in 1930, after receiving $9,000 from the Fear estate in Gridley, IL. The Board of Trustees meeting minutes state that the donation was invested in Dry Grove Township “gravel bonds”, drawing 5 percent interest. As the community witnessed the life-changing work of the agency, The Baby Fold continued to be the recipient of estate gifts across Central Illinois.

With Superintendent Tompie Asher faithfully stewarding each gift, the agency persevered through The Great Depression. Asher found creative ways to care for the 75-80 children residing in the home, using funds that were set aside for home maintenance to purchase food instead. Additionally, the 27 staff members frequently donated back a portion of their earnings to provide for the little ones. Regardless of the hardships, The Baby Fold did not alter from its cash-only policy and did not fall into debt. Physicians, among other service providers, donated their services to the children in need.

Asher, with a basket in hand and sometimes a little child a few steps behind, would walk up and down the streets of Normal visiting merchants in hopes of day-old bread, perishables, or anything else our loving community would donate. Asher’s solicitation didn’t end with Normal city limits. She tirelessly traveled to churches, conferences, and groups across Central Illinois to speak about The Baby Fold’s ministry and collect donations. In 1932, Carlock Vacation Bible School visited the little children in the home and donated funding to purchase a teeter-totter and outdoor swing for the lawn. Barrels filled with empty jars were sent to churches, who would faithfully fill them with canned fruits and vegetables. One of the children’s favorite donations was cookies. “Cookie hour” was 3:00 pm every afternoon. Two women in Kempton, IL, had sent cookies once a month for years. By 1927 they had donated a staggering 384 dozen cookies!

In 1935, after 27 years of selfless devotion to orphaned children, Tompie Asher retired from The Baby Fold. Even after retirement, she still worked closely with the agency by serving on the Board of Trustees and managing The Baby Fold’s farm, where she resided. At the June 8, 1935 Board meeting, Annie May Raddin of Holyoke, Massachusetts, was named as Asher’s successor. However, circumstances prevented Raddin from coming to the agency. Another candidate declined the position before Ethel Glandon of Kearney, Nebraska, accepted the role. She had been a deaconess for 27 years and superintendent of a junior college in North Carolina for 3 years. By October of 1936 the superintendent position was again vacant and E.L. Beach, The Baby Fold’s former secretary, was appointed as temporary administrator. On November 5, 1937, Irma Newcomer, former pastor’s assistant at First Methodist Episcopal Church of Champaign, was hired as the new superintendent and Beach continued as assistant superintendent. When Newcomer and her assistant resigned a mere 2 years later in November of 1939, the future of The Baby Fold was questionable. The Board of Trustees wondered if they could ever find the right person to lead the agency. (Spoiler alert – they did!) Stayed tuned to learn about how Rev. and Mrs. William A. Hammitt brought The Baby Fold into the 20th century and shaped the premier social-service agency we know today – coming next month! 

(Reference: The Baby Fold: An Investment In Humanity, by Elizabeth Glidden, 1992, and The Pantagraph)
"Cookie Hour" was 3:00 pm every afternoon at The Baby Fold. Dozens of cookies were donated for the little children to enjoy, in addition to canned fruits and vegetables.
This 1937 Pantagraph photoshoot shows Jackie, a Baby Fold child, thoroughly enjoying some jam!
Twelve Transformative Programs: Autism Program Highlight
What better way to celebrate Autism Awareness and Acceptance month than by highlighting our autism program!

The Baby Fold’s autism program, serving children ages 3-21, is designed to meet the needs of students with autism and/or severe communication disorders who cannot be served successfully in a less restrictive classroom setting. The program began at Hammitt School in 1993 with just one classroom. Presently, the program consists of several classrooms at both the elementary and junior-senior high school levels where we deliver instruction and interventions based on each child’s developmental and sensory profile, need for specialized language and communication supports, as well as their unique emotional and social needs. Our goal is to help students gain the skills that enhance positive behaviors and independent functioning.

Last week Hammitt Schools hosted Autism Acceptance Spirit Week. Staff and students participated in fun experiences and dressed up each day to celebrate the special children we serve.