From dusk, and through the stroke of midnight on Saturday, March 5, it is safe to say that good deeds will be celebrated during the 2016 Hephzibah Children’s Association’s Once Upon a Time-themed, Heart of Gold Ball.
Honoring the life and legacy of Hephzibah champion, the late Jane Hedges, as well as shining a spotlight on the transformative “Paws for Strength” initiative brought to the agency by the Bryan and Amanda Bickell Foundation, the annual fundraiser will include drinks, dancing and dinner at Morgan Manufacturing, 401 N. Morgan, Chicago.
Tickets can still be purchased by calling 708-649-7161 or visiting the Hephzibah Home website.
As its 2016 recipient of Hephzibah’s “Heart of the Home” Award, Hedges, a valued volunteer and former board member will be celebrated as the embodiment of the award, says Mary Anne Brown, the nonprofit’s longtime executive director.
Hedges, who died at age 70 in September 2015, was a longtime guidance counselor for East Leyden High School in Franklin Park before her retirement. She was also active with many other charities in Oak Park.
For Hephzibah, Brown said, Hedges was an active board member and robust role model of volunteerism.
During the years her sons were participating in the after-school daycare program, Hedges began volunteering with the nonprofit, eventually establishing the Homework Helpers program, an after-school effort she operated with the assistance of a group of retired school teachers.
As Homework Helpers took hold, it evolved into a mainstay for the children who reside in Hephzibah Home.
“Jane was a wonderful, wonderful asset to us. In everything she did, she typified everything it means to be a valued volunteer,” Brown said. Providing the necessary support for the Hephzibah kids to succeed in school was Hedges’ passion.
“Helping children do their homework is not as easy as you might imagine; there are 26 children living here,” Brown said. “Jane showed us ways to make doing homework with them more interesting, and now we have a group of volunteers who are carrying that on.”
Jane’s husband, former Oak Park trustee John Hedges, recalled that “Hephzibah was really important to her, and she spent a lot of time there, being on the board, pitching in as a volunteer, and raising funds, things like that. Their mission was important, and it was something she identified with, so that is why she wanted to spend so much energy, time and effort doing what she did for them, and [it] did a lot for her, too.”
The Bryan and Amanda Bickell Foundation (Bryan is a professional hockey player currently under contract with the Chicago Blackhawks) is being honored for bringing its unique “Paws for Strength” pet therapy initiative to the children of Hephzibah Home. Every Sunday the Home’s formerly abused children are paired with a team of volunteer dog handlers and rehabilitated “pit bull”-type therapy dogs to learn how to heal together by establishing a loving human-to-canine bond.
“First Bryan and his wife came and met the children,” Brown said. “They brought the children books about dogs. We assigned some of our children to help out with walking the dogs every Sunday as well as train them. Many of our children leave here and live in homes where there are dogs. Pet therapy is very important for them because they need to know how to treat a dog when they get into a home, so it helps our kids, too.”
The aim of this year’s gala, Brown adds, is to acknowledge the good works of these honorees, as well as celebrate the contributions of everyone who helps out at Hephzibah, including its past, present and future volunteers and supporters.
“We are the oldest charity in Oak Park, and we are not only surviving but thriving,” Brown said. “Because of the people of Oak Park again this year, we have a program for working families that takes care of over 600 kids after school. We are helping 26 kids from all over the state of Illinois who live here, and we have 90 children in our foster care program. We could not do it without the community of Oak Park.
What is not to celebrate about all that?”
What: Hephzibah’s 2016 Heart of Gold Ball
When: Saturday, March 5, from 6 p.m. till midnight
Where: Morgan Manufacturing, 401 N. Morgan, Chicago
Tickets: Can still be purchased by calling 708-649-7161 or visiting http://www.hephzibahhome.org/once-upon-a-hephzibah/