The halls of Hammitt Elementary and Hammitt Junior-Senior High Schools were buzzing with excitement recently as the schools held their fall open houses. 

The evening was a time of fellowship where parents and family members got a glimpse into their child’s school experience in The Baby Fold’s special education program. Students happily marched down the hallways, greeting staff and friends as they visited their classrooms, showing pride in their spaces and in the work they’ve already accomplished during the school year.

Compassionate teachers, devoted to making school a positive experience, were available to share insight and success with eager parents and family members. Parents and family members also enjoyed seeing the bonds their children have already built with their teachers.

The evening was complete with giveaways as students won gift cards in door prize drawings. Their excited cheers echoed down the hallway when the winners' names were called over the intercom. At Hammitt Elementary, a professional photographer was even on hand with a variety of photo props to capture fun family memories. 

Family Advocates, dedicated to maintaining strong family-school connections, also created goodie bags for each elementary student that included a personalized photo magnet, cards, a keychain, and much more. 

The Hammitt School program provides expert, individualized instruction for special education students in classrooms of 10 students or less. Open houses are just one way our Hammitt School staff build healthy connections that heal.

When Baby Fold employees in Champaign-Urbana’s Healthy Start program noticed a lack of local parenting resources and services specifically for men, they stepped up to meet that need and the Daddy Dialogue program was born. 

Family Support Specialist Jeremy Smith now leads monthly Daddy Dialogue meetings for local fathers to gather and discuss issues important to them. Guest speakers also regularly join to offer additional expertise.

Jeremy has partnered with A Cut Above the Rest Barber Academy on the initiative, and the barber shop hosts the group meetings each month. 

Not only does Daddy Dialogue offer fathers access to important resources and services, it also provides attendees with a fantastic mentorship opportunity. Men dedicated to their important role as a father are able to uplift and support other local dads.

The Daddy Dialogue initiative is a natural expansion of The Baby Fold’s Healthy Start program in Champaign-Urbana. Healthy Start is a preventative program that wraps services around new parents and families, giving them the tools they need to be successful. The program is now available in both McLean and Champaign Counties.

Christmas music played softly in the background as a group of creative designers gathered together earlier this month to discuss the latest trends in holiday décor. The annual workshop, hosted each year by Jeffrey Alans, was open to anyone interested in crafting and donating auction items for The Baby Fold's Festival of Trees.

During the workshop, attendees sipped hot apple cider and snacked on holiday treats while a Jeffrey Alans representative demonstrated insider tips and tricks of decorating a large Christmas tree and offered suggestions on types of items to use in design.

Both new and veteran designers attended, and everyone left with their creative minds filled with new ideas and enthusiasm.

You can view their designs and donations next month during The Baby Fold's 29th Annual Festival of Trees. The event takes place November 17–19 at the Interstate Center in Bloomington and online at FestOfTrees.org. Visit the Festival website to browse the full schedule, sign up to volunteer, and purchase tickets for the event.

Now is the time to power-up your year-end giving with a contribution to The Baby Fold! Turn your charitable gift into life-critical services for local children today.

The Baby Fold makes giving easy by accepting secure online gifts, IRA rollovers, stocks, securities, property, cryptocurrency, and more. Visit the website today for more information and to make your gift to support local children and families. 

Through your generosity, over 1,200 kids and families receive love, healing, and care from The Baby Fold each year. This season of giving, you can bless Baby Fold kids even more by adopting a Christmas Wish List. Many children who receive services from The Baby Fold would not receive Christmas gifts if it weren't for the generous hearts of friends like you.

Our children are eagerly writing their Christmas list with two or three items they are wishing for, with an average cost of $65 per list. YOU can help turn their lists into Christmas morning memories! Visit our website to adopt or fund a Christmas Wish List, learn more, or sign up to volunteer.

Thank you for blessing the children of The Baby Fold this Christmas season.

The Baby Fold experienced a rapid expansion of services in the 1990s as the organization continued to evolve to meet the needs of local children and families.

The Challenges Program

The Baby Fold has long believed that each child is unique and that individualized programming is essential in meeting the needs of children. In August 1993, Hammitt School took that belief one step further and launched the Challenges program.

Challenges offers a customized classroom environment with individualized programming specifically designed for students with autism and/or communication disorders. Back in 1993, the revolutionary program consisted of a single classroom at Hammitt Elementary. The impact and student success was so strong, however, that Challenges has grown and it now consists of multiple classrooms at both the Elementary and Junior-Senior High Schools.

Adoption Support and Preservation

With roots based in adoption, The Baby Fold’s dedication to adoptive families grew even stronger in January 1994 when Adoption Preservation Services (now known as Adoption Support and Preservation) started offering therapeutic intervention to adoptive families. These important services are still offered to adoptive families today, strengthening their bonds and helping them through any rough waters they may experience.

Healthy Start

In January 1997 preventative services took the forefront when the Healthy Start program began offering education and supportive services to new parents. After all, when new parents are uplifted, supported, and secure, their child will be as well.

Healthy Start continues to this day and it is now offered in both McLean and Champaign counties.

The Festival of Trees

Finally, in late 1994 The Baby Fold launched one more thing…the Festival of Trees. While the event has become an important local tradition for families in Central Illinois, it is also The Baby Fold’s largest fundraiser, securing essential funding for the important programs and services we offer.

Plans are well underway for the 29th annual Festival of Trees, taking place next month. Join us November 17 to 19 at the Interstate Center to kick off your holiday season and to help support local children and families!

Following the amazing success and positive impact of Hammitt Elementary School, and in response to ever-increasing need for intensive special education services in the community, The Baby Fold's school program expanded in the early 2000s to the junior high and high school levels. Hammitt Junior-Senior High School officially opened on August 26, 2002.

The school grew quickly, too, and it wasn't long before it outgrew its leased building. In 2018, to allow for additional classroom space for Hammitt Junior-Senior High School, the school moved to the former Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School building at 612 Oglesby Avenue in Normal. (The community landmark had been purchased by The Baby Fold in 1999 and restored. It served as office and program space until 2018 when it returned to its original purpose as a school.) A second campus of Hammitt Junior-Senior High School opened on Kays drive in 2019.

Today, Hammitt Junior-Senior High School serves 190 students, ages 12 to 21 from 40 surrounding school districts, providing autism services, individualized special education, crisis and therapeutic interventions, and vocational education to help children find academic, behavioral, and social success.