Our History
“I have begun my work. I have two boys, ages six and seven.”
This message—written by Oak Park’s Mary Wessels on a postcard addressed to a friend in 1897—is one of the few remaining records of Hephzibah’s beginnings more than a century ago.
Not long after Wessels sent this postcard, a local orphanage was destroyed by fire and she opened her home and her heart to a dozen more children. She named her fledgling children’s home “Hephzibah,” after her own mother.
Learn More about Hephzibah
Read the latest news and stories about Hephzibah.
Hope Houses Are Gift of Hope for Hephzibah Children
Back to School Shopping Day for Foster Care, August 9
Hephzibah Gets Major League Support from Chicago White Sox
New Foster Parents Gather Laughs and Support for Hephzibah
Teens Turn on the Volunteer Power!
Hephzibah kids are dreaming of a brighter future
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