Gads Hill Center came to life on April 18, 1898, when the State of Illinois issued a Not-for-Profit Charter to the Gads Hill Social Settlement. The mission of the Settlement was stated as:
On March 17, 1916, the name was changed to Gads Hill Center. The historical demography of Pilsen is ethnically rich and diverse. The first to occupy the neighborhood were the Irish and the Germans, arriving after the Chicago fire of 1871. They were followed by the Czechs, Bohemians, Lithuanians, Poles and Italians, who began to arrive at the turn of the 20th Century. Since World War II, Pilsen has welcomed a steady flow of Latino immigrants, mainly of Mexican origin. Gads Hill Center as an institution has been a constant during all of the community's changes; however, its services have evolved in response to community need. In 1916, Gads Hill Center built the first playground in the area, and also had a private circulating library for children. As a matter of fact, in 1928 Gads Hill Center became a sub-branch of the Chicago Public Library system; in 1927, a Music School was organized and beginning in 1930 Gads Hill was sponsored by the Mu Phi Epsilon International Professional Music Sorority. The Center also offered a nursery school with concurrent parent education; cultural and recreational activities; a musical school; a seniors' club; and a myriad of activities for youth. A major change occurred in the settlement house movement in the early 1960s when the New Frontier, Great Society and War on Poverty programs were developed during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. The Office of Economic Opportunity began offering private agencies programs where the agency had only to invest 10 percent of every dollar of the budget. Of the many types of programs offered, Gads Hill concentrated on one, the Development of Neighborhood Resources. In 1965, an office to house this program was opened in Pilsen. An advisory council was formed and directed under the Office of Economic Opportunity guidelines, developing the program with limited local control. Later, employment related child care, youth delinquency prevention and home-based Head Start joined the list of government supported services at Gads Hill Center. Over
100 Years at Gads Hill
Center 1898:
Gads Hill Social Settlement
opened as a
neighborhood center with a program of educational and recreational
opportunities for the entire family. 1900:
Summer Camp
opened at
Glencoe which gave outings to hundreds of women and children who enlisted
the active interest of North Shore townspeople. 1905:
First free Tuberculosis Camp in Illinois
opened in
Glencoe by Gads Hill in cooperation with the Visiting Nurses Association. 1908:
Gads Hill begins first nursery school
in the
district. 1912:
First playground in
district was opened and supervised by Gads Hill staff for five years,
after which the City established the Municipal playground at 22nd
and Robey Streets. 1916:
Building erected—Money
was raised by the Trustees for the erection of a three-story, fire-proof
building that stands today as the home of the renamed Gads Hill Center.
The building was designed as a state-of-the-art structure for the time,
built for heating and cooling efficiency, and was featured in the
architectural literature for its environmental qualities. 1917:
Visiting Nurses Association opened
a sub-station at Gads Hill Center thus affording the Center the privilege
of close cooperation for their work in the district. 1919:
Library established
at Gads Hill
Center consisting of 25 children’s books.
In 1928 this library was made a sub-branch and staffed by the
Chicago Public Library; by 1941 it circulated 54,841 books. 1927:
The Department of Music was reorganized as a Music School, and from 1930 the Mu Phi Epsilon Sorority, a national honorary musical
society, staffed and supported the school.
In 1941, the school had a monthly attendance of 204 pupils in
piano, violin, voice, and chorus. 1928:
Formal Nursery School opened at Gads Hill Center,
including in its services a daily nursery school program for 40 children,
weekly classes in parent education, and the training of young women as
mothers’ helpers and nursery workers. 1931:
North Shore Auxiliaries organized in Winnetka and Evanston to make and
distribute clothing to neighborhood children. Thousands of garments were made
or collected for neighborhood distribution.
The two organizations sponsored an Annual Benefit Dance and similar
social events, the proceeds of which have gone to the maintenance fund of
the Center.
Today the North Shore Board of Gads Hill Center continues to
solidly support the operations and activities of the Center and has
initiated a college scholarship fund for the Center. 1934:
The Jane A. Delano Post of the American Legion began providing scholarship
funds for
adolescent girls, health education for all House members and a nursery
school milk fund. 1940:
Leslie C. Harbison Memorial Endowment established
by Frank
Brookes Hubachek and Mrs. Harbison for the purpose of securing financial
security for Gads Hill Center. 1941:
The Arden Shores organization is recipient of the Gads Hill lakefront
encampment
in Glencoe and
becomes the site for a new organization serving children and families in
the developing northern suburbs. 1942:
Fourth floor added
to accommodate expanded child care services at the Center,
serving mothers who are working in support of the war effort. 1948:
Gads Hill Center celebrates golden anniversary and
is recognized for being at the forefront in provision of services to
senior citizens and the only nursery school for miles around. 1948:
Ruth Austin receives prestigious National Federation of Settlements Award
for her 32 years of
distinguished service at Gads Hill Center. 1953:
First Mexican immigrants arrive
in Gads Hill
community. 1974:
Latino Youth Alternative High School is launched
by teens and
youth workers at Gads Hill Center, where they operate until moving into
their own building in 1990. 1978:
Gads Hill remodels its building at 1737 West 18th Street to
the specifications of the Spanish Coalition for Jobs, a program providing
employment training to hundreds of youth. 1980:
Home-based Head Start program inaugurated,
focusing on
service to recent Latino immigrant preschoolers and their families. 1984:
Salazar Bilingual School adopted by Gads Hill in
City’s Adopt-a-School program; special recreational and social services
provided to families of the school’s 375 children. 1986:
Spanish Coalition for Jobs, Inc. forms employment service agency as
a spin-off of early Gads Hill program. Gads Hill gives it the building at
1737 West 18th Street, along with government employment service
contract, continuing the tradition of incubating important community
projects. 1989:
Gads Hill begins Project Sanctuary,
a domestic violence prevention program offering
services to children and families, including a court-mandated supervised
visitation site for children and non-custodial parents. 1990:
Computers first used at the Center; four Apple IIe computers and educational software
donated for use by children at Gads Hill. 1995:
Educational Support Services Department created,
offering computer literacy classes and a computer lab; basic education;
English as a Second Language; and tutoring and mentoring programs for
elementary school students through adults. 1996:
Gads Hill redefined as a Family Resource Center
by its Board
of Directors. 1997:
Collaborative planning begins with the Sinai Community Institute
for
development of a new child care facility for Gads Hill to be housed inside
the Center for Families and Neighbors at Mt. Sinai Hospital. 1998:
Year-long centennial celebration begins.
Centennial
Time Capsule buried on the grounds of Gads Hill Center, to be opened in
the year 2098. 1998:
Gads Hill welcomes first Coordinator for Technology and
a long-range plan for technology is initiated. 1999:
Gala Centennial Celebration
held at
the Ambassador West Hotel. 1999:
Club Learn, an after school program for academically at-risk 1st
to 8th graders, wins
a Good Samaritan Award
from CBS’
WBBM-TV Channel 2. 2000:
Club Learn wins award of excellence
from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of
Chicago. 2001:
Prestigious BP Leader Award presented to Gads Hill for its work in
collaboration with the Chicago Department of Environment to provide
environmental education and a “green” environment for the Gads Hill
community. 2001:
Chief Executive Officer Barbara Castellán is named a Hometown Hero
by CBS/WBBM,
and noted as “A
Person With Clout”
by WTTW’s CityTalk. 2001:
Project Sanctuary is transitioned to Gads Hill Center’s sister agency Mujeres Latinas en
Acción, continuing its tradition of incubating programs for the larger
community. 2002:
Gads Hill Center is awarded the National Association for Chicana
and Chicano Studies 2002
Community Award. 2002:
Gads Hill Child Care Center opens
in collaboration with the Sinai Community Institute.
Head Start, child care, and after school programs are offered at
the new Center in the North Lawndale community of Chicago. 2002:
Teen Connection Computer Lab
opens to provide teens with access to computer technology,
the Internet, and tutorials to prepare them for college. Teen Connection
is a unique college preparatory program offered to young people of normal
potential—the first of its kind in the community. 2002:
EcoFamilia, Gads Hill’s award-winning environmental education program,
begins, furthering
the Center’s commitment to involving the people of our community in the
protection of the environment for the benefit of future generations. 2003:
Gads Hill partners with Center for Neighborhood Technology in Wireless
Fidelity pilot project, providing wireless internet signal and computers to ten families living near
the Center. 2003:
Gads Hill computer labs become Community Technology Centers, providing
technology training and access to program participants and the community. 2003:
Child Care Center evolves into complete Family Resource Center, offering
child development programs for infants and toddlers, pre-schoolers, a full
kindergarten and our Club Learn after-school enrichment program. 2004:
The Chicago Botanic Gardens collaborates with Gads Hill Center on Primero,
La Ciencia, an
urban environmental science camp for 7th-9th
graders.
The new program is awarded one of six national Leadership Awards
from The United States Institute for Museum and Library Services. 2004:
Chief Executive Officer Barbara Castellán is awarded Mujeres
Latinas en Acción’s
Maria
‘Maruca’ Martinez Community Service Award for
her work in the community and Gads Hill Center. 2004:
Chief Executive Officer Barbara Castellán is the recipient of the
North Lawndale Employment Network’s 2004 Creating
a Community That Works
Award. 2005:
Gads
Hill Center wins the Alford-Axelson Award for Nonprofit Managerial
Excellence from
the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at North Park University. © 2005 Gads Hill Center |
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