History and Timeline
History
Brenda Krause Eheart, together with her colleague Martha Bauman Power, while at the University of Illinois, spent a decade researching what happened to “unadoptable” children who spend their entire youth being bounced from one foster home to another. Their research was the driving force behind Generations of Hope (a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation) and Hope Meadows, its first program site.
Eheart and Power found that the adopting parents often were not equipped to deal with such deeply troubled young people. It wasn’t because these families didn’t want to do the right thing, but they lacked the necessary knowledge and support to succeed. For nearly two years, Eheart and a group of like-minded friends developed a vision for an entire community built around these families. Their dream was to create a place where “unadoptable” children would be adopted by caring parents who would themselves be supported by one another, a small staff, as well as honorary grandparents.
Hope’s mission, deceptively simple, is to create a diverse intergenerational neighborhood to support these families. Generations of Hope has created a place where adoptive families can get the support and information they need, children can finally find a place to call home, and elders find real purpose and meaning in their everyday lives.
Timeline
1992
January: Hope for the Children begins efforts to acquire funding and housing to establish Hope Meadows
1993
June: Illinois Legislature awards $1,000,000 to establish Hope Meadows
September: Negotiations with the Pentagon to acquire military housing on Chanute Air Force Base are completed
1994
March: Housing on Chanute Air Force Base is acquired
May: First families move in
September: Official opening of Hope Meadows and first pre-adoptive foster child arrives
1995
September: Senior Volunteer Program is formalized
October: Intergenerational Community Center opens
1996
February: Chicago Tribune publishes the first national front-page news story on Hope Meadows
June: Hope Meadows celebrates its first adoption
1997
August: Generations of Hope Research and Policy Program is launched in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois
1998
November: Hope for the Children receives US Department of Human Services ‘Adoption Excellence Award’
1999
November: Hope seniors receive Illinois Governor’s ‘Home Town Award’ for volunteerism
2000
September: Hope for the Children is officially renamed Generations of Hope
2002
November: Hope’s founder receives US Department of Human Services ‘Adoption Excellence Award’
2004
September: Hope Meadows celebrates its 10th anniversary
2005
April: Whitepaper on “Intergenerational Community as Intervention” (ICI) is drafted
August: W.K. Kellogg Foundation awards funding for development and replication of the ICI model, based on the Hope Meadows pilot
2006
September: Generations of Hope Development Corporation is established
Generations of Hope is a finalist for the Harvard University, ‘Innovations in American Government Award’
2008
Founder Brenda Krause Eheart receives the ‘Heinz Award for the Human Condition’
Eheart is named an Ashoka Fellow
2009
August: Generations of Hope receives US Department of Human Services ‘Adoption Excellence Award’ for its support of adoptive parents
September: Hope Meadows celebrates its 15th anniversary
November: Founder Brenda Krause Eheart is named a Purpose Prize Fellow by Civic Ventures
December: Founder Brenda Krause Eheart receives an AARP Inspire Award
2010
February: Elaine Gehrmann is named the Executive Director of Generations of Hope