Some of the best ideas start with a walk around campus. On Wednesday, August 5, Chicago Foundlings Home joined partners from across the Near West Side for a visit and tour of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls' West Loop campus.
Around the table were:
Mercy Home: Elizabeth Norden, Director of Corporate & Foundation Relations; Peggy Sullivan Yogya, Associate VP of Human Resources; and Katie Keller Smith, Community Care Director of Ongoing Programs & Supports
One Family Illinois: CEO Delphine Rankin
UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work: Pamela R. Brown, Director of Field Education
Illinois Medical District: CEO & Executive Director Allyson Hansen, CFH Board Member
Chicago Foundlings Home: Executive Director Katie Livingston-Brock
Peggy shared how Mercy Home recruits and develops staff, including a growing relationship with UIC's Jane Addams College of Social Work, which trains the next generation of child welfare professionals. Katie Keller Smith walked us through Community Care, Mercy Home's program that keeps supporting former residents and their families long after they leave campus. That was especially useful for One Family Illinois, which is working to launch its own aftercare program for young people.
This is the kind of connection Chicago Foundlings Home was built for. Our grantees work just blocks from one another. When they share what's working, every child and family they serve benefits.
Thank you to Elizabeth and the Mercy Home team for hosting!