Tree dedication honors Baby Hope
People moved by the fate of Baby Hope, found dead last fall near Wheaton, can honor her memory Tuesday, April 26, at the Tree of Hope dedication while calling attention to safe haven laws, meant to protect babies from being abandoned.
Baby Hope was left in a wooded, unincorporated area off Plamondon Road on Aug. 15. She was buried at St. Michael Cemetery on Sept. 22. Police still are looking for her parents.
A tree will be dedicated in the newborn's honor at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Seven Gables Park, 1750 S. Naperville Road, Wheaton. The event aims to honor and remember Baby Hope in a way that brings healing to the community, organizer Susan Walker said.
"A number of Wheaton families want to honor Baby Hope and helped to contribute to the cost of the plaque," she said. "The Wheaton Park District worked with us to create an enduring way to remember a little life lost too soon."
The dedication ceremony will include an opening prayer, an update on Baby Hope's case by members of the DuPage Country Sheriff's Office, and a reminder by the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation of how the state's safe haven law works and has been used to save the lives of 119 babies in Illinois.
The law allows an unharmed baby, up to 30 days old, to be brought to staff at a hospital or emergency medical facility, a police or fire station, a college campus police station or a state police district office. Giving up the baby can be done without answering questions or fear of prosecution.
"We're pleased the plaque includes information to remind the community about the safe haven law so that a case like (Baby Hope's) never has to happen again," Walker said.
"It is fitting that we dedicate the tree in April, as both the state of Illinois and the nation observe Baby Safe Haven Awareness Month. The law works when people know about it."
The tree dedication is a collaboration between Rest in His Arms, Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, Wheaton police and fire departments, the DuPage County Sheriff, Central DuPage Hospital, and the Wheaton Park District. Many local officials plan to attend, including Wheaton Mayor Michael Gresk.
Rest in His Arms is an all-volunteer, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing Christian funeral and burial for babies who have been abandoned. For information about A Tree of Hope, see the event listing on Facebook at facebook.com/events/607419592784855/.
To learn more about the safe haven law, visit the Save Abandoned Babies Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, at SaveAbandonedBabies.org.