After World War II, a young Austrian medical student named Hermann Gmeiner saw many children orphaned or abandoned. Often, their siblings were the only family they had left. To keep them together, Gmeiner started the first SOS Children’s Villages.
Since then, SOS Children Villages has grown to become the largest non-denominational children’s care provider in the world. Today, 450 Villages in 132 nations are home to more than 60,000 children.
SOS came to Illinois in 1993, when the Lockport Village opened. Today, the Lockport Village has 18 individual homes on a beautiful campus, a recreational community center and an array of services. In 2004, SOS established the Chicago Village with 16 homes in the Auburn-Gresham community on the South Side. This is the first urban Village in the heart of a major city. A new community center serves both the Village and the surrounding neighborhood. Day care, family support services, job skills and counseling will enhance the lives of Village children, parents and neighbors.
