Jane Addams sits with immigrant children in the courtyard of Hull-House. Miss Addams was a leader in securing schooling for children. Today, Hull House provides a comprehensive array of supportive services to hundreds of children and families each year.

On December 10, 1931, Jane Addams became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The State of Illinois now observes Jane Addams Day on December 10th. We celebrate this day with our Tea with Jane Fundraiser.

Hull-House housed many services including a night school for adults. Today, we continue Miss Addams’ legacy by providing family support services that stress literacy and parenting skill development as well as ESL classes.

Jane Addams graduated from Rockford Female Seminary in 1881, among the first students to take a course of study equivalent to that of men at other institutions. The Seminary changed its name to Rockford College in 1892, and is still a private liberal arts college located in Rockford, Illinois.

The Charter of Hull-House was to “Provide a center for a higher social and civic life, to institute and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises and to investigate and improve the condition in the industrial districts of Chicago.”

On September 18, 1889, Hull-House opened its doors in the heart of Chicago’s west side. Men, women and children of all ages and ethnicities came to Hull-House. Hull-House grew and spread until in time it came to be a kind of community center for the whole of Chicago, when nearly 2,000 people crossed through its doors every day.

In addition to making services available for the immigrant population of the neighborhood, Hull House afforded young social workers an opportunity to acquire training. Hull-House now impacts over 60,000 individuals, families and children annually.