DuPage County Creates A Garden In Memory Of Baby Hope
CHICAGO (CBS) -- DuPage County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday the creation of Hope's Garden, to memorialize Baby Hope.
Hope's Garden was named after an infant girl found dead on a private drive off of Plamondon Road in unincorporated Wheaton in August.
The garden not only is an effort to memorialize Baby Hope, but the county hopes that it will make a positive impact on the community.
Hope's Garden will give criminal offenders, sentenced to the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program the chance to become productive and learn a new skill, by planting vegetables and maintaining the garden. The DuPage County Sheriff's Office plans to donate all the produce grown in the garden, to local food pantries feeding hundreds healthy food; all while preserving the memory of Baby Hope.
"Although her life was short, Baby Hope made a significant impact on the DuPage County Sheriff's Office and the community as a whole," said DuPage County Corrections Chief Shawana Davis, in a statement. "That's why Sheriff Zaruba named this community-oriented project after her. Baby Hope will now touch even more lives through the creation of Hope's Garden."
The garden is located at 30W575 Roosevelt Road in West Chicago, part of Winfield Township Road District. The project was created in a joint effort between the DuPage County Sheriff's Office and the Winfield Township Highway Commissioner, John Dusza.
"Commissioner Dusza's generosity and willingness to partner with the Sheriff's Office for Hope's Garden was instrumental in getting this project completed," said Sheriff Zaruba, in a statement.
Work in the garden is scheduled to begin in spring 2017.
DuPage County hopes that the garden will not only provide for the community, but be a place of peace and healing.
The DuPage County Sheriff's Office is asking for the community's help in finding information that can assist in solving the case surrounding the death of Baby Hope.
The Sheriff's Office posted photos of what Baby Hope's mother and father may look like on their Facebook page.
The Illinois State Crime Commission is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Baby Hope's parents. If you have information that could be helpful in solving this case, Dupage County Sheriff's Office asks you to call, 630-407-2400. All calls can be confidential or anonymous.
