About · Springfield Angel of Hope
Founded in 2007 by bereaved parents in Springfield, Illinois. Dedicated October 4, 2008. Tended ever since by the families whose children are named on the wall.
The Angel of Hope was first imagined by Richard Paul Evans in his 1993 novella The Christmas Box. After readers wrote to him in grief, he commissioned the original statue in Salt Lake City. Around one hundred replicas have since been placed in cities across the United States and beyond.
Springfield's angel belongs to that wider community of remembrance — and to this city. The statue was cast specifically for this site, and the garden grew up around it.
The original Memorial Wall was set behind the statue at the 2008 dedication. By 2016 — only eight years later — every panel had been filled. Families were still asking to add the names of their children.
In October 2017 the site was expanded. Two additional walls were added, along with a new walkway and landscaping, so that no family would have to be turned away. The wall now carries more than one thousand names of area children. Construction on both phases was carried out with help from members of OPCMIA Local 18, the Plasterers' & Cement Masons' Union.
About the Memorial WallWe are bereaved parents ourselves. There are no paid staff, no professional fundraisers — every dollar goes back into the wall, the garden, and the families who come here.— Springfield Angel of Hope, NFP
Leadership
President & Founder
One of the bereaved parents who formed the organization in 2007. Unveiled the Angel of Hope statue at the dedication ceremony on October 4, 2008, and has served as President of the board ever since.
Vice President
Long-serving board member helping steward the annual Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony, the Walk to Remember, and the ongoing engraving of names on the Memorial Wall.
Bereaved parents & family
The remainder of the work — engraving requests, walk logistics, the candlelight service, garden upkeep coordination with the city — is carried by a small volunteer board of parents and grandparents who have lost a child.
Partners & affiliations
These aren't generic affiliations. Each name below represents a real working relationship — labor, hospital pastoral care, municipal land, archival stewardship — that has carried the angel and the wall for nearly two decades.
Registered Illinois nonprofit, EIN 68-0656292. Form 990-N e-Postcard filed annually through FY 2025.
Plasterers' & Cement Masons' Union. Members provided site work for both the original installation and the 2017 wall expansion.
Hospital-based pregnancy and infant loss support program at HSHS St. John's, a recipient partner of Walk to Remember proceeds.
Memorial Health bereavement chaplaincy in Springfield, also supported by Walk to Remember each October.
Washington Park Botanical Garden hosts the statue and Memorial Wall on city-managed park grounds.
Springfield's public library holds an archival manuscript collection of the organization's clippings, programs, and drawings.
One of approximately one hundred Angel of Hope sites inspired by Richard Paul Evans's novella, with the original in Salt Lake City.
Profiled on Charity Navigator, Candid / GuideStar, and CauseIQ. IRS compliance current as of May 2026.
Come, sit, remember
Whether you are visiting the angel for the first time, looking for a name on the wall, or asking how to add one — you are welcome here.
To remember every child.
To tend this place together.
To keep the light on.