Known by many as Mother Hale, Clara McBride Hale founded Hale House, an organization designed to provide a safe and loving environment for children without homes or families. In 1985, President Reagan called her "an American hero, whose life tells us that the oldest American saying is new again: Anything is possible in America if we have the faith, the will and the heart."
When Mother Hale lost her husband in 1938, the 33-year-old widow had to find a way to make a living and care for her two young children. Though Hale had her own children to feed and educate, she dedicated herself to finding and providing homes for neglected children, and made it her life's work to better their lives.
When Hale became a licensed foster parent in 1960, she became known affectionately as "Mother Hale." In the early 1970s, with the help of her daughter and local elected officials, Mother Hale acquired a brownstone in Harlem and expanded the scope of her work, creating programs for at-risk children and their families. In response to the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, Mother Hale took in numerous children who had either lost their parents to the disease or who had HIV themselves.
In the course of her lifetime, Mother Hale received over 370 awards and national acclaim for her work as a humanitarian. When she passed away in 1992 at the age of 87, over 2,000 people attended her funeral to commemorate her life.
For more: http://www.halehouse.org