About Us

More than 12,000 IAHCE members residing throughout Illinois volunteer their time, skills and energy to improve their lives in home and community. They meet in their homes monthly, hold special events in community places, participate in festivals, farmers markets and parades, tutor kids at schools and churches, donate items to veterans hospitals and Native American families, sew and stuff book bags for Head Start children, establish scholarships, attend international conferences, and serve on local, state, national and international organization boards and committees, and the list goes on. IAHCE members become trainers on vital issues. Lessons for Living, offered by the University of Illinois Extension Service Educators are open to the public, free of charge. They also offer other lessons given their own expertise. IHACE women have been improving home life, neighbor to neighbor, consistently, for 80 years. If you are not a member, most likely someone in your family has been.

Our Values

An Aim for the Homemaker

To have the home
Economically sound
Mechanically convenient
Physically healthful
Morally wholesome
Mentally stimulating
Artistically satisfying
Socially responsible
Spiritually inspiring
Founded upon mutual
Affection and respect

–Juliet Lita Bane, Home Economist, 1919

Our Inspiration

"Make no little plans - they have no power to stir men's blood and will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and in work, know that a noble and logical plan will never die but long after we are gone will be a living thing."

–Juliet Lita Bane, Dean Home Economics
University of Illinois, 1941

Our Story

In July 1915, Kankakee County hired an advisor, Miss Eva Benefiel, a graduate of the University of Illinois, to develop a home improvement association. This was the first county to be organized in Illinois and only the second in the entire United States. In the beginning, the idea of the Home Advisor was misunderstood. Instead of regarding Miss Benefiel as an educator, she was regarded as a sort of maid in the home. Eventually, with surely great patience and perseverance on her part, people recognized Miss Benefiel's true function. Mercer County organized in 1917, and thirteen more counties organized by 1918-1919. Some women organizing a county in 1918 rode horseback seven miles to board a train, which then took them fifteen more miles to Champaign, the county seat. On January 14, 1925, the first formal Annual Meeting was held and officers elected for one year. Copies from IHBE (Illinois Home Bureau Federation) Minutes of 1925: The Illinois Home Bureau Federation came into being in January, 1924 by the action of the State Conference consisting of the Representatives of the various counties. As what these pioneering women did for the IAHCE women of today, we now are shaping what life will be for the next generation when IAHCE celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2024.

How to Join

Ask your University of Illinois Extension County office for the name and telephone number of the County HCE or HEA Membership Officer. She can put you in contact with the Unit closest to where you live and give you the membership form.

Fees

Washington County has its own annual membership fee of $10.00 for membership and $5.00 for mailbox membership. Lessons for Living are free. The County newsletter is free with active membership. The State newsletter costs $15 for a three-year subscription. Special event costs vary.

The Whole World is Your Playground

You can volunteer to work in your own neighborhood, or bring the world to your doorstep through NVON (National Volunteer Outreach Network), CWC (Country Women's Council) and ACWW (Associated Country Women of the World). The choice is yours. Home is where you volunteer your heart. You can volunteer to work in your own neighborhood, or bring the world to your doorstep through NVON (National Volunteer Outreach Network), CWC (Country Women's Council) and ACWW (Associated Country Women of the World). The choice is yours. Home is where you volunteer your heart.