This Valentine's Day, loved ones across the country will receive boxes of smooth, silky confections donning names like Cadbury, Godiva, Ghiradelli, Ferrero, Lindt and the like. But only one can take credit for America's chocolate obsession, paving the way for dozens more to earn their rightful place on grocery store shelves in centuries to come. That name is Hershey.
But chocolatier Milton Hershey is responsible for more than the rise of delicious milk chocolate. His chocolate-making machinery introduced new technology that made mass-producing food easier, the live-and-work community that housed his factory and empire became what is now the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, and from that town, he and his wife Catherine fostered the humble beginnings of the Milton Hershey School, a living legacy even greater than chocolate.
The Milton Hershey School aimed to help children with disadvantaged backgrounds get ahead in life. Its lessons were designed to instill the qualities that made Milton such a great businessman and entrepreneur into students. Traits like imagination, perception, future-oriented thinking, and being daring and having commitment are emphasized in the school's curriculum.
In 1918, Milton Hershey humbly and silently gifted his entire fortune, 500,000 shares valued at $60 million, in a trust to benefit the school. It wasn't until five years later that the public learned of this wildly generous act.
“Well, I have no children — that is, no heirs,” he was famously quoted in 1923. “So I decided to make the orphan boys of the United States my heirs.”
Now serving boys and girls, and widely regarded the wealthiest private school in the United States, the Milton Hershey School continues its mission to aid underprivileged children, charging no tuition and paying for its students' college educations as well. To this day, funds from each and every chocolate sold go directly to school funding, and ultimately, the education of thousands of impoverished children each year—something to consider when reaching for a Valentine's Day treat this month.
A Brief History of Milton Hershey School
1909 - Milton and Catherine Hershey signed the deed of trust to the Hershey Industrial School. The first step toward a dream to help disadvantaged children.
1910 - The school admits its first students—four boys.
1918 - Milton Hershey places all of his stock holdings of the Hershey Chocolate Company into a trust to benefit the school.
2025 - Over a century later, Hershey's Chocolate continues to impact the lives of adolescents across the country. The Milton Hershey School is one of the world's best private schools.