Wishing you and yours a very Happy Holiday Season! Please know that you all are on my heart and mind as I engage in my own family holiday traditions and celebrations this year. I want to let you know that I'm thankful for so many of you for the role you have played in Adoption Support Alliance’s story. I am thankful that you access our services, share with us your family’s stories, volunteer your time to support us and tell others about us.
Because of your support and engagement in our organization, here are some things we’ve accomplished in 2018:
We added a monthly support group for adult adoptees. The community built among group members was almost instantaneous and the insight they have provided on adoption has been rich.
16 families attended our four “Adoption 101” classes, 4 of whom have already begun pursuing adoption already!
We hosted two classes on "Race, Culture and Adoption" and engaged with 9 families who desired to prepare for a transracial adoption more completely or want to better equip their own family for raising a child to have a healthy racial identity in their adoptive home.
We raised $10,000 at our third annual Fall Photo Fundraiser and fell in love with the Duke Mansion, where we plan to hold our fourth annual event in October 2019
19 families attended support groups including groups comprised of adoptive mothers, adopted teenagers and/or adopted children in our Kids Club
We started an online book club through Facebook.
We hosted five free events for the adoption community including brewery hang outs and panel discussions.
16 families were served through individual or family counseling, including through our first Child Parent Relationship Therapy Group.
I want you to know that as myself and the board plan for and think about what is to come in 2019, we consider the needs of your families and your children and YOU in that planning. In addition to all we have done in the past, here are some new things we are looking forward to in 2019:
-Launching our new website and new brand for Adoption Support Alliance’s fifth year
-Hosting classes on a variety of topics facilitated by adoption professionals in Charlotte.
-Offering an adoption resource lending library at our offices in Elizabeth
-Organizing consistent family events to build community throughout the Charlotte area (let us know if you’d like to host)
-Developing online “Adoption 101” classes (because sometimes engaging from the comfort of your own home really is most convenient)
-Hosting additional adoptee panels so we can learn from adults who have lived the adoption experience
-Posting more consistent blogs from a variety of members of our ASA community (we know you have experiences to share and insights to offer)
In addition to the money we raised from our annual fundraiser, we received $7,394 in individual gifts so far this year. These donations, as well as the money raised through fundraising events, are extremely encouraging to us as we do this work. In all honesty, these gifts will allow Adoption Support Alliance to continue to offer services to support adoptive families. And, you still have a couple of days left to make a tax deductible donation to Adoption Support Alliance in 2018. We will graciously accept those contributions at any point in the year :)
We are so thankful for the opportunity to play a small role in your family’s adoption story. Please continue to reach out to us with your needs and your ideas about how we can further our mission. Wishing you and yours a very Happy and Healthy New Year!