Outreach On the Go

Don't have a lot of time for adoption advocacy and outreach?

Let these items speak for you or be the conversation starters needed to share your testimony.

Decals, bumper stickers, license plate frames.

Church bags, library bags, reusable shopping bags.

T-shirts for kids, parents, grandparents.

Magazines and books on your end tables.

Go here to get 30 days of celebrating National Adoption Month 2010 from Adoptive Families magazine.

Many of these items were bought at the FSA store at a recent adoption conference which unfortunately does not have an on-line store or website but you could easily make your own t-shirts, bags and more.

No Matter How Much Time You Have.....

YOU CAN BE AN ADOPTION ADVOCATE!

(Click on the picture below to view a larger version)

Government Advocacy

It's election day!
Here are some ideas for adoption outreach with the courts and government.

• Write a letter to one or two of the elected policymakers who represent you. Share a story about how good (or bad) adoption policies have affected your life. Thank the policymaker for working on adoption issues or encourage them to do so.

• Bring stacks of brochures about an adoption agency, an adoption support group or adoption pass along cards to courthouses and leave them in waiting areas or at free literature stands.

• Thank the judge who finalized your child’s adoption by sending a card and recent family photograph.

• Surf the Internet looking for children’s advocacy sites. Add your email address to an action alert listserv so you can get messages about and respond to pressing legislative issues.

• Volunteer to work on the campaign of a pro-child candidate, help with voter registration, or assist at the polls on election day.

 

Government websites:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/  Contact the President, Vice President, or other staff.

http://www.house.gov/  To learn about current legislation and contact

http://www.senate.gov/  To contact Congressional representatives.

thomas.loc.gov  Read text of past and current legislation and view records from committee hearings.

http://www.fec.gov/ Obtain forms to become a registered voter from the Federal Elections Commission.

http://www.dnet.org/ Enter your zip code into the League of Women Voters’ Democracy Net to find out

which candidates and issues will appear on your ballot.

http://www.cdfactioncouncil.org/ See each Congressperson’s voting record on children’s issues by visiting the Children’s Defense Fund.

http://www.cwla.org/ Review action alerts on children’s issues from the Child Welfare League of America.

The Indiana/Kentucky FSA chapter is looking for an indiviudal or a couple who are interested in government outreach and legislation to be on our FSA board. If you are interested in participating and volunteering please contact Sara or Esther at indianafsa@gmail.com 

National Adoption Awareness Month

The Indiana/Kentucky chapter of Families Supporting Adoption just wrapped up hosting and attending the 2010 adoption conferences. In May and September there was our chapter’s training conferences. Then in July there was the National FSA Conference in Utah and October was the Regional FSA conference. FSA puts a lot of prayer, time, money and effort into these conferences with a hope to fulfill one of FSA’s purposes: to support adoptive couples, adoptive families, adoptees and birth parents and to provide pre-adoption and post-adoption education and services. We hope you were able to take advantage of these conferences and your testimony of adoption was strengthen.

Another purpose of FSA besides supporting adoptive families is to have our adoptive families and others support adoption. As we all know the family is under attack including adoptive families. Recently at the regional conference, Brother Sunday of the National FSA Board, expressed his concern about domestic adoption remaining an option for building families. He stated that in many countries similar to the US (such as Britain and Australia) domestic adoption has become practically nonexistent. This limits the likelihood for many children to be sealed and raised in an eternal family or for a chance at life at all. This limits the choices of the unmarried expecting parents and potentially leads them further away from the straight and narrow path. This also limits the options a couple can choose from to build an eternal family. If the construct of adoption falters and fails, then Satan wins a major battle in the war for the family.

We need our FSA members who understand the truth and doctrine about adoption- that it is a part of Heavenly Father’s plan for building eternal families and it is about love- to support adoption through outreach. November is National Adoption Month which provides a good opportunity to do outreach. There are many ways to outreach and support adoption and many are simple and easy. A few of my personal favorites are:

• Put “Adoption: It’s About Love” window cling/bumper sticker on your car. (There was one provided in all the folders at the May conference and I believe the Sept. conference too).

• Share your testimony about adoption with others.

• Ask your local libraries to create a display of adoption related books in November.

• Blog about your adoption journey or put posts about adoption on Facebook.

• At our chapter’s blog (www.indianafsa.blogspot.com) we have accepted the challenge to try and post daily during the month of Nov. So make sure to stop by to read, comment and share with others what we have there.

I know if we do these things Heavenly Father will bless us and adoption will grow and prosper. As we outreach, our waiting for placements will become shorter; there will be fewer failed and disrupted adoptions and the environments we work, play, go to school and live in will be more supportive of our children, our families, and birth parents; and love will abound.

With great hope and much love,
Esther Edwards
Co-Chair IN/KY FSA

“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret J. Wheatley

Regional FSA Conference

The Regional FSA Conference in Kirtland, OH is coming up on Oct. 8th & 9th.

If you haven't registered for the conference, please do so before Oct. 1st.

For more information about workshops, hotels or to register, click here.

Coming Up...

Over the next several weeks we will post highlights from some of the different workshops from the National, Chapter & Regional conferences this year.

Schedule for Adoption Conference

Hope: An Anchor of the Soul

Friday Sept. 17th, 2010 

Franklin Stake Center

1100 Gray Fox Ln., Franklin, TN. 37069 

Picnic & Activities:

Starts @ 4:30pm and will continue until at least 7:30pm

Temple Session:

Your choice of the 6pm or 7:30pm endowment session (Babysitting provided).

Saturday Sept. 18th, 2010

Franklin Stake Center

1100 Gray Fox Ln., Franklin, TN. 37069

Registration 9:00-10:00am Cultural Hall

Breakfast snacks & opening activity

Hope: An Anchor of the Soul devotional Maria Adams

Workshops (Choose one of the following)

First Round: 10:15-11:10am

Supporting Adoption in Your Church Calling:

Dave Pitcher w/ Amy & Asher Rose; Maria Adams & Kay Abernathy

Highly recommended for Bishopric members, Stake Presidencies, High Councilmen, RS presidencies, and Adoption Specialists.

Foster Care & Adoption:

Beckye Taylor & Carol Sandstrom

Learn about Foster Care and how it can be a potential path to adoption.

Adoption & Children’s Picture Books:

Esther Edwards

Gain knowledge on how to evaluate and use picture books to start discussions about adoption with children and adults.

Workshops (Choose one of the following)

Second Round: 11:15am-12:10pm

How To Outreach & Promote Adoption:

Michael & Laura Law

Brainstorm ways on how to advocate for adoption in your community and potential birth parents.

Legislature & Laws about Adoption:

Dave Pitcher

An overview of the legal processes with adoption and discuss the approaches of different states on these legal issues.

Adoption Panel:

Hear from adoptive couples and from older adoptees about their adoption experiences such as concerns, things they wished they had known and things they wished other people had known too.

Lunch & Panel 12:15-1:45pm Cultural Hall

Birth Parent Panel: 

Hear the experiences, thoughts and emotions of birth parents.

Workshops (Choose one of the following)

Third Round: 2:00-2:45pm

Gospel Perspective on Adoption: 

Dave Pitcher

Explore the doctrine and principles of adoption and strengthen your own testimony about adoption.

How to Outreach & Promote Adoption:

Michael & Laura Law

Brainstorm ways on how to advocate for adoption in your community and to potential birth parents.(Repeat)

Grief & Loss with Adoption:

Esther Edwards

Learn common stages, tasks, and coping skills of grief & loss with infertility, choosing to adopt and placing a child for adoption.

Closing: 2:45-3:00pm

Closing remarks & prayer & clean up

Emily & Nate's Adoption Journey

Nate and I were married seven years ago and after those first few years we decided to start building our family. We were able to get pregnant very quickly and were blessed to welcome a little baby boy, Carter, a little over three years ago. After his birth I had some complications with an autoimmune disease I suffer from. I was put on some new medications and was told that while I was on these drugs I would not be able to get pregnant again due to certain risks. After a year and a half of good health but no end in sight in taking the medication we decided to pursue adoption.

We got all our paperwork in order and got our profile up and running in January of 2009. I was in no big hurry to have another baby so we just patiently waited for the next nine months with absolutely nothing happening. After attending one of the FSA conferences we decided that we needed to get things moving and so we got set up on Parent Profiles in October.

We averaged about two contacts a month while on the site and had several interesting email correspondences with birthparents. But after seven months we started to wonder how long we should continue to stay on the site. While visiting my family in California in April I got the first email contact from our birthmother. She was having a little baby girl in a month and wondered if we would like to be her family.

I spoke to her a few times on the phone in the next several days and tried to get everything together. She was living in Pennsylvania and so the Maryland LDSFS office sent a caseworker out to visit with her that very first week. After that things began to fall into place.

As soon as I got back from California we headed up to meet her and her daughter for the first time. We had such a wonderful first meeting and her daughter and Carter really hit it off.

The next few weeks were a roller coaster as we waited for her to go into labor. She was often difficult to get a hold of and we were anxious all the time that things weren’t going to work out. She made it to her due date and so we headed up there for her induction. I was able to be in the labor and delivery room with her all the way and wow what an amazing experience that was. She had a difficult labor and ended up needing a C-Section. As I saw our baby girl for the first time at a whopping 10 lbs. 9 oz., I was completely overwhelmed with love for her and her birth mom who was giving us the most precious gift.

The hospital stay was a very special time where we bonded with Kennedy’s birth family. Her birth mom was so strong and we were filled with an amazing love for her and her family. Adoption really is all about love.

I stayed in Pennsylvania for a week while we waited for interstate paperwork and then was able to take her home. We had such an incredible experience and feel so blessed to have her in our family. We still keep in touch with her birth mom and hope to continue that relationship long into the future.