From Hope to Home

Adoption Tax Credit Letter - template

2010-03-05T13:06:00.000-06:00

As you may or may not know, the larger adoption tax credit will sunset at the end of this year unless you encourage your congressman and senator to let it continue into subsequent years. America World has provided a letter template to make it even easier for you to do so!

Tax Credit Letter

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

new book for adoptive parents

2010-03-03T09:07:00.001-06:00

Sally Bacchetta has released a new book called What I Want My Adopted Child to Know: An Adoptive Parent's Perspective.

Bacchetta’s words echo with the collective voice of over 100 adoptive parents interviewed for this book. With chapters like “I Would Do it All Again”, “You Are Not Different Because You Were Adopted,” and “I Regret What I Can’t Give You,” What I Want My Adopted Child to Know is by turns affirming, challenging, thoughtful, wistful, and poignant.

Amazon link is here.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Online Parenting Webinar

2010-03-01T20:34:00.000-06:00

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (C.A.S.E.) is offering a webinar called Beyond Placement: Family Adjustment to Foster Care Adoption.

After an adoption is finalized, it is not uncommon for both adoptive parents and their children to experience a period of adjustment as they transition to the changes that occur with finalization: the absence of previously ever-present (available) professionals, changes in the schedule of birth family visitation, changes in family dynamics, etc. Families may experience challenges around their child's reworking issues related to loss and grief of birth family ties. Some families may struggle with how to fulfill the obligations of their open adoption agreement. This webinar will help parents understand and successfully navigate through these concerns. Led by Madeleine Krebs, LCSW-C. Fee: $25.

Register here.
(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Update on Nepal

2010-02-19T10:18:00.000-06:00

From Joint Council on International Children's Services:

It is our understanding that the U.S. government, following the lead of Germany, Sweden and Canada, is considering suspending the rights of Nepalese children to find a family through intercountry adoption. Some in the child welfare community continue to call for the suspension of intercountry adoption until ”reform” can be implemented. Read more...

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Haiti/Global Orphan Update and Adoption/Foster Care Workshop

2010-02-15T14:11:00.000-06:00

Like you, the tragic events of Haiti have opened the hearts and minds of many believers worldwide to the issues of adoption and orphan care. Please join the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance for a free informational meeting on Saturday, February 27 from 12:30 – 2:30 pm at Brentwood Baptist Church.

There will be an update on Haiti, adoption, mission/aid trips, and other ways for you to answer the call to serve the orphan locally and worldwide and where you can learn and ask questions about next steps. Childcare will not be offered but children are welcome!

To register, please send an e-mail to the alliance indicating the total number of adults and children who will be attending.

The Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance (MTOA) is an alliance of Christian churches and community partners whose passionate mission is to share ideas and collaborate on activities to serve God’s children through adoption, foster care, and international orphan care.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Webinar - Parenting Adopted Adolescents

2010-02-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

Gregory Keck, PhD and Janelle Althen, LCSW bring their expertise on attachment and early trauma as they discuss Parenting Adopted Adolescents. Both Gregory and Janelle have experience assisting families with their adopted adolescent children and draw from their knowledge of both domestic and international adoptions. Join us for insight and gain the support that is available for your family.

Date: March 17
Cost: $20.00
Register here.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Helping Haiti - Part 3 of 3

2010-01-26T09:23:00.001-06:00

GIVING:
There are lots of great organizations to give to. Reputable ones. And of course, some not so reputable. I’m providing a link to the Christian Alliance for Orphans site. Since our alliance model is similar to theirs, I wanted to provide their list of organizations if you are led to give or are asked about organizations.

Hope for Orphans has created a blog dedicated to the needs of the Haitians. You can follow that here.

Above all, keep praying.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. Please also feel free to forward any of the e-mails to anyone you feel would be interested in this information.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Helping Haiti - Part 2 of 3

2010-01-26T09:20:00.003-06:00

TEMPORARY FOSTER CARE:
It’s still quite possible that many of the Haitian children WILL be provided passage to other countries including the US, knowing that at least temporarily they can be given the basic necessities of water, food, shelter and loving people to help them through this tragedy. No governmental procedures are currently in place so how this will happen and who will be involved are big unknowns currently. The situation is very fluid and can change by the moment.

Because there is a chance that a number of these children will need to come to the US for temporary or permanent care, we want to try to be one step ahead. Organizations such as Lydia Home in Chicago (where Safe Families originated) and 4Kids in South Florida are two of the organizations who have already been asked to help. As you know, we’ve discussed Safe Families many times in our meetings. The concept of providing temporary foster care for these children is the perfect solution if they are brought to the US. Depending on the numbers, they very well could be inundated and not able to provide for all. In that case, churches and regional alliances like ours could possibly be called into action and we want to be ready.

To be proactive, MTOA is building a database of families who also have been through some of the process in either the area of foster care, adoption home studies or Safe Families training. We have created a very high-level survey for you to take a look at. If you have an interest at any level in caring for any of these children, please take a moment and fill out the survey. The information will only be stored and used if we are indeed told that children will be coming to the middle TN area. The questions are simply some of your contact info, whether or not you’re already in the approval process for an adoption (this would speed up the process since you would already have some of the background checks completed). Obviously, the agencies involved would have final say on approvals but this is just to be one step ahead in case we as the body of Christ are called to help. This is only a first step. If called upon, the appropriate agencies would be in touch with more information on how to go from here.

You can find the survey here. This is currently for middle TN only. Please take a moment and fill it out!

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Helping Haiti - Part 1 of 3

2010-01-26T09:19:00.003-06:00

The Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance (MTOA) feels one of the most important things we can do is provide information with regards to orphans. So in response to the tragedy in Haiti, we are providing several key pieces of information. Lots of questions have come in about where to give, how to help, how to adopt, etc. so hopefully this will at least provide the information necessary for you to make the decision on how you feel you and your family should be involved. There are three key areas so I’m sending three separate e-mails. Please take a moment to read.

HAITIAN ADOPTIONS:
The key information here is that the majority of kids coming to the states you are hearing about already had an adoption in progress. The Haitian government could probably no longer prove that, but the US, Dutch and other countries could so the children were allowed to leave Haiti with humanitarian parole until the final paperwork can be completed.

As far as the thousands of children in Haiti now who were not orphans before the earthquake, they could very well be now. However, it will take weeks, months to prove their status. In many cases, the best solution is not to just pull them out of Haiti. Their parents might still be alive and able to find safety somewhere else in Haiti, the D.R., wherever. There are also many people whose first thoughts about these children are not well-intentioned. Already the stories are out that the children are proving easy prey for human traffickers.

All that to say inter-country adoption is a legal process which entails government involvement. Each child must be identified as adoptable and have paperwork with their profile. The government of Haiti probably has zero paperwork left and it will take time for this process to work. The main concerns now are water, food, shelter.

Keep in mind that a LOT of the stuff you hear on blogs and Facebook and other places could be false. Heard about some kids coming to Indiana who would need temporary foster homes but that proved to be false. Just be on alert and ask for clarification if you are unsure.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Helping Haiti

2010-01-18T19:44:00.002-06:00

Right now, the people of Middle Tennessee can help the youngest victims of the earthquake in Haiti by donating bedding supplies to the island nation’s many orphans. Sweet Sleep, an international nonprofit organization headquartered in Nashville, is hosting an emergency bedding drive at two locations in Williamson County.

More than 2,000 displaced or newly orphaned children are currently being moved to a safe location on six acres of land outside of Port-au-Prince by The Global Orphan Project. Sweet Sleep is a partner in this effort and is now collecting blankets, sheets, mats (camping, yoga, school, straw, etc.), and other bedding items to be delivered to these children so they have a place to sleep.

BEDDING DRIVE FOR HAITIAN ORPHANS
Location #1: Cool Springs Galleria
Sears Parking Lot
Franklin, Tenn.
Wed., January 20
10:00 am – 7:00 pm

Location #2: Brentwood Baptist Church
7777 Concord Road
Brentwood, Tenn.
Today through Wed., January 20

All donations should be new or in like-new condition. Bibles will also be accepted (children's Bibles). Items will be shipped to Miami, where they will be loaded into a freighter for Haiti on Friday.

Even before the earthquake, there were an estimated 800,000 orphans in Haiti, which is why Sweet Sleep expanded its global mission to include the impoverished nation late last year. The organization’s work with these children is not limited to the earthquake recovery effort but will continue for years to come.

Middle Tennesseans who are unable to participate in the bedding drive can still assist the effort with a monetary donation. Simply visit www.sweetsleep.org/donate and type “HAITI” in the special comments box.

Sweet Sleep is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Sweet Sleep is a member of the ECFA (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability), which is dedicated to helping Christian ministries earn the public’s trust through adherence to their standards of responsible stewardship. Sweet Sleep is registered with Guidestar, which provides information that advances transparency in nonprofit practice in order to encourage charitable giving.

Sweet Sleep is a Nashville-based nonprofit organization which provides beds to the world’s orphaned and abandoned children. According to recent estimates there are more than 210 million orphans worldwide, and every day 5,760 more children become orphans. Sweet Sleep works closely with indigenous staff as well as U.S. churches and businesses to provide beds and bedding with a goal of providing “a bed for every head.” Since 2003, Sweet Sleep has provided thousands of beds for orphans in Moldova, Haiti, and Uganda.

For more information about Sweet Sleep, visit www.sweetsleep.org.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Free adoption resources

2010-01-08T12:50:00.000-06:00

Together for Adoption has a new e-book entitled Our Adoption in Christ: What it Means for Us and for Orphans.

They also have the audio available from the 2009 conference.

Be sure to check it out and spread the word about these FREE resources!

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Publication sale

2010-01-06T21:41:00.000-06:00

The Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE) is offering 20% off some of their publications.

W.I.S.E. UP! Powerbooks are now $12 (a savings of $3). These books are great for adopted children and children in foster care to learn how to manage their feelings.

W.I.S.E. UP! pocket guides are also on sale.

Go here and enter code c_a_s_e_2010.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

Adoption Conference info - Louisville, KY

2010-01-04T10:29:00.000-06:00

Adopting For Life Conference- Friday & Saturday, February 26-27th 2010 from Southern Seminary on Vimeo.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

International adoption numbers down

2010-01-02T09:53:00.000-06:00

Americans are adopting fewer children internationally according to recent numbers. Read full AP article here.

(c) 2010 From Hope to Home

TV Special

2009-12-13T21:21:00.000-06:00

Don't miss "A Home for the Holidays" on December 23 at 8:00 pm EST/PST and 7:00 pm CST/MST on CBS. This heartwarming holiday special brings together all-star talent and shares the joy of having a family, not just for the holidays, but forever, through the eyes of a child. "A Home for the Holidays" is presented by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption and Children's Action Network, and sponsored by Wendy's. Now in its 11th year, the special will feature Faith Hill (pictured) and include performances by Shakira, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood. Nia Vardolos and Jenna Elfman are among the celebrities who will present inspirational stories of extraordinary families formed through foster care adoption.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Sweet Sleep

2009-12-07T08:11:00.000-06:00

Six years an organization called Sweet Sleep was started after one person saw the conditions of children’s beds in an Eastern European orphanage. Today, Sweet Sleep provides beds and bedding for orphaned and abandoned children around the world (www.sweetsleep.org). They don’t just give the beds to orphans, they communicate God’s intentional creation of each child and His unconditional, unending love. They celebrate the children by throwing the biggest birthday party in the country. The children are even given Bibles in their own language and prayed with over their new beds. Finally, the children are told that when they lie down at night and pull the cozy new covers up around them, it is God---giving them a hug.

One week from today the president and founder of Sweet Sleep will leave for Uganda where she’ll spend several weeks in the northern region of Gulu. This region has been in a brutal and senseless war for the last 22 years. A rebel army known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been terrorizing the North, attacking villages during the night. During an attack, LRA soldiers kill anyone they want and force the children of these villages to kill their parents or be killed themselves. The children who are left alive are then kidnapped into the LRA army and forced to become child soldiers. These children have lived through tremendous atrocities.

Recently this war entered into a time of peace. However, there are 1 million people still living in displacement camps in Gulu; three-quarters of those people are children living in child-headed households. These children have lost their parents and their grandparents---two generations of people to protect and care for them, to tell them stories about who they are and who they could be, to teach them stories about God and how to live according to His word.

This Christmas, while Jen is in Uganda, Sweet Sleep hopes to give beds and Bibles to 450 children. If the children can lie in their new beds and know they are loved and protected and, if they can claim a verse they’ve learned which reminds them of this knowledge, they can begin to have little victories over the fear that grips them. That’s when peace and hope and love can slowly come to their little hearts.

But, Sweet Sleep needs our help.

218 more children still need beds ($88 each). Together, you and I can work to change and save lives. Here’s what is still needed, you can determine which opportunity suits you best:

218 mosquito nets. Malaria kills more people in Uganda than HIV/AIDS. Treated nets are $8 each.
Mattresses for 218 children so they will be able to sleep up off of the ground for the first time in their lives. Mattresses are $50.
Can you imagine not having a blanket to warm you during these chilly nights or sheets to sleep in? 218 more children still need to be able to be warm and snuggly. They can for just $30.
Bibles are $10 each. There are 450 households for a total of $4,500.

You can make a gift right now by going to www.sweetsleep.org/donate or you can send your contributions to Sweet Sleep, PO Box 40486, Nashville, TN 37204 with “Gulu” in the special comments box online or in the memo line of your check. All gifts are 100% tax-deductible. If you still need a great idea for a Christmas gift, you can even make this a donation in honor or memory of someone and they’ll receive a card from Sweet Sleep telling about their special gift. You can read more about this at www.sweetsleep.org/givethegift.

God bless you this season and may Jen's work inspire you to help.

Tony Dungy on adoption

2009-12-04T08:30:00.002-06:00

Always Room for One More from Family First on Vimeo.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Giving thanks for birthmothers

2009-12-03T21:46:00.000-06:00

I know it's past Thanksgiving but never too late to give thanks! Check out this great article from The Tennessean on remembering birthmothers.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Give a dollar, give hope

2009-12-03T12:01:00.000-06:00

Through the Christmas season, 215 malls nationwide will kick off the program "A Family For Christmas," which offers families who purchase photos with Santa the option to donate $1 to support Show Hope.

Read more at Show Hope or A Family for Christmas and find out if a mall in your area is participating!

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Did You Know?

2009-11-24T20:57:00.001-06:00

One in five children who are waiting in foster care to be adopted will have to leave the system without a family at age 18 or 21. As many as 26,000 children will "age out" in the U.S. alone. (AFCARS Report, U.S. Dept. HHS)

Is your child waiting for you?

Read general adoption facts here or learn how to increase awareness in your community.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Adoption Music

2009-11-18T09:15:00.000-06:00

Some great links to adoption-related music. Enjoy!

Together for Adoption

ABBA Fund

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

LIVE Event now online

2009-11-14T08:51:00.000-06:00

In celebration of November as National Adoption Awareness Month, Show Hope and Steven Curtis Chapman, along with Focus on the Family and FamilyLife, helped to lead the charge this past Sunday, November 8 – also known as "Orphan Sunday" – for a live event in Nashville with one goal: raising awareness of the more than 140 million orphans worldwide. The free event was simulcast through satellite and Moody Radio Network and through a webcast at OrphanSunday.org and is now available online at GospelMusicChannel.com.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Adoption Friendly Church

2009-11-11T07:42:00.000-06:00

Here's a great article on becoming an adoption-friendly church. You can find the whole article here.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

Free adoption seminar

2009-11-05T19:38:00.000-06:00

Adoption Learning Partners is offering another free class. This one is entitled "Becoming Your Child's Best Advocate".

Once an adoption is finalized, you become the legal parent for your child. It's wonderful! And a bit frightening. It is now your job, your duty and your privilege to look out for your child's best interests --- to advocate for them. The first step is to realize that you are not alone.

"Becoming Your Child's Best Advocate", is designed to help adoptive families identify the financial, medical, educational, legal and social service resources available and understand how to best access them.

While some specfic examples cited pertain to Illinois, the tips and techniques presented will be useful to all parents. What's more..... you can take this online course FREE of charge.

Get course info here.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home

How Many Christians / Southern Baptists Does it Take?

2009-11-05T10:38:00.000-06:00

Jason with ABBA Fund has posted some staggering statistics regarding the number of orphans and how the Christian community can help. Read post on how many Christians it would take to help here. Not as overwhelming as you may think.

More staggering is that if every Southern Baptist Church in the US would commit to help, all available children in US foster care could be adopted! See blog post here and results here.

(c) 2009 From Hope to Home