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In This Issue:
CHILDREN'S HOPE-OHIO NEWS
A Message From Kellie Zaccardelli
Stay Connected
Adoption
Fundraising
Sponsor An Orphan
Read Previous E-newsletters
SUMMER GATHERING
YOUR STORIES
The Shompers' Adoption Journey
FAQ'S
How Can I Keep Family and Friends Updated
When I Travel To Adopt My Child(ren)?
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child
US CIS ANNOUNCEMENT
ADOPTION TRAINING AND RESOURCES
Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital
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A MESSAGE FROM KELLIE ZACCARDELLI
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Hello Ohio, Western PA, West Virginia and Northern Kentucky Families,
Happy July! As most of you know, I will be out of the office for the first two weeks of this month as I travel to Cambodia and Thailand on a mission trip. I would really appreciate your prayers for health and safety. Many of you have asked for an update when I return, so I will try to put a link to a website that a dear friend helped me to set up so that you can have some idea of what we did. Thank you for your patience while I am away, though please feel free to call our office if you need anything. Anna and Lauren would be happy to help you, and they can also direct you to someone from each of the programs who can offer additional assistance as needed.
I hope you will find this month’s newsletter helpful; if there is something we can do to make it more helpful, we are open to suggestions, so please email us at ChildrensHopeOhio@yahoo.com with your comments. We are especially excited to hear from you with your fundraising ideas (see below), which we will include in an upcoming newsletter (September). This is a great way to get the word out about what you are doing to help pay for the costs of your adoption, and also a great way to learn what other families are doing. So please email us with your stories.
Have a great July, everyone! |
Please note that we are no longer sending country program updates to all families. Families currently in process will be updated more frequently (once a month or more) via email. Former Families: If you would like to be included in these emails, please notify us at ChildrensHopeOhio@yahoo.com. Current Families: If you have not been receiving these periodic updates, please contact us at so we can make sure you are added to our mailing list.
You can also click on the flags below to access updates on the Children's Hope website.
China Colombia Ethiopia Kazakhstan Russia Vietnam
STAY CONNECTED
Stay connected with Children's Hope families at
www.CHIfamily.net and by joining a
Children's Hope
Yahoo Group. If you are interested
in joining a Children's Hope Yahoo group, please email
Ann.Tollefson@ChildrensHope.net
and provide your name, country of adoption and
where you are in the process (just applied,
working on Dossier, etc.). Ann will then
send an invitation to join the Yahoo group(s)
that is best for you. Please note that you
will need to be registered with Yahoo before
accessing the Children’s Hope Yahoo Groups.
Adoption Fundraising: How did you or how are you doing it??
One of the common issues in international adoption is being able to afford the many costs involved. By the time families complete their Home Study and other adoption paperwork, file to obtain an immigrant visa, travel (once or twice), and bring their children home, families can incur expenses of nearly $20,000 or more. We want to find out how families have creatively managed this expense. So, we are giving our families an opportunity to share with other families your story of fundraising for your adoption. If you are fundraising or did fundraise, please share with us a little about your story, including the project, what you did to make it a success, about how much of your time it took, and how much you were able to raise. If you are just starting to fundraise for your adoption, please let us know what you are doing and how you are doing it. You can email your stories to ChildrensHopeOhio@yahoo.com.
This is a great opportunity for families to learn creative ways to help manage the costs associated with international adoption (and for families that are currently fundraising to get the word out about your efforts)! We will share your stories in the Ohio Regional Office September E-Newsletter, so for you families interested in learning more, stay tuned!
In our work with orphans worldwide, we are shocked at how fast their number is growing: since 1991 there are an additional 5 MILLION orphans in the world. Right now, 143 MILLION children are living without adequate parental care. We cannot find adoptive homes for every child, but there is another way to help: sponsor an orphan through Children's Hope International and YOU CAN bring hope and love back into the heart of a child who has lost both. Sponsorship Update: As of April 30th, 315 children have been sponsored through Children's Hope International's Orphan Sponsorship Program. China 122, India 73, Kazakhstan 27, Russia 66 and Vietnam 27. One sponsor is currently sponsoring 12 children!
SUMMER GATHERING RECAP
We want to thank all
of the families who were able to attend our
First Annual Ohio Regional Office's Summer
Gathering. We hope you had a wonderful
time--we sure did. Thanks especially to
the families who volunteered to help with set-up, activities, bringing a dessert or side
dish, and clean-up. We certainly have
wonderful families!! We hope that you found the
Summer Gathering not only fun for you and your
family, but a great opportunity to meet other
adoptive families who may just become lifelong
friends. For those of you who could not
attend, we hope you'll be able to join us next
year. If you have suggestions for future
picnics, please let us know.
Stay tuned--we'll share more about this year's
Summer Gathering in the August e-newletter.
YOUR STORIES
Typically, we ask a
family who is home to share their adoption story. This month, we
are focusing on the Shomper family, who just finished the paperwork
process and is now where many adoptive families are now: in the wait!
The Shompers' Adoption Journey
After
several years of trying to become pregnant with our second child, our
family made the wonderful decision to adopt a baby girl from China.
Now, we are “pregnant on paper!” We - Matt, Barbie and Dylan (10)
Shomper - had many family discussions before making the final decision
to adopt from China – but are extremely happy with our decision to
adopt. Our friends and family have been very supportive in our adoption
process and can’t wait to have a great homecoming for Emily when she
arrives!
We researched several adoption agencies in March 2007 and decided that Children’s Hope International was the agency that would do the best job at meeting all of our needs. We sent our application to CHI on April 6 and the employees at Children's Hope, especially those in the Cleveland Regional Office, have done a tremendous job with our adoption process. With the concise literature that they provide to all families, along with their easy accessibility via phone and email, we were able to knock out all of paperwork in no time. After just 12 weeks, our dossier was on it’s way to China and our wait begins.
Just 12 weeks into our adoption process, we are so in love with our daughter and she is not even conceived! We are anxious to bring her home and look forward to the day that we get our referral from China. However, nothing will top the day in China when we will get to hold her and begin our new journey with our new daughter and Dylan gets to finally be a big brother.
FAQ'S
A Blog is a diary. A daily pulpit. A collection of photos. A collaborative space. A breaking news outlet. A collection of links. Memos to the world. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. In simple terms, a Blog is a web site, where you write about your life on an ongoing basis. New posts are located on the top of blogs, so visitors can read what's new! Visit the Children's Hope International blog at http://www.childrenshopeint.blogspot.com. Right now, you can follow the travels of 12 year old Emily who was adopted from China as an infant, and is now returning to China on a Children's Hope Homeland tour!!
When you visit the Children's Hope blog, you can:
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find the latest Children's Hope news in full text on the sites front page, and view the most important news items linked to the sidebar.
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browse news content specific to your country of choice and topic of interest
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visit linked Children's Hope family blogs, categorized by their stage in the process (submit your own blog to be listed online-- contact the blogmaster!)
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view the photo of the week!
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Submit pictures, suggestions for content, or comments and questions to the blogmaster: Jennifer.Newcomb@ChildrensHope.net
How Can I Keep Family and Friends Updated
When I Travel To Adopt My Child(ren)?
Though there are many
website options, here is just one:
By registering online
with Journey To Me (www.JourneyToMe.com), family and
friends will be able to view photos, read about
your adoption journey and correspond via email. Registrants
receive four months of free hosting and extended
hosting is available for $5.00 per month (you
can choose to renew on a monthly basis).
One photo may be added to your homepage and five
photos of each of your daily entries. You
will share the username and password you created
for viewers with everyone who you would like to
join your journey.
Most hotels have computers in the business center with internet access. However, many families report a laptop is very easy to bring and is convenient. Daily journal entries can be made right from the hotel room at anytime. Digital cameras are easy to use because you can download daily pictures to your computer right after you take them. If you don't have a digital camera, there are many places to develop photos on CDs. Pictures can then be loaded to your journal from your CD. Also, all families who register with Journey To Me will receive a versatile black diaper bag and a variety of other benefits such as gift and saving checks towards Similac formulas, timely information and special keepsakes. Registrants will also have access to Ross' Welcome Addition Club where you can receive other premier benefits like e-newsletters, special offers and interactive tools.
"Our Adoption Journeys take us around the world, but they all begin in the same place...our hearts."
-Journey To Me Family
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child
By Beth O'Malley
The
process you'll go through when making your child's lifebook can be so
gratifying. No, it won't always be easy, but in the end I've never
heard parents say they were anything but overjoyed at the results.
With Lifebooks: Creating a Treasure for the Adopted Child, you'll find
specific answers to many of the questions you have, including:
**What is the difference between a memory book, an adoption lifebook and
a scrapbook?
**How do I get started with the lifebook?
**What should be included in my child's adoption story?
**What if I have a 'secret' or painful information I don't want to share but know I should?
**Is there a way to
create an adoption lifebook even if I feel I just can't do it myself?
With all the examples, resources, and guidance you'll get in this book, you'll quickly become inspired about creating this treasure for your child. You'll get excited about helping your child fully understand his/her heritage so they can grow into happy, healthy, successful adults.
US CIS ANNOUNCEMENT
The US CIS announced in a press release a new CIS fee schedule effective 7/30/07. Please note the new fees for the I600A Advanced Processing for Orphan Petition - $750 (filing + biometric) (previously $615) for you + $80 biometric fee for each person 18 or older living with you (i.e. your spouse, adult children living in the home, etc.). The good news: “If you already have an approved I-600A that is about to expire, and have not yet filed your I-600 petition, you can receive one free extension of your I-600A by filing a new I-600A without fee before the first expires.
http://www.uscis.gov/files/nativedocuments/FinalUSCISFeeSchedule052907.pdf
How will this affect current families? Every CIS Office operates a little differently, but it appears that it will work like this: Anyone whose current I-171H approval expires before July 30, 2007 will need to pay the current application fee ($545) to file a new I-600A. If the fingerprints are still valid, there will be no fingerprint fee. A letter should accompany the new I-600A application as well as a copy of the current I-171H. The letter should state that the fingerprints have already been retaken and that is why no fingerprint fee is included with the application.
Anyone whose I-171H approval expires after July 30, 2007 will be allowed to file for a one time extension. To do that the applicant should send a letter requesting the extension. Included with the letter should be a copy of the current I-171H and the new I-600A application. This paperwork must be filed prior to the expiration of the current I-171H.
In either situation the new I-600A application package being submitted with the request should include all the documents required (i.e. birth, marriage, divorce, etc. paperwork) and a copy of the original home study with an updated addendum. If the home study and the addendum are not ready, they can be submitted at a later date.
We will update you as further information is released from different CIS offices.
ADOPTION TRAINING AND RESOURCES
As of January
1, 2007, the DVD/Book Training is included as part of the Children's Hope Adoption Packet
and will be mailed upon receipt of the Adoption Agreement and
applicable fees. This material is sent via Media Mail, which takes
approximately 2
to 3 weeks.
This training is required
by the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in Respect of Intercountry Adoption and the Intercountry Adoption Act of
2000. Each agency must provide adoptive parents with at least ten
(10) hours
of training to promote a successful intercountry adoption.
Children's Hope requires that this training be completed prior to submission of your Dossier to the country that you are adopting from. Included in the mailing is the "Heart of the Matter Seminars - Because They Waited" DVD set and online testing instructions (one online testing sheet for each parent with a unique code), as well as the EMK press book entitled "Adoption Parenting Creating a Toolbox, Building Connections." The first week of the month, following the month in which the online tests are completed, Heart of the Matter will provide Children's Hope with your testing results.
RAINBOW BABIES & CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
Excellent training opportunity:
A two-day session of education, resources and family support for parents and professionals interested in international adoption is scheduled for Saturday, September 15, 2007 and Sunday, September 16, 2007. The session will begin at 8:45am and will commence at 4:45pm and will be held at University Hospitals of Cleveland. This session is provided as a community service at no cost to families!
To register for classes or for further information, please contact Lindsey Houlihan at 216.844.6241.
By Ellen Singer, LCSW-C and Marilyn Schoettle, M.A.
"I don't care if he goes to Harvard, but...." Everyone who decides to embark on the journey of parenthood goes down the road with fantasies of what parenthood will be like, and more importantly, dreams about what their child will become as he grows up. Will she love soccer like I do? Will he excel at science? Will we have wonderful summer vacations at the beach, like we did when I was a kid?
As adoptive parents, we have
the same dreams that all parents have, although we usually embark on our
trip to parenthood with less information about the biological road maps
of our children. Although many of our friends find that their children
by birth are surprisingly different than they expected them to be, it is
true that we take a fork in the road when it comes to perceived
certainty about the future.
Whether we adopt because of infertility or
not, we are told we must set aside our “fantasy child” in order to be
emotionally prepared to love and attach to one who brings her own set of
genes, family history, and talents. Logic tells us that she may look and
be different from what we hoped our biological child would be like.
Many adoptive parents find this inability to predict actually frees them from the pressure of producing a Gap baby who will star in the spelling bee. They look forward to learning about their child and what special traits he will contribute to the family. For example, a child who is discovered to be artistically talented in a family where no such gift exists, is a wonderfully pleasing surprise.
But what happens when the surprises are considered negative or undesirable, or the child’s personality seems mismatched for the adoptive family? What if the child’s accomplishments are disappointing? Does adoption complicate how parents handle their expectations, dreams, or plans…especially when they are not going to be realized?
To read more, click here
If you wish to share your thoughts, experiences
or stories about your adoption, if you have any
questions, comments or suggestions for future newsletters or should you wish to be removed
from our email list, please email us at
ChildrensHopeOhio@yahoo.com.