I am a current sophomore at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, studying Communication Studies, American Studies, and Integrated Marketing. I am interested in Public Relations, Advertising, and Social Media. I enjoy music, film, lacrosse, travel and exploring my hometown Chicago.
As a student docent, I am trained on the various exhibits in the gallery space in order to give tours to groups that visit the museum.
I also work events at the museum and interact with museum members, talking about the artwork and my work as a student docent.
I assist in promoting events at the museum to the Northwestern and Evanston community.
Coordinate social media (twitter, facebook, website) for the Northwestern campus radio station, which broadcasts to the Chicago and the northern suburbs
Create press releases for upcoming radio events
As the director of the Evanston location of Illinois Girls Lacrosse Association, I am responsible for managing the three levels of lacrosse teams at my location. I coordinate with management and communicate with the parents of players to ensure that the season runs smoothly and everyone is up to date on all game and practice information. I also work with my Evanston coaches to ensure that everything runs smoothly and we are providing a positive experience for the young lacrosse players.
Each fall and spring season I coach a team of 3rd and 4th grade girls, most of whom are new to lacrosse.
I coach weekly practices and games
As a referee, I ref games for girls ranging from 3rd-8th grade every week.
Gift of Adoption helped fund the adoption of its first Hollywood movie stars and we're making headlines!
From an Ethiopian orphanage to a movie set starring as Jennifer Lopez’s son in the movie "What to Expect When You're Expecting," it's been one amazing year for the Howard family. When they turned to Gift of Adoption to help fund the adoption of their twin infant sons from an Ethiopian orphanage, the consensus was they were lucky to be alive. They could have never dreamed that less than 14 months later, their twin boys would be healthy, happy and on a movie set starring with Jennifer Lopez.
Check out the incredible journey of Samuel and Asher Howard below and see how Gift of Adoption helped give these boys a life they otherwise may not have known.
Help us spread the word. "Like," Tweet and share these stories with your friends!
The Insider follows Samuel and Asher to the "What to Expect" premiere:
Watch the video of Entertainment Tonight's exclusive ride-along with the Howard's on their way to the boys' first glamorous red carpet premiere and to hear the family's heartwarming "miracle" adoption story:
People Magazine Online - Read the full article here.
From An Ethiopian Orphanage Into Jennifer Lopez' Arms (HuffingtonPost)
Continue following Samuel and Asher's story on their family's blog: http://oursammyandasher.com/
"I believe in adoption because of its intentionality; because of how it changes lives; because of the way it puts skin and bones, laughter and tears on the whole idea of hope."
The above quote is an excerpt from the The January 7th, 2012 installment of "This I Believe" - a beautifully written piece about adoption by Brian Schoeni.
The entire essay can be read or heard here and reminds us that, "...adoption isn’t a perfect fit for every parent-to-be. But I do believe this: adoption is a perfect fit for every kid in every corner of our world who needs the love of a family.
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Camon (age 3) and Caleb (age 2), are brothers recently adopted with the help of a Gift of Adoption grant. Their adoptive parents, Bradley and Amy, first met Camon and Caleb earlier this year after receiving an unexpected call from their adoption agency asking them to provide emergency care for the boys while their birth mother entered a treatment program.
As Amy shares, “their birth mother had been in the foster care system and had had a very traumatic childhood and adolescence. She doesn’t want this to happen to her children. We considered the decision carefully, but knew from the very first minute that the boys walked into our home that they had walked into our hearts.” Soon after Camon and Caleb came to live with Bradley, Amy, and their son Ethan, their birth mother made the decision to create a parenting plan for her sons – asking Bradley and Amy to adopt them and provide them with a safe, stable and loving home.
Through the gift of adoption, Camon and Caleb have been able to experience much joy and love and have positively changed the lives of those around them. Camon loves to help cook, play with playdough and run! He makes up silly songs and is a wonderful big brother. Caleb loves airplanes, is the dramatic child and likes to give raspberry kisses!
Bradley and Amy share that they recently traveled back to the state from which the boys were adopted and shared a visit with the agency folks who placed the boys with them. They were astounded at the transformation of the boys. And we know that it's just the beginning!
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One year ago Quinn Da-Hui, an adorable baby girl from South Korea found her forever family. On August 2, 2010 9-month-old Quinn traveled to America with her new parents, Joanna and Dan. Joanna says that “When we first came home, Quinn only wanted to be held...all the time. She wouldn't explore on the floor or play with toys unless she was right in our laps.” But Quinn has grown very comfortable in her new home, especially with Joanna and Dan’s 3 biological children, Bregan, Wyatt, and Charlotte
The family had several concerns about Quinn’s health and language development, but one year later they are happy to report that she is doing great! Joanna says, “We are happy to say she is quite a chatterbox! We have a list of all the words she can say (in her own way many of them) and she says over 25 words plus her "baby signs". She also said her first two-word sentence today! ‘Mommy, look!’ (she had placed Bregan's baseball hat on her head and couldn't have been more proud of herself!)” Another concern was Quinn’s hearing. A test performed in Korea showed that she may have moderate to severe hearing impairments. “But after having her hearing assessed once she was home, it was determined that her hearing is perfect! We consider this to be a miracle! Such a surprising andwonderful blessing!”
So much has changed for Quinn and her new family in the past year! Joanna shares, “It is so amazing the difference a year makes. One year ago, Quinnie didn't even know of her family (both immediate and extended) who had been praying and praying and praying and praying for her! And now, she is surrounded by so many who love her. She also loves them! Especially her brothers and sister! She has her own name for each of them too. Bregan is Buh-dee, Wyatt is Why-ee and Charlotte is Nonny. Too cute! The older three spent the night at their grandparent's house last weekend. Quinnie kept saying to us: "mommy...buh dee?" "daddy...nonny?" "mommy...why ee?" as she walked around the house looking for them. It brought tears to my eyes to see her love for them and to think of how only a short year ago, she didn't even know about them! What a difference a year makes!”
About Gift of Adoption, Joanna says “This grant was such a huge blessing to us. We really wanted to travel to South Korea to bring Quinn home instead of having her escorted here. We wanted to be able to witness, firsthand, her culture and to have the opportunity to meet the foster family who had been caring for and loving our daughter. We will have that experience (along with photos) to share with her as she gets older.”
Joanna and Dan are so thankful for Quinn, especially in the face of all the changes happening to the adoption system in South Korea. Joanna explains, “the President [of South Korea] has decided to go ahead with the plan to close international adoption in 2012. The bill has already passed the Korean Assembly and only needs to be signed by the President. As a result of this plan, the number of children "referred" for international adoption has been decreasing and the length of time to bring your child home is increasing. Truly a sad and heart wrenching situation.”
Joanna says, “We couldn't be more joyful over our COMPLETE family!” At Gift of Adoption we can’t wait to hear more updates about Quinn in the years to come!
Meet Erin, a 14 year-old girl adopted from China. With the help of Gift of Adoption, Erin has found her forever family. You can see first hand how Erin is doing by checking out the video below!
You can also take a look at our Youtube page to find out more about the amazing kids that have found their forever families with the help of Gift of Adoption! http://www.youtube.com/user/giftofadoptionfund
Andarge, 16, and Eyruselem, 15, have prayed to be reunited with their little sister. The determination of Kiel and Carolyn have allowed their dream to come true. Andarge wrote this email to Carolyn just after he learned the court would allow him to be adopted by Carolyn and Kiel: “Thank you mom because you are the one and the main for this whole succesus. In the FUTURE i blive that we will live together and start a new life .”
Carolyn says about this family’s decision to adopt: "Our reasoning for this particular adoption, being our third adoption (6 children total, 2 sibling groups of three) was that we found it absolutely unacceptable that these siblings be separated. We believe that HIV/AIDS has robbed these children of enough. I was present in '07 when these kids made the decision to relinquish their little sister because she had HIV and would not receive medical care otherwise. A 14 year old boy should never have had to make such a decision. He nobly tried to keep his sisters together and "parent" them after the deaths of his parents. I had never witnessed such heartbreak. The orphanages would not accept them, and they thought Selah would have a better chance of being adopted if she was alone. WHO would want 2 teenagers and a 10 year old child with stage 4 AIDS?? THAT WOULD BE US!!”
“As a family, “ explained Carolyn, “we have been drawn to the most difficult to adopt children, older children, sibling groups and children with HIV/AIDS. We have done everything in our power to make these adoptions a reality, successfully.
"This time around we have run out of time, due to circumstances beyond our control. Kiel's job situation and our medical deductibles for our children with HIV, we are unable to shoulder this entire burden at this time.” The grant received from Gift of Adoption will allow these children to have a chance in life, something they would never have gotten in Ethiopia.
Maria (13) and Hugo (15) are siblings who were living in an orphanage in Colombia. Because of their ages, their chances of being adopted were slim. Even slimmer were their chances of being adopted into the same home. Hugo and Maria know this because early in 2010, their two youngest sisters were adopted. If not adopted by the age of 16, Hugo would be moved to a group home in another city. Recently, however, they were adopted together by Juleine.
One of the funding priorities of Gift of Adoption is to unite biological siblings in the same home or prevent them from being separated. Last year, 15% of Gift of Adoption grants helped keep or unite biological siblings together in one caring and loving home. Adoptive Families magazine has a great article this month that speaks to the importance of birth siblings growing up together. Read the article here and then read about a recent Gift of Adoption grant that helped united Chloe with her brothers Chance and Chase.
We look forward to sharing photos and updates about Chloe's reunion with Chance and Chase with you soon.
The enormous tragedy in Haiti will have unknown effects on Haiti's international adoption program. As the number of newly orphaned children becomes known and as Americans come together to help in whatever way they can, there may be an increase in the number of families considering adoption from Haiti. If you are considering adopting from Haiti but are concerned the financial obstacle may be too large to overcome, Gift of Adoption may be able to help.
Gift of Adoption is a national charitable organization that inspires adoption by providing grants to qualified parents – giving children who need families a permanent home and a chance to thrive. Our focus is on giving children in need of families a chance to thrive. In doing so, we do not consider an applicant’s race, marital status, age, or religion in determining grant awards, only that they are qualified (as evidenced by a home study from a COA accredited agency), demonstrate financial need and have shown a commitment to funding the adoption on their own. Gift of Adoption awards adoption assistance grants monthly and our international grants program prioritizes grants that will help complete the adoptions of biological siblings into the same home, children who are in danger of aging out of an orphanage system, and children who have life-threatening medical conditions.
Gift of Adoption accepts grant requests from applicants adopting internationally from non-Hague Convention on Adoption member countries, such as Haiti, provided the adoptions are facilitated by a COA accredited agency. A full listing of COA accredited agencies can be found on the U.S. State Department's Intercountry Adoption website. Gift of Adoption funding criteria and priorities are outlined on our website.
For more information about adoptions from Haiti and current State Deprtment alers, please visit the U.S. State Department website
If you have any questions about the Gift of Adoption grant program, please contact grants@giftofadoption.org
As 2009 draws to a close, we'd like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts -- and on behalf of the children and families whose lives you've improved through the gift of adoption.
We are making a bigger difference this year than ever before. With your efforts we're striving to put adoption in reach for 100 children this year; kids like Gabi for whom there is no gift as precious as a family that will love her forever.
I think this story says it all; one night Gabi came to us and said that she had a dream. These were Gabi's words:
'I sad -- Mama, Papa, Hailee and I'm go Bulgaria - I'm stay Bulgaria - Mama, Papa, Hailee go America - I'm sad in Bulgaria , no Mama, Papa, Hailee to love me.'
Needless to say these words broke our hearts - we did our best to explain that she was ours forever and that wouldn't happen. During this conversation we learned that Gabi always had this fear with her foster mom because she knew that she could be sent or taken back to the orphanage at any time. She also knew that her foster mom was 'old, old' (according to Gabi) and that if something happened to her they would send Gabi back to the orphanage. Constant reassurance has helped, along with hugs and holding. But it was a little ornament that she found in her stocking that seemed to get the point across to her. The ornament is a heart and written across the heart it says "Forever Family". She clutched that little ornament in her hand and told us that she was happy now. Knowing that she is a part of our family forever has given her peace - a peace she would have never had without adoption!
Without your generosity our adoption would not have been possible."
May you and your family enjoy peaceful, happy holidays!
Your friends at the Gift of Adoption Fund
We are always excited to hear from past Gift of Adoption grant recipients. To hear how things are going and to hear what the gift of adoption has meant to them and to their children. Today we received this letter from Cody. Cody and his wife, Kristina, adopted Mia alomst five years ago. The picture of Mia and her brother running through the sprinkler this summer says it all.
"To say that everyday is a miracle in our lives is somewhat of an understatement. We are fast approaching the 5-year anniversary of our daughter Mia’s adoption. A long drawn out adoption process that neared two years in length ended in March of 2005. Gift of Adoption was there for us in the final moments and made it possible for us to close our adoption without worry. You are such a big part of our life and we are ever grateful.
Mia turned 6 this summer. She is loving life and school in her first grade year. She is excited to be a part of a new Spanish immersion program in our area schools. By 2nd grade she will be speaking Spanish fluently. Since the adoption was finalized, we have returned to Guatemala to serve on mission and service projects with Mia and her younger brother Carter.
Every day begins with a new found joy as we watch both of our children grow and learn. It is a gift to be a parent. It is our prayer that we never lose the appreciation for what we have been given and the gratitude for those and to those who so generously helped us become a family."
Visit http://www.giftofadoption.org/ to learn how you can make adoption possible for more children like Mia.
Welcome to the official blog of the Gift of Adoption Fund. We are excited to begin this blog in conjunction with the launch of our new website at http://www.giftofadoption.org/. We hope you enjoy your visits to both our blog and our new website. Our goals for both are to:
Empower you to act on behalf of the millions of children in the U.S. and around the world who are living without families of their own,
Invite you to get involved and make a difference in the lives of these children, and
Connect you to the results of our collective efforts - sharing the stories of the lives that are forever changed as a result of your generosity and the stories of the people who are choosing to get involved to make those differences.
We hope you will check in with us often to see what we are up to. In the meantime, feel free to let us know what you think of our new look.