Just a brief note of thanks to everyone who has contributed to my adoption fundraiser thus far! As you can see (at left) - my online "ChipIn" account has accumulated over $900 so far...but in total, I have raised over $1,500 from generous friends and family members across the U.S. - and I'm looking forward to hosting a fundraiser at my former high school in a couple of weeks to add to that amount!
Adoption is not an easy or cheap process. Adoptive families undergo years of paperwork, in-depth scrutiny into their personal backgrounds and financial records, criminal background checks, fingerprinting by the FBI and Homeland Security - and at every step along the way, there are fees to pay. You pay your agency, the social worker who does your homestudy, and USCIS for the priviledge of bringing a foreign child into the U.S. as an adopted child.
Once you actually get matched with a child, you pay for visas and travel expenses (for them and you!), and a donation to the orphanage that has cared for your child. Then once you come home you pay your social worker to write and submit post-placement reports and court costs to re-finalize the adoption in your state...it just goes on and on and on...and you start to wonder if as many people would have biological children, if they all had to go through this type of process to become a parent...I'm thinking probably not.
But after working at a pediatric hospital where the leading cause of non-accidental death in infants was shaken baby syndrome year after year...I'm thinking perhaps they should.
Anyway - thank you to everyone who has helped me achieve this dream, but even more importantly, is helping change the life of one very special child. You will be in our thoughts and prayers always!
