KIDSAVE: Over 1,000 Happy Endings

By Dr. Ellen Fitzenrider

In August of 2004, I took the three-hour drive up to Northern Virginia with my four-year old daughter Katherine in her car seat. I was on my way to an unusual picnic. Several weeks before I had found out about an organization called Kidsave. In short, they sponsor children residing in orphanages in Russia, Kazakhstan and Columbia for a 'Summer Miracles' program, a program where the children get to go to day camp and special events to have some good old-fashioned kid fun, but, most importantly, to live with a family for six weeks. Many of these children have never before had the chance to live with a family. While they are here, potential adoptive parents are given the opportunity to get to know the children (and vice-versa), either through hosting a child for their stay, or attending one of Kidsave's many events, such as the picnic I was on my way to. Host communities are located around the country, from California to New Hampshire, Texas to Montana, and, in between, New Jersey, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Atlanta, Ohio, Connecticut, Missouri and Michigan.

The children in Kidsave's program range in age from 5-17. In the world of International Adoption, this is the age range where children have little hope of ever finding a 'forever family.' Most people considering adoption want infants and young children, because of the desire for a baby or through fear about whether an older institutionalized child will be 'normal' or if an older child would be able to fit in with their family. Kidsave tries to lay these fears to rest. Families and children get to meet and get to know each other. And, if a family is not a host family, the child can even stay with the family for several days to two weeks.

"At this age," says Hilliary Jenkins, manager of the Summer Miracles program, "it's all about personality. Some families host with the plan to adopt their child if everything works out. Others host to give the children the opportunity to meet a family at one of the many events or in their community. Once those children are here and we get to know them, when we meet a potential adoptive family, we try to match them with a child that we think will be a good fit."

Make a Miracle Happen

Kidsave Miracle Walk for Orphans

July 01,2002 / Martha Osborne

MiracleWalk Advocates for Permanent Families for Kids Everywhere

On July 27 , children from orphanages and foster care, adoptive families and their children will walk in seven US cities, Smolensk and St. Petersburg, Russia and Karaganda, Kazakhstan as part of Kidsave International’s 2002 MiracleWalk . This historic walk will advocate for permanent families for children worldwide and raise money to support finding families for kids. The 5K Kidsave International MiracleWalk is taking place in Concord, New Hampshire, Washington, DC, Branson, Missouri New Orleans, Louisiana, Atlanta/Peachtree City, Georgia, Grand Junction, Colorado and Los Angeles/Long Beach, California.

Washington Times, The (DC)

Not 'Unadoptable':New effort to find homes for older foster children

Author: Lisa Rauschart, SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The little boy was more silent than most, withdrawn really. Yet his new adoptive mother was still surprised by what happened one morning after she sent her children into the hallway so she could make up their beds.Called away unexpectedly to the telephone, she returned an hour later to find the 5-year-old still standing in the same place although his two siblings had drifted away long before.

"I just fell on my knees and hugged him," the boy's mother says. "I could not imagine a little child standing in one spot for so long."

REGIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL

ORGANISATION FOR PROTECTION

OF CHILDREN´S RIGHTS

«Right of chilD»

Orphans, Violence in the Family, Homeless children, Handicapped children, Children-Prisoners

SUMMER MIRACLES EXPANDS

TO GERMANY

MIRACLES EXPANDS TO GERMANY

In February 2008, representatives from Kidsave in

Colombia met with a German adoption agency in

SPENCE-CHAPIN BEGAN WORKING IN COLOMBIA IN 1994, when we were approved by ICBF (Instituto Colombiano de Bienestar Familiar), the Family Welfare Institute that oversees adoption in Colombia. We are pleased to offer several options for families wanting to adopt from Colombia. First, Spence-Chapin works directly with ICBF for the placement of children in governmental care. In addition, our agency works with Los Chiquitines, a small private orphanage, to find homes for children. Spence-Chapin also participates in the Kidsave Summer Miracles program through which prospective families can host a child 7-14 years old for a summer experience and either pursue adoption or advocate with families in their community to identify an adoptive family for the child. Colombia is located in northwestern South America and is defined by lush rainforests, urban areas, sprawling plains and mountainous regions. It is one of the largest and most populous countries in South America, making it both ethnically and culturally diverse.

Program Requirements and Specifics

Children in Need of Homes

Timing and Travel: From Application to Homecoming

Families Outside of the NY/NY Metro Area

Program Gives Older Orphans A Five-Week Taste of Family

By Joshua Garner

Gazette Staff Writer

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Kelly and Stacey O'Donnell had always dreamed of being parents.

Couple won't talk about agency collapse

August 04, 2009

BY BRIAN CALDWELL, RECORD STAFF

CAMBRIDGE — A couple at the centre of a bankrupt Cambridge adoption agency aren't talking publicly about its sudden collapse or allegations of suspect expenses.

Susan Hayhow was executive director of Kids Link International Adoption Agency – which operated as Imagine Adoption – and two related organizations, Global Reach Children's Fund and Saint Anne Adoption Agency.

06/20/2001 - Updated 12:16 PM ET

Kidsave: Adoption by 'tryout'

By Tara McKelvey, USA TODAY

At age 10, Constantine left his orphanage in Russia with not much more than a pair of sandals, an extra T-shirt and a toothbrush. He was told he was going to summer camp in the USA.

"I thought I was just going for a 'rest-out' from everything in Russia," he says, sitting next to his adoptive mother, Terry Baugh, in their living room in Washington, D.C., nearly a year later.

Juvenile Act provides for adoptions: HC

TNN 29 July 2009, 05:33am IST
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CHENNAI: Couples intending to adopt children without being inhibited by the personal laws of their religion can do so under the provisions of the
 
 
Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, the Madras high court has ruled.

Allowing an application from a Christian couple who sought legal rights for their adopted daughter, Justice K Chandru faulted Air India, employer of the adoptive father, for refusing to recognise the adoption based on the "spurious argument" that Christian law did not recognise adoptions.

Noting that Sections 40 and 41 of the Juvenile Justice Act provided for adoption through the juvenile justice board, the court criticised Air India for failing to note the present legal position. "It shows their insensitiveness and ignorance regarding the development of law in this country," Justice Chandru said. Besides, AI's stand was opposed to the law of the land, he said.