February 2016
CHINA AND TAIWAN PROGRAM NEWSLETTER

Happy Chinese New Year!

  
 

WELCOME HOME!
 
Congratulations to these families who came home recently!

The Zacharius family together at last!

The Waldeck family in China!

Lauren, Stephen, and big brother Arthur, welcomed home 3 year old Yu-Chen last month!
 
The Albright family welcomes Nora!

China
China update: 
This week we have two families in China enjoying Chinese New Year celebrations! These two families will meet their children next week!  With the issuance of one Travel Approval this month - one more family is soon to travel!  Before the CCCWA closed on Friday Feb 5 for the holiday week, we received a wonderful surprise  -- the issuance of SIX Letters Seeking Confirmation (LSC) for parents that were matched with children recently!

Something that we are really excited about is our next Travel Conference Call.  The Travel Call is regular call hosted by Gladney China program staff that is part of the adoption process for adoptive families.  The next call is scheduled for early March and will have 9 families with LSCs participating.  That is a big group!  The 9 families, and the children they are adopting, are representative of the diversity of Gladney's China program.  The families live across the country from Texas to Minnesota to Georgia  to New Jersey and New York.  The children to be adopted include both boys and girls, with the youngest child, a little boy, (16 months old) and the oldest child a little girl turning 8 in March.  For five parents - this will be their first adoption.  The medical needs of the children being adopted by these families include congenital heart disease, orthopedic issues, developmental delays, and urogenital issues.  Just thinking about this group of families is such a hopeful reflection of how much care and wonder will unfold for the children to be adopted and the family and friends who will include these children into their daily lives.

Wishing everyone a joyful year of the Monkey!

Taiwan
Taipei 101
Program Update:   
Last month we asked for volunteers to help with Taiwan advocacy - and we immediately got a great response! We have put together a team of Taiwan Adoption Advocates who will be helping to spread the word about adopting from Taiwan and the many wonderful children looking for their forever families. Thank you to these amazing volunteers!
 
We are also looking for experienced medical professionals and a photographer who would be interested in joining a future Superkids trip to Taiwan. In regards to the medical professionals, we are hoping to find a pediatric physical therapist or pediatrician that would be comfortable meeting and evaluating children with a wide range of medical needs. The photographer would need to be comfortable photographing children around a lot of action! These Superkids team members would spend several days in Taiwan and would meet children from both of Gladney's partner organizations in Taiwan. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Taiwan Program Caseworker Mary Chapman at [email protected].
 
We had one family complete the adoption of their 3 year old daughter in Taiwan last month! Congratulations to this family! We currently have 3 families with referrals from Taiwan in various stages of the dossier/PAIR/court process.

ADOPT ME!

Click the images to read stories about children from our China and Taiwan programs!  
 
 
 
Gladney Moments
Gladney families gathered in New York City and in Fort Worth to celebrate Chinese New Year together. The connections made at these events are amazing! 

Here are some reflections from the party in Texas:

Gladney celebrated Chinese New Year with children from Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, and China joining in the fun.  By far the highlight of the party was the TCU college girls from China speaking and sharing about their lives in China and in Texas.  Special thanks to Amanda Duvall, GFA China liaison, for organizing this event.  

And some photos from the NYC party:

Banners created by the children.

Many of the children with the performers at the NYC party.
Gongzhan with many mesmerized children watching the magician perform!

Superkids
We have been thinking and dreaming about ways to benefit more kids and to help families be better prepared for adoption and we are so excited to announce that we are going to be hosting our very first:

SUPERKIDS CAMP

This is an opportunity for prospective adoptive parents to travel to China to meet and interact with children. You then have the opportunity to advocate to find a family for a child who might otherwise be overlooked.
You will have an opportunity to visit two orphanages and to interact with children in each of these places. You will be able to do projects and play with children in an environment that is familiar to them. I promise, your participation will impact the lives of these children!

So the details:

When: April 9-17, 2016
Where: Changsha #1 Social Welfare Institute in the Hunan Province and the Shanghai Children's Home

We are looking for prospective adoptive parents who are interested in meeting and interacting with children who are available for adoption. Parents with a completed homestudy are preferred. Parents without a homestudy are also welcome to join us.
Please contact Mary Chapman at [email protected]  for more information!

Join us for an informational conference call about the camp on Tuesday, February 23, at 1:00 PM EST. Call 800.326.0013 and enter the PIN 7643552 when prompted to join the call.

Upcoming Events

A SPECIAL INVITATION
 
The Gladney Center for Adoption invites you and your friends to a special
   evening in New York City to benefit the Gladney Superkids Program. 
Join us for a memorable evening in support of our humanitarian efforts to find loving forever families for Chinese orphans with special needs.
 
FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016
 6:00 pm Cocktails
 7:00 pm Dinner
 
Maloney & Porcelli
Skylight Room 
37 East 50th Street, New York City

 
Please click above to sign up as a sponsor or register for the event.
 
 
View Event Invite                      Pre-Buy Raffle Tickets
View Last Year's Photos

For more information please contact Nonya Jordan
at 817.922.6045 or [email protected].


Stay Connected
The Gladney Center for Adoption, Asia Program, 850 7th Avenue, Suite 801, New York, NY 10019