Thank you to everyone who attended our third annual Lunar New Year Celebration for making it such a wonderful success.  It was great to see so many smiling faces enjoying the  demonstration by Master Kim's TaeKwonDo Institute, lantern and dragon crafts, the sebae (traditional bowing), yut, and of course the Korean cuisine catered by Young's Korean Restaurant.  250 people attended this year's event making it our most successful to date.  A special thanks also goes to the many volunteers who helped make everything run so smoothly.  We look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

   

Many of you have asked recently about updates on LTC. The Quakertown office is still open and files are still in their possession so we have no update on what agency will be taking over the files. We should all receive a letter once the agreement is made with a different agency.

Quakertown LTC does not want United Way donations any longer since they are not serving children or families at this time. LTCR is eligible to receive United Way donations and our number is 2568. You can also donate directly to Eastern Social Welfare Society if you want to send a donation to them.

It seems like a time of change for adoption. Spence Chapin in NY closed their Korean program after many years this past year. Hillside recently closed its domestic infant program intake but is still working with international adoptions while focusing on waiting US children. This week Holt International sent info to Hillside noting that they need families for their Thai program, their Philippine program and their China special needs program. All require travel to the country. For the Thai program you may only have one child presently in the family. The children are toddlers. The China program is much more flexible and the special needs are similar to what we were used to with Korea. The Philippine program requires a church reference of five year participation and you may have up to three children presently. The children from the Philippines are healthy and coming home around age two - or older if you wish. At the Lunar New Year, it was exciting to meet some new arrivals from Korea. Some of our LTC families are working with New Beginnings. So international adoption is still possible but is very different from what most of us experienced in the past decades.

Please feel free to be in touch at [email protected] or by phone at 223-9533 if you have any questions.

This spring, please consider designating your United Way contribution to Love the Children 

of Rochester.  

Our agency number is 2568.

Another option in terms of support is to donate to Cecelia Park/Mary Graves Memorial Foundation. This is a licensed non-profit established by Cecelia's sister, June Oh, to build a home for single mothers in rural South Korea. The women would not be obligated to make an adoption plan and will be able to further their education while they are living there. The goal to buy the building is $300,000 and we are in the very early stages of fundraising for that.   

Donations can be sent to:

Cecelia Park/Mary Graves Memorial Foundation

Join KASA for a journey through time between modern Korea and the ancient Joseon dynasty.  Korea Night will be held on March 22nd in the Strong Auditorium at the University of Rochester, with doors opening at 7:00 and the event starting at 7:30 PM. It should last approximately 2 hours, ending at 9 PM.  

 

Heart and Seoul Family Camp

July 11-13, 2014

McQuaid Jesuit School

Brighton, NY 

 

This summer marks the inaugural year for Heart and Seoul Camp,which will offer families an opportunity to experience Korean culture over the course of an extended weekend. Heart and Seoul Camp will be working with the SIWA volunteers from Sookmyung University in Seoul, Korea. The weekend will include time for families and children to connect and learn about Korean culture, language, folktales, dance, music, and cooking. To receive regular updates about Heart and Seoul Camp and be on our listserv send an email to  [email protected]

 

Learn more!

Heart and Seoul Camp 

 

Camp Chin-gu

August 4-7, 2014

Church of the Assumption

Fairport, NY  

 

This summer Camp Chin-gu will be returning to its roots, offering 4 full days of traditional Korean culture camp experience led by  teachers who are former campers and CITs. Camp Chin-gu offers instruction and hands on experiences in traditional Korean cooking, music, dance, martial arts, drumming, plays, games, calligraphy, arts, history, language, and more. Camp is more than an educational experience. Chin-gu is a wonderful way for children adopted from Korea to meet each other and form lasting, life long relationships.

 

Learn more!

Camp Chin-gu 

LTCR is always looking for people to join our board or be involved in planning events.  Please contact us to get involved.  We would love to have you!