SUMMER 2018 News & Updates
IN THIS EDITION:
 
Adoption Options Logo

GET Social Enterprise Updates from Executive Director Adrienne Elliott

JOURNEY through adoption with our Family Spotlight
 
PURCHASE TICKETS to our Upcoming Events

REVIEW Adoption Options online

EXPERIENCE a Flexible Family's perspective

ATTEND a helpful open adoption Workshop

MEET our newest  Staff Member

DONATE to AO during Prime Day
DirectorsPen
DIRECTOR'S PEN
By Adrienne Elliott,  Executive Director

Summer is in full swing and lots of things are going on at Adoption Options. We had a great first half of the year with a successful Lunch & Learn, and lots of placements. 

As we move through the summer, we are also preparing for our Topgolf Tournament on July 22nd.  This is sure to be a great event. I haven't been to Topgolf yet, but my kids say it is lots of fun! Not only does this event appeal to our golf enthusiasts, but families and kids can also participate.
 
We have new updates on our social enterprise! (Thank you to those of you who  participated in the recent survey.) We'll be announcing the name of the business soon. In the meantime, we can let you know that Adoption Options' social enterprise will be an online e-platform for adoptive families that will focus on a "one-stop shop" for all post-adoption needs. Some of the online offerings will include extensive webinars, training, podcasts, online coaching, meet-up groups, community forums, and eventually, adoption-related products. We heard from several families that accessible services such as these are very much needed. Next steps in the process will be writing our business plan and pitching the idea to investors and funders. The formal pitch will occur in October, and from there our hope is to launch in the spring of 2019. 

Everyone here at Adoption Options is so excited to finally have a place where adoptive families can get support, training, and encouragement all in one location. Stay tuned, there will be much more to come...
FamilySpotlightFAMILY SPOTLIGHT
By Stephanie and Adam (Infant Program Family)


Our family became complete on October 10, 2014 when we welcomed home our daughter at 3 weeks of age. Our journey into parenthood began many years before. We were an "older" couple and knew that this quest might not be easy. We hoped for a biological child, but at the same time remained realistic and began an adoption process through our county. On the same day we received our foster care certification we were placed with a child! And we had just recently found out I was pregnant. Eventually, that foster child returned home, and we became the proud parents of our now 9 year old son. As life progressed we found ourselves ready for another baby but unable to conceive and not willing to take a chance on infertility treatments.

We knew that adoption was our path! Both sides of our families had successful, happy adoption experiences. Our previous experience at the county level had helped us define what path we wanted to take. We searched for an adoption agency that was aligned with our values, and had a stellar reputation. Adoption Options was the choice! We were so impressed every step of the way.

Every adoption process is so very unique and personal. Our daughter's placement with us was one of the most joyous experiences of our life!!! But a week later we found out that we had an ensuing legal battle on our hands. We had no idea what to expect but we felt we had the best guidance and representation on our side.

We had no idea when we called Adoption Options in 2012 that the agency would become such a big part of our lives. But how could it not? We spent two years gaining full legal custody of our daughter, and along the way participated in a number of events that the agency put on.

We became part of a community that was there with us and our birth mom every step of the way. For us it has been a natural progression to stay involved with the agency, they are a part of our family!
cogives
UPCOMING EVENTS

Top Golf Tournament
Sunday, July 22, 2018 // 2-5 pm

We can't wait to golf with you!  We'll have golf, food, fun, prizes, awesome silent auction items, and opportunities to win $10,000 in a Hole-in-One competition.  Purchase Tickets HERE.


Adoption Options Family Picnic 

Saturday, August 11, 2018 // 11:30-2:00 pm

Our annual family picnic is rapidly approaching! We love to see ALL of our families at this event. Join us at Maple Grove Park in Golden for food (generously donated by Chik-Fil-A Denver West and Which Wich), games, and fun. Let us know if you can join us. RSVP HERE. 










2018 Gala: A Roaring 20's Evening
Saturday, November 10, 2018 // 6-10 pm

This year, we'll be going back in time to the 1920s for an evening filled with fringe, fun, fanfare, casino games, big band music, cocktails, dancing, dinner, and live/silent auctions. 
We've moved locations to the elegant and sophisticated Palazzo Verdi Event Center. This gorgeous venue and its award-winning food will create an unforgettable experience for our guests.
Our annual gala event raises needed funds to help waiting children find their forever families, showcases adoption heroes and advocates, and celebrates everyone who has been touched by adoption in our community. 
ReviewsCALL FOR REVIEWS  



We've been working to creating a simple way for our families and supporters to give us their feedback, and we're now ready to launch! If you have just a few moments, we'd love to hear from you!

FFExperienceFAMILY EXPERIENCE
By Nick & Mark (Flexible Family)

My husband and I found Adoption Options through an internet search of LGBTQ adoption friendly agencies. We made an appointment and did an initial intake. We were made to feel welcomed and accepted. The initial intake involved basic questions about us, what we were looking for in an agency, and the type of child we were looking to foster-to-adopt.
 
The next step involved enrolling in Trauma Linked Caregiving and taking classes that provided an introduction to the foster care system and children. In the classes we were treated and viewed as any prospective parent. Our sexual orientation was not an issue at all. At the final class there was a Q&A from parents who have gone through the process, two of the six panelists included a gay man and a lesbian. It was great to get their perspective and input on fostering and adoption. It was really no different than the straight people on the panel. We would be thrilled to ask to be on a panel. In every encounter, this place has been nothing short of incredible.
 
One of the wonderful things that Adoptions Options offers is a monthly support group. It usually involves a specific topic and an open forum. We have participated often and have had nothing but support from the group. We were just another pair of parents getting support for us and our son.
 
We cannot recommend Adoption Options enough as an agency for gay and lesbian couples to foster and adopt. Nick and I have been welcomed from the beginning, from the receptionist to the intake person to our case manager. The experience has been incredible and we recommend Adoption Options to anyone, gay or straight.
WorkshopWORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY
By Sarah Olsen, Training Specialist 

Open-Hearted Adoption with Lori Holden
October 6, 2018 // 10:00-12:00 a.m. // Location TBD


Open adoption was created as an alternative to the challenges of closed adoption. But many adoptive parents find new challenges inherent to an open relationship with birth family. With three simple shifts, you will be able to develop a new mindset and strategy to guide you in your open adoption parenting. Lori explores and defines the difference between contact and openness and offers suggestions for how to develop a real familial relationship among all parties that will allow a strong scaffold from which to manage issues that do arise, while minimizing the sense of being on opposing sides of the relationship or putting the child in the middle. Practical tips and examples will be offered including suggestions for how to identify and defuse your own triggers, fears, and insecurities thus allowing parents to be fully attuned and creative in meeting the relationship needs of their children and adoption-extended families.
 
Educational Objectives:
  • Learn three simple shifts that will allow parents to develop a new mindset and strategy to guide their open adoption relationships.
  • Participants will be introduced to the consequences of open and closed adoptions.
  • Parents will learn about the open adoption grid and be able to place their open adoption relationships in one of four quadrants, which then will allow them to identify their "next-step" strategies for relationship growth.
  • Participants will be given suggestions for how to choose their words and actions in ways that promote rather than set up barriers to relationship improvements.
  • This workshop will help you understand how parents can recognize their own inner landmines and defuse them in order to improve ongoing connections with their children's birth family members.
Lori Holden, MA is the mom of a teenage son and daughter. She writes at the award-winning LavenderLuz.com and is also a columnist at the Denver Post's MileHighMamas.com. She is the author of The Open-Hearted Way to Open Adoption: Helping Your Child Grow Up Whole, on required and suggested reading lists at agencies around the country.
newstaffWELCOME SAMANTHA!

Samantha Mastaler, Birth Parent Counselor -  Samantha joined Adoption Options in June of 2018. She is originally from Washington State where she earned her Bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University. She spent a year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps where she worked at a domestic violence shelter in Cleveland, Ohio before moving to Denver to pursue her Master's in Social Work. She graduated with her MSW from the University of Denver in 2018 with a concentration in Family Systems. Samantha enjoys line dancing, hiking, camping, and being around friends and family.
PrimeDayDONATE ON PRIME DAY!

Planning on participating in Amazon Prime Day on July 16th?  Did you know that with each purchase you can automatically donate a portion to Adoption Options through AmazonSmile?


AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know and love. Same products, same prices, same service. But .5% of all eligible purchases go to the charity of your choice. Just CLICK, choose us, and start shopping. Keep this going all year, share this info with adoption-minded friends & family, and those donations will effortlessly come our way!
ADOPTION OPTIONS
303-695-1601 
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