Senator's Annual Ball

Meet Maria and Dimka

2010-11-29T23:17:00.005-06:00

Maria and Dimka are amazing 5 year old girls with very special needs. Needs that cannot be met in the orphanage they both live at in Bulgaria, but needs that can be met by their new parents, Kenneth, a U.S. Navy Training Specialist, and Karen, a Homemaker.

These girls are unwavering in their perseverance. This is just one of the many qualities their parents love about them. Despite their challenges they continue to push themselves. Maria has cerebral palsy, but works hard everyday to stand and show everyone how big she is. She is five, but is still wearing 3T clothing. Dimka has spina bifida, but has recently learned to walk with assistance. She needs braces to help strengthen her ankles, braces she cannot get in Bulgaria. Dimka also has a shunt for hydrocephalus. The shunt is failing putting her at extreme risk. If the shunt fails, she will not be able to get the surgery she needs. While there are countless reasons to get these girls united with their family, this one makes time of the essence.

With the right medical treatment, nutrition, and focused care giving, both girls will thrive. Add the love, support and stability of a permanent family, and there is nothing these two can't do. Our efforts this year will help give this gift to Maria and Dimka. Our grant will enable Kenneth and Karen the ability to travel this December and bring these girls home forever.

Meet Skylar, Meadow and Mickey

2009-11-30T12:15:00.002-06:00

Our party this year is in honor of Skylar and Meadow, a brother and sister awaiting adoption to be united with their family Richard, Penny and their younger brother Mickey forever. Our goal is raise the final funds need to unite them for the holidays and forever. Here is their story:

Skylar (age 9) has just been selected to participate in the Battle of the Books for his school’s 3^rd grade. He is great at basketball and baseball and wants to be a photographer and travel the world when he grows up. Meadow (age 7) loves to dance. Ballet is her favorite, but she takes tap and jazz as well. When she grows up, she wants to be a teacher. Both are eagerly waiting to be adopted by Penny and Richard.

Adoption for Skylar and Meadow would not only bring stability and predictability to their lives, it would also permanently unite them with their biological brother, Mickey (age 5). Penny and Richard were able to adopt Mickey shortly after his birth because his birth mother was arrested and the state’s child protective services became involved in advocating for his adoption. Richard and Penny wanted to adopt all three, but the financial hurdles of adoption were too great. They fought for custody of the children and have spent the last five years saving and sacrificing a lot to ensure these siblings grow up together. The adoptions are ready to be finalized, but they are just short of the total needed. With our help, they will be able to complete the adoptions in time for the holidays and the children will get what they wanted this year for Christmas- the security of a permanent family. In their words “to all share the same last name.”

We have formed a Gift of Adoption Giving Circle to provide a grant to Richard and Penny. Our goal is to raise $3,500, the final funds needed to unite Skylar, Meadow and Mickey forever.

Please come and enjoy food, wine, and good company and bring a donation or donate online to help us give Skylar and Meadow the ultimate gift this year - the gift of family- the gift of adoption .

Welcome Home Johan

2009-11-30T12:08:00.004-06:00

As you know last year’s Senator’s Ball was in honor of a little boy named Johan. Though we will probably never meet Johan, he has come to hold a special place in our hearts. His mother, Zoe, was kind enough to send updates on their journey. We would like to share a few highlights with you.

Our goal was to complete the grant in time for the family to travel for the holidays and spend Christmas together. We rose to the challenge and thanks to all of you and your generosity that was the plan until a court strike in Bogota delayed Johan’s Adoption.

Zoe writes:
“To say this was a disappointment would be an understatement- we fully expected to have our entire family under one roof this Christmas, to be laughing and playing in the snow together, sharing new Christmas traditions and celebrating our extreme good fortune of having found our new son. I always heard that the international adoption process was long and arduous- one can never fully believe it until it is experienced- it is indeed long and arduous but also painful knowing there is a child identified, who wants to be a part of your family, who is still living in an orphanage, receiving adequate care but not the abundance of love and affection that you hold for him.”

So the family stayed in constant contact emailing, writing letters and sending care packages. On one special occasion they actually made phone contact.

Zoe writes:
“We did make phone contact with him one day but the cell phone service in that part of Colombia is spotty at best. The connection was poor but the joy in his voice was evident when he heard us saying hello. He kept repeating “Madrina, Padrino, Olivia?” as if he couldn’t believe it was really us on the phone. Afterwards I wondered how many phone calls he has ever received- I would guess not many.”

In February the family finally traveled to Colombia to bring Johan home. They spent five weeks in Columbia completing the adoption process and on March 28th, Johan came home to his forever family.

Zoe wrote about GOTCHA DAY (adoption lingo for the day you get your child) and a very touching thank you that we wanted to share because of all of you and your generosity helping to fund the grant they received.

Zoe write:
“Finally with video rolling and Olivia standing in the doorway giving a play-by-play of Johan coming down the walk, Johan came into the room and jumped into my arms with a big smile on his face. Huge hugs, kisses and tears were flowing. When I finally put him down he ran over to Michael and jumped up into his arms--more kisses and more tears. Olivia got a big hug and we all settled down to visit. GOTCHA!”

“I would like to express the deepest gratitude to you and the people of Gift of Adoption for the very generous grant that helped us in our goal to bring Johan from his orphanage in Colombia to his new home in New Hampshire. Thank you for helping to make our long awaited dream come true. We are very, very grateful for your support.

With best wishes,
Zoe and La Familia”

Meet Johan

2008-11-18T19:37:00.006-06:00

Our party this year is in honor of Johan, a little boy from Columbia and his awaiting family, Michael, Zoe, and Olivia. Our goal is raise the final funds need to unite them for the holidays and forever. Here is their story:

Micheal and Zoe live in small college town in New Hampshire with their beautiful 10-year old daughter Olivia. Micheal owns a construction company and Zoe is a registered nurse. A few years ago, Olivia suggested adoption to her parents. They were delighted she wanted to have a brother or sister, but wanted to wait until Olivia was healthy. Olivia was born with a heart defect which involved large medical costs and immeasurable emotional energy. Because Michael and Zoe were focused on Olivia's heart condition for so long, they decided not to adopt until they were confident her condition was controlled. Now that Olivia is doing well, they decided as a family to move forward with adoption.

After investigating many agencies and routes of adoption, Johan came to their attention, "a bright, inquisitive, loving and active boy from an orphanage in Bogota, Columbia." Johan had been removed from an abusive environment and was in need of a compassionate, loving family atmosphere to heal and grow. Michael and Zoe felt like they could provide that for him.

Last summer, a visit was arranged to have Johan spend some time with the family overseen by a psychologist. For 5 weeks, Johan got to experience being a kid– going swimming, riding a bike, and eating ice cream. More importantly he got to experience what he wants more than anything- a loving family.

After the visit, Michael, Zoe and Olivia were sure they wanted Johan to join their family forever and Johan wanted nothing more, but Johan had to return to Columbia to wait to be released for adoption. The family has spent the last year raising money to cover the costs of the adoption. The adoption is ready to be finalized, and the they have raised all but the final funds needed to travel to bring Johan home.

We have formed a Gift of Adoption Giving Circle to provide a grant to Michael and Zoe. Our goal is to raise $3,500, the final funds needed to bring Johan home forever. We will also be putting together a welcome home basket to send to the family if you would like to add a little note or keepsake.

Please come and enjoy food, wine, and good company and bring a donation or donate online to help us give Johan the ultimate gift this year - the gift of adoption - and unite him with his family- Zoe, Michael, and Olivia.

Gift of Adoption

2008-11-18T14:06:00.002-06:00

This year instead of supporting Toys for Tots, we have formed a Giving Circle with Gift of Adoption. As some of you know, Tiffany sits on the board of Gift of Adoption so it is a cause near and dear to our hearts. It is a wonderful charity whose mission is to inspire adoptions by providing grants that put adoption in reach for the 140 million children worldwide in need of families. To learn more about Gift of Adoption visit giftofadoption.org or just ask Tiffany, she would love to tell you all about it.