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Last Updated: Feb 16th, 2008 - 17:39:39 |
The following activities will help families and professionals celebrate adoption throughout the month of November. Find ideas for every day of the month below, or download a printable version (PDF 98 KB).
November 1, Tuesday
Kick off National Adoption Month by contacting your local TV station or newspaper and encouraging them to run the free “Answering the Call” Public Service Advertisements (PSAs) about adoption produced by the Ad Council: http://www.adcouncil.org/campaigns/adoption/.
November 2, Wednesday
Plan an activity to celebrate National Adoption Day, November 19, with your adoptive family support group. For ideas view AdoptUsKids parent group grant winners: http://www.AdoptUsKids.org/servlet/.
November 3, Thursday
Contact your local public library to request they include stories about adoption in their story hour for children during November.
November 4, Friday
Ask your place of worship to offer a prayer or blessing for children who wait for families.
November 5, Saturday
Create a life book with your child, or work on updating his or her life book together. Read Helping Your Foster Child Transition to Your Adopted Child for additional ideas: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/f_transition.cfm.
November 6, Sunday
Contact clergy of area churches to see if your group can present at or distribute information at the church. Be sure to include Spanish-speaking churches or parishes.
November 7, Monday
Spend time learning more about the children waiting for families by visiting the AdoptUsKids website at: http://www.AdoptUsKids.org. Coming soon: look for the Ad Council public awareness campaign highlighting adoption of teens waiting for permanent families in foster care.
November 8, Tuesday
Learn about the adoption process by reading the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse General Information Packets: Getting Started and Funding Adoption.
November 9, Wednesday
Meet with your child’s teacher to discuss adoption, and ways to incorporate adoption-friendly assignments into the curriculum. Start with the Resources for Teachers section of the National Adoption Month website http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/adoptmonth/resources_teachers.cfm.
November 10, Thursday
Put up National Adoption Month posters, available through the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption website at http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/aspcart45/resources/display.asp?page=302, in your workplace. Present a brownbag session on how to adopt for your coworkers.
November 11, Friday
Contact the organizers of your local National Adoption Day celebration to find out how you can get involved by volunteering your time or donating materials. For more information on National Adoption Day activities visit the website at: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2004/index.asp.
November 12, Saturday
Plan a neighborhood fundraiser with members of your adoptive family support group and donate the proceeds to a local public adoption agency for items such as suitcases for children in foster care. A list of support groups for adoptive families and local public agencies in each State is available in the National Adoption Directory.
November 13, Sunday
Contact your place of worship and see how they might help local agencies in their effort to recruit families for children. For ideas order: "Answering the Call — Finding Common Ground: A Guide for Child Welfare Agencies Working with Communities of Faith" from AdoptUsKids: http://www.AdoptUsKids.org/content_images/my_page_social_worker/FAITHBOOK.pdf (PDF 2920 KB).
November 14, Monday
If you have adopted transracially, identify role models from your child’s heritage. Plan to invite a friend or neighbor of your child’s race over for dinner.
November 15, Tuesday
Use the Adoption Assistance by State (http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/parents/prospective/funding/adopt_assistance/) search on the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse website to find out about adoption assistance programs and postadoption services available in your State.
November 16, Wednesday
Develop a creative way to illustrate the 119,000 children in the U.S. foster care system waiting for adoptive families (e.g., display 119 dolls, each representing 1,000 children who wait for families). Other statistics can be found in the most recent Federal report: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/publications/afcars/report10.htm.
November 17, Thursday
Start a journal for your adopted child. Write at least one entry a month and plan to give it to your child when he or she is an adult.
November 18, Friday
Develop a family mission statement. Make sure it incorporates important values from all the cultures represented among family members.
November 19, Saturday
National Adoption Day! Attend or support one of the more than 200 events throughout the country on National Adoption Day. Visit the National Adoption Day website for more information: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/2004/index.asp.
November 20, Sunday
Adoption requires a gigantic leap of faith. Don’t be afraid to take the leap and bring other families along with you! Visit the Center for Faith-based and Community Initiatives for potential funds to support these efforts: http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/.
November 21, Monday
Plan a summer gathering of your adoptive parent support group at a water park. Use the event to celebrate adoption and recruit new families.
November 22, Tuesday
Collect new socks and underwear to donate to your local public child welfare agency for teens in foster care. For a listing of public agencies in your area see the National Adoption Directory: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/nad/index.cfm.
November 23, Wednesday
Plan a candlelight vigil on the courthouse steps and call out first names of children waiting to be adopted in your area to raise awareness about the number of children waiting for families.
November 24, Thursday-Thanksgiving
During the Thanksgiving meal, give each family member the opportunity to give thanks and remember the people in the past and the present that have been involved in their lives. Light a candle to honor and remember your child’s birth family members.
November 25, Friday
Plan a special celebration on the anniversary of each child’s arrival in your family as well as on their birthday(s).
November 26, Saturday
If your children are of a different race than you, learn what it means to be a transracial/transcultural family. Resources from the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse can help: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/profess/families/familiestype/transracial.cfm.
November 27, Sunday
Offer to share your adoption story (successes as well as any struggles) with prospective adoptive parents at a local agency to provide families with a realistic view of what to expect in the process. Find local agencies in the National Adoption Directory: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/general/nad/index.cfm.
November 28, Monday
When times get tough, contact a postadoption counselor from your adoption agency or someone from your church or synagogue. Postadoption information is available on the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse website at: http://naic.acf.hhs.gov/profess/families/post/index.cfm.
November 29, Tuesday
Respect the role of your child’s biological parents. Your child will always have some kind of ongoing relationship with them, whether real or imagined.
November 30, Wednesday
Consider ways you might keep the issue of children waiting for adoptive families in the public's eye. Again encourage your local TV station or newspaper to run the adoption PSAs or see how you might assist the Recruitment Response Teams from AdoptUsKids in your State: http://www.AdoptUsKids.org.
© Copyright 2008 by AdoptionDesk.com
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