My Reflections

By April Uduhiri, Caseworker, Gladney Asia Program

As I reflect on the past year and ready myself for the hope and prospects of the year to come, I am reminded of how much I am blessed with.  I am lucky to share my life surrounded by special people; my husband, family and friends.   I am also fortunate that my work at Gladney Center is in line with my heartfelt passions.  I am grateful for being able to play a small role in helping to bring families into the lives of orphans who would otherwise face a bleak future.  Orphans with medical needs, especially visible issues, are considered outcasts in their own culture.  When they are adopted into a family, they experience acceptance and belonging that they would not have known otherwise.

My gratefulness extends far – from the officials in China whose motto is everything for children, to my co-workers and supervisors who make working for Gladney such a privilege.  And of course, to the ones doing the hard work, before and especially after the adoption – the adoptive parents!  Over and over again I am amazed at your hope, faith and strength of character as you place your family’s future in the hands of caregivers, social workers, immigration officers and foreign governments!  I am often encouraged through your emails and blog postings, and for this I am truly thankful.

I hope that when you gather with your family and friends over the holidays – either with your adopted little one(s) at your table for the first time, the 10th time, or simply in your hearts this year, that each and every one of you has a happy and blessed holiday season.

A wistful look from Jenna Lenig, as she enjoys her first wedding.

Jenna was adopted in November, 2010, from China.

Holiday Greetings

Home For the Holidays! 

The Marran family joyously welcomed home their 2 year-old daughter, Maelin, from Taiwan with the completion of their adoption last week.

"We can show you the way!"

Charlotte Chieh Marran (age 7) and Noah Chen Marran (age 6) guide their sister Maelin Hsuan through Chicago’s O’Hare Airport

Best Wishes from the Gladney Asia Program Staff

for a hopeful, joyous, and peaceful holiday season

with your family.

Gongzhan Wu

Wendy Stanley

April Uduhiri

Lindsay Hatcher

Mary Chapman

Lydia Macci

Chinese New Year's Area Celebrations

Chinese New Year is on Monday, January 23, 2012. Over the next few weeks, as the holiday approaches, keep your eyes open for celebrations in your area. Numerous groups have parties, dinners, march in parades, etc.

Gladney Chinese New Year celebration information is now posted on the Gladney Family Association website (click here for the GFA Network Events calendar, then choose January 2012 in the drop down Date box).

Check your area's Families with Children from China website or local cultural organizations and museums for other New Year activities.

 

Connecting with your Child's Culture

Keeping a connection with your child's culture comes in many forms. There are the subtle, day to day activities like eating at local restaurants and visiting markets that specialize in traditional foods, or watching movies, reading books, and discussing current news events and politics that relate to your child's birth country.

A more formal connection can be established by enrolling in language and culture classes, or belonging to associations (Gladney Family Association, Families with Children from China or Organization of Chinese Americans) and local museums (Museum of Chinese Americans) that celebrate and teach the culture. These organizations are a wonderful resource for media materials, local activities and celebrations. They can also offer ideas, such as suggestions on how your child can celebrate Chinese New Year in school.

Staying connected with other adopted children, either from the child's travel group or children from the same country, is invaluable when it comes to solidifying the cultural connection. Meeting for social gatherings, going to local cultural fairs, attending officials' visits or sharing in holiday celebrations, give children the opportunity to have fun being together and share special moments.

For some adoptive families, traveling to the child's birth country for a heritage tour offers them an amazing way to see, hear and taste their birth country's culture first hand.

Celebrating the Gift of Giving in Non Material Ways

At this time of year, when gift giving is at the forefront of our thoughts, an increasing number of charitable minded people choose alternatives to traditional material gifts. Teaching children that there are options to material gifts can be a rewarding and eye opening opportunity. The gift of time in the form of service to others can be a heartwarming experience. Gathering items for orphanages and foundations in Asia or raising money so essential items can be purchased are examples of service projects that benefit others in a meaningful way.

Another option to traditional gift giving involves a donation made in someone else's honor. In lieu of giving a traditional gift, a monetary contribution is made, usually to a not-for-profit organization that has significant meaning to the person being honored. For Gladney adoptees, a contribution can be made to one of the many wonderful programs that help children in their birth country (click here).

Interview with Pat Marcus, volunteer with Gladney's Superkids Charity

Pat Marcus is a pediatric physical therapist in New York State. She has participated in several Superkids trips to Asia to work with children and caregivers in orphanages to enhance the lives of children with physical disabilities. Pat recently travelled in November with Superkids to China and Taiwan with Gongzhan Wu, Managing Director of Gladney Center for Adoption's Asia programs.

To read an interview with Pat about her trip click here.

Upcoming Asia Waiting Child Webinar

Each month Gladney hosts an Asia Waiting Child Webinar. Our next Webinar will be this Wednesday, Dec. 14th at 1pm EST. Be sure to register for the Webinar!

This informative webinar will focus on the process of adopting waiting children from China. The webinar will provide an overview of Gladney’s program as well as share photos of available children. You will get a detailed explanation of the Application and paperwork process involved with adopting internationally. Also, each month we will feature different children, with a variety of ages and special needs, who are available for adoption. At the end of each webinar we offer time for attendees to ask questions and will provide contact information for you to follow up with one of Gladney’s Asia Program Staff.

We hope you will be able to join us for our webinar! Feel free to pass this invitation along to friends and family members that may also be interested.

Recommended Vaccinations

As parents preparing for the adoption of a child, we often are very focused on the health of the child we will be adopting. However, it is important that we also take care of ourselves to make sure that we are protected from infection and disease.

The National Council for Adoption (https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/) has alerted the adoption community of a recent recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics (APA) that family and close contacts should receive the Hepatitis A Vaccination. To read the full APA report click here.

Before your travel, consult with your doctor to discuss which vaccinations are appropriate for your travel plans. This will depend on your personal vaccination history, as well as the specific overseas region you will be travelling to. Some immunizations may need to be given in a series over a number of months, so plan ahead! A helpful article that provides guidance for adopting parents preparing for international travel can be found here.

Special Superkids Webinar Postponed to Jan. 19th

It’s that time of year again… the most wonderful and certainly one of the busiest! Due to the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we have decided to reschedule Gladney’s special Superkids Webinar with pediatric physical therapist Pat Marcus. The webinar will now be held on January 19^th at 7pm EST. If you were unable to attend this week’s scheduled presentation, we look forward to having you join us in the new year to learn more about Superkids and Gladney’s relationship with Shanghai Children’s Home.

For those of you who had registered for the Dec. 1 webinar and would like to hear from Pat and gain more information about Gladney’s China program, feel free to contact China caseworker, April Uduhiri directly at april.uduhiri@gladney.org. Pat will also be available to speak with families who are interested in her recent trip and her work with Superkids.

To register for our January webinar click here.

2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces

An important part of adopting is investigating all the areas in your life that will support your adoption. For many, the workplace is a wonderful resource of adoption benefits. Is your workplace on the 2011 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces list?

To see all the companies that made the list or for a toolkit to propose or establish adoption benefits in your workplace, visit the Dave Thomas website.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving - A time to give thanks for family and friends, health and happiness, our beautiful country and our freedom.

From the Gladney Asia Program Staff

Free Course - We're Home! Now What?

• Are you awaiting a referral?
  


• Have you recently received a referral?
  


• Have you adopted in the last 6 months?
  

Well, here is a FREE class that may help with issues new families face such as language, sleep, eating, discipline attachment and medical care.

During the month of November, Adoption Learning Partners is offering We’re Home! Now What! for FREE!

1. To receive this course for free, click here to link to the registration page.
   


2. Please enter your agency name during registration.
   


3. When registration is complete, a coupon code will appear. Use this code at checkout.

Ambassador Jacobs National Adoption Month Video

On November 3, 2011, Ambassador Susan Jacobs, Special Advisor for Children's Issues (CI) in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, spoke about intercountry adoptions in celebration of National Adoption Month 2011. Click here to access the video.

November is National Adoption Month!

National Adoption Month is a time to celebrate family and to bring about awareness that there are hundreds of thousands of children awaiting adoption. States, communities, and agencies hold events during the month to bring the need for families into public view.

Celebrate National Adoption Month with your family and friends by:
- learning how and why National Adoption month began (click here)
- participating in day to day activities (for ideas click here)
- supporting adoption organizations such as Gladney by joining in their 125 Anniversary celebration.
- attending an adoption conference in your area, such as the 31st Annual APC Adoption Conference on Sunday, November 20, 2011 in Brooklyn, NY. For more information about the conference, click here.

Gongzhan Visits Asia Accompanied by Pat and Edna

Gongzhan Wu, the managing director of Gladney’s Asia programs, is travelling throughout the month of November to various cities in Asia. On the first leg of the trip, to Taiwan, Shanghai, and Harbin, he is accompanied by Pat Marcus, a pediatric physical therapist from New York. In Taiwan, Gongzhan had a chance to meet with the social welfare organizations through which Gladney’s adoptive placements occur. During his recent visit to Shanghai, it is rewarding to see that Gladney’s partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Home continues to strengthen, with Gladney providing training and consultation, as well as continuing to advocate for the adoption of older children. It is our hope that we can build similar partnerships in other areas of China, as well as in Taiwan.

This current trip is a wonderful opportunity for us to share Gladney’s long 125 year history of helping children find adoptive families. Bringing Edna Gladney along on the trip has been quite an experience! She seems to be agreeable with the arduous travel schedule – always smiling!

Gongzhan, Pat and Edna at JFK Airport

Edna, Gongzhan and Pat arrived safely in Taipei

For Gladney families who would like to participate in the fun of celebrating Gladney's 125th Anniversary – click here to learn how you can print “your own Edna”. Bring Edna along to interesting places, and post your photos to Gladney’s “Where’s Edna facebook page”.

31st Annual APC Adoption Conference

Sunday, November 20, 2011 in Brooklyn, NY

The Adoptive Parent Committee (APC) annual conference serves to promote a better awareness and understanding of adoption and provide members with accurate information concerning adoption and parenting issues. Conference participants will have the opportunity to attend numerous informational sessions including a workshop conducted by Gladney's Asia Staff on "Adopting from Taiwan" from 3:00pm to 4:00pm.

For more information about the conference, click here.

CCCWA Officials Visit Gladney

Fall 2011 has been a busy and exciting time for Gladney's China Program as we were privileged to host another delegation of officials from the CCCWA! This October, a group of 15 officials travelled to the US in order to meet with several adoption agencies and visit with adoptive families and children. Gladney's NY office was honored to host a breakfast for the officials on the 26th, and share with them how Gladney works with families who are adopting from China. During the event, we felt encouraged by the officials desire to work together with Gladney to find homes for children with medical issues.

Gladney staff with CCCWA officials and Chuck Johnson from NCFA

Gladney staff with Ms. Zhu Hai Yan, Director of Shanghai Children's Home

Why Waiting Children?

Some of you may have wondered at some point, why are some children referred to as "waiting children"? What does this mean?

In some programs, parents work hard to complete their dossier and submit it to the adoption authorities and then wait for their child's paperwork to be prepared. These parents eagerly and anxiously wait to see their child's picture for the first time - sometimes months or years! However, in the Guang Ming program, these children already have their paperwork prepared and are available for adoption. They are waiting for their families to find them and come and bring them home! These precious kids are in need of families who are paperwork ready so that they don't have to wait any longer to join their forever families.

If you feel that you might have a child waiting for you in China - contact Judy Hayes at judy.hayes@gladney.org to learn more about getting started in Gladney's Guang Ming program.

Recently in China Adoption News

• CCCWA has matched families with LIDs through August 2, 2006! Congratulations to all of the families who have received referrals!


• CCCWA has reviewed dossiers with LIDs through November 20, 2010.


• CCCWA has issued Travel Approvals for three Gladney families in October!


• One Gladney Family received their Letter Seeking Confirmation in the month of October.


• One Gladney family has travelled to China to complete their adoption!
  
  
  Congratulations to the Osborn family on the adoption of your precious daughter!
  

Trick-or-Treat!

This was J's first time trick-or-treating, looks like he had a blast!

What a pretty butterfly! M came home from China a couple of years ago and can't wait to go trick-or-treating with her little brother or sister one day!

Upcoming Asia Waiting Child Webinar

Each month Gladney hosts an Asia Waiting Child Webinar. Our next Webinar will be this Wednesday, Nov. 9th at 1pm EST. Be sure to register for the Webinar!

This informative webinar will focus on the process of adopting waiting children from China. The webinar will provide an overview of Gladney’s program as well as share photos of available children. You will get a detailed explanation of the Application and paperwork process involved with adopting internationally. Also, each month we will feature different children, with a variety of ages and special needs, who are available for adoption. At the end of each webinar we offer time for attendees to ask questions and will provide contact information for you to follow up with one of Gladney’s Asia Program Staff.

This month we will feature profiles of new children who have been designated to Gladney - so you definitely will want to tune in!

We hope you will be able to join us for our webinar! Feel free to pass this invitation along to friends and family members that may also be interested.

Happy Halloween!

Sarah is a pink superhero this year, and Kathryn is the Queen of the Nile. James's costume did not arrive yet but here he is as he heads off to his middle school camping trip (with a weird flash effect!). We hope everyone is enjoying the autumn! We love to see all the kids' costumes, so please send your Halloween photos--or just photos, if you don't celebrate Halloween or don't have costumes yet!--to Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org.

Upcoming Asia Waiting Child Webinar

Each month Gladney hosts an Asia Waiting Child Webinar. Our next Webinar will be this Wednesday, Oct. 12th at 1pm EST. Be sure to register for the Webinar!

This informative webinar will focus on the process of adopting waiting children from China. The webinar will provide an overview of Gladney’s program as well as share photos of available children. You will get a detailed explanation of the Application and paperwork process involved with adopting internationally. Also, each month we will feature different children, with a variety of ages and special needs, who are available for adoption. At the end of each webinar we offer time for attendees to ask questions and will provide contact information for you to follow up with one of Gladney’s Asia Program Staff.

We hope you will be able to join us for our webinar! Feel free to pass this invitation along to friends and family members that may also be interested.

Visitors from Shanghai

Last week, a delegation of 5 adoption officials from Shanghai visited Gladney’s Fort Worth office and New York office! The Shanghai officials were able to learn about Gladney’s US domestic and international adoption programs.

In Fort Worth, Gladney welcomed the Shanghai delegation with a tour of the Gladney Center Fort Worth campus. The staff gave the delegation a very Texan welcome by showing them the Historic Stockyards and the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame. They ended the day at the Texas Rangers baseball game!

In New York, Gladney held a reception to welcome the Shanghai delegation and was joined by families adopting children from Shanghai as well as families who had previously adopted children from Shanghai. The families were excited and honored to meet the officials face-to-face to have the chance to learn more about their children’s environment before coming to the US. The delegation reported that they were happy to see such caring parents and that the adopted children are living healthy and happy lives.

The Johnsons picking up their daughter, Ava, in Shanghai.

Gladney’s partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Home began in March 2011. If you would like to learn more about Gladney’s partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Home, please visit here or contact April.Uduhiri@gladney.org. You can also read stories about the joy these children bring to the parents everyday through the Asia Waiting Child program.

Visit from Heilongjiang Officials

Last Friday, Sept. 16th, the Gladney Asia Program had a breakfast reception to welcome several officials from Heilongjiang Province. Also attending the breakfast were children who had been adopted from Heilongjiang, including the cute twins above!

Reception in NYC for Heilongjiang Officials

Gladney Center for Adoption cordially invites families who have adopted from Heilongjiang Province to join us for a welcome breakfast as adoption officials from Heilongjiang will be visiting Gladney’s New York office on Sept. 16th. We are very excited to host the officials and would love to see many families at the reception!

The officials are on a limited travel schedule and so we will be hosting an informal breakfast reception for them at 9am on Friday morning, the 16th of September. They are especially looking forward to seeing children adopted from Heilongjiang as they are very interested in the welfare of the children after they are adopted. This is a great opportunity to show them how much the kids thrive in loving families!

Gladney Center for Adoption is located at 363 7th Ave, 3rd floor (corner of 7th Ave and 30th St) in Manhattan, near Penn Station.

Please RSVP to April Uduhiri at april.uduhiri@gladney.org or 212.868.4564.

Back To School In Brooklyn!

In many parts of the country, kids have been back in school for weeks already, but James, Kathryn and Sarah just started back last Thursday! James is in middle school now and Kathryn and Sarah are in first grade. Their first days back all went great, and they also enjoyed their first soccer games this weekend and celebrating Sarah's sixth birthday! If you would like to share your back-to-school photos on the blog, please send them to Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org. Happy Fall everyone!

NYC Reception for Shanghai Officials

Gladney Center extends an invitation to all adoptive families in the area with children from Shanghai, China, as well as pre-adoptive families who would like to learn more about Gladney Center’s Waiting Child partnership with the Shanghai Children’s Home.

It has been 15 years since a delegation from Shanghai has visited the United States and this reception allows US families the chance to share with Shanghai adoption officials the well-being and successes of their children as they have grown through the years.

WHEN: Monday, Sept. 19th, 6-8pm

WHERE: Gladney Center for Adoption, 363 Seventh Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10001

Refreshments will be served. Cost is $30 per family.

For more information and to register please click HERE. Please register early and mail payment before September 12. Space is limited and thus registration will close on September 13, 2011.

FCC NY Event

The Greater NY chapter of Families with Children from China (FCC) will be presenting "A Lecture by Professor David Smolin: The Missing Girls of China". The lecture will be held on Friday, Sept. 9th from 6-9pm at The National Arts Club in New York, NY. The event is open to FCCNY members, as well as non-members.

Professor Smolin will speak to and analyze the present impact on international adoption of China's "one-child policy" and other policies, and present his views on possible solutions.

To learn more about the event or to register, please visit FCC's website. The online registration deadline is Sept. 5th.

Save the Date - Visitors from Shanghai!

Gladney Center for Adoption is honored to host 5 officials from Shanghai next month! Representatives from the Shanghai Children’s Home (SCH) and local government will be travelling to the US to meet with agencies and families to learn more about the adoption process from the other side of the globe.

Gladney will hold two events, one in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area on Wednesday, Sept. 14th and another in NYC on Monday, Sept. 19th to welcome our visitors. The officials are also excited to mingle with families who have adopted from China, as well as families that are interested in adopting through Gladney’s Shanghai Children’s Home partnership program.

Director Gongzhan Wu and Asia Program Caseworker Lindsay Hatcher meet children from SCH’s foster care program.

Gongzhan and Lindsay outside of SCH with one of the social workers.

Additional information about the two events will be provided within the next week. We look forward to having many adoptive families join us in welcoming these special visitors!

Sarah, James and Kathryn have been having a busy, fun summer in NYC! The three had their older cousin from Germany taking care of them in July and he took these pictures of Sarah on the beach at Coney Island, James on the subway, and Kathryn relaxing at home. The whole family enjoyed a trip to Fire Island in July and will be going to Mohonk Mountain House at the end of August. Right now the sibs are all in day camp and having a lot of fun!

Please send your Summer Fun pictures to mary.chapman@gladney.org to be posted on the blog!

Whitney Enjoys Turks & Caicos!

Our family enjoyed a quick trip to Turks & Caicos. Whitney sure enjoyed her time in the water and playing on the beach.

Family Fun Time!

Keira, who came home through Gladney's Asia Waiting Child Program last year, met her cousin Mikey for the first time this 4th of July - they instantly became fast friends! The cousins spent their time together celebrating the 4th with a family BBQ in New Jersey.

If you would like to share your summer photos and adventures, please email Mary.chapman@gladney.org.

Summer Days

Tessa (age 3) and Emma (age 10) are spending their summer in Chicago swimming, playing at the park, taking dance classes and eating lots of ice cream!

If you have summer photos you would like to share, please email them to Mary.chapman@gladney.org.

Madeleine - One Year Later

7/15/2011 Houston, TX: “One year ago today we were called by Gladney with the great news of our referral! Here are our referral pictures, along with a picture taken of Madeleine today.”

MOCA Dragon Boat Festival Family Day - NYC

We wanted to let all of our China families know about this fun, family event happening next weekend!

WHAT: Dragon Boat Festival Family Day

WHEN: Sunday, July 31st - 10:00am - 5:00pm

WHERE: Museum of Chinese in America, 215 Centre St., New York, NY 10013

The day-long festival includes:

• Performance and Storytelling with Mingmei Yip
• Poetry Workshop with Janet Wong
• Family Friendly Tours
• Drop in Arts and Crafts

Visit MOCA's website for more details! Admission is $10 or free for MOCA Members and children aged 1 yr or under.

Waiting Child Webinar

Will you be joining us for our next Waiting Child Webinar that will be held this Wednesday, July 13th at 1pm EST?

Each month Gladney hosts an Asia Waiting Child Webinar. This informative webinar will focus on the process of adopting a waiting child from China. The webinar will provide an overview of Gladney's program as well as share photos of available children. You will get a detailed explanation of the Application and paperwork process involved with adopting internationally. Also, each month we will feature different children, with a variety of ages and special needs, who are available for adoption. At the end of each webinar we offer time for attendees to ask questions and will provide contact information for you to follow up with one of Gladney's Asia Program Staff.

Be sure to register today!

4th of July Fun!

We hope everyone had a festive and fun 4th of July weekend!

Kathryn and Sarah spent the 4th of July with their family, including Mom, Dad, big brother James and their Grandparents, picnicking in Manhattan!

Whitney spent the holiday sailing with her family!

How did your family spend the 4th of July weekend? If you would to share your July 4th photos, please email them to Mary.chapman@gladney.org.