Gladney Center is Partnered with Shanghai Children's Home for Adoptive Child Placements

The Shanghai Children's Home (SCH) is a well-regarded child welfare institution. Various diplomats and their spouses have been invited to SCH to learn about institutional care settings in China. SCH is a well-staffed campus that delivers comprehensive care, medical services and education to children of all ages.

Gladney's partnership with SCH was formalized earlier this year and has been approved by the Shanghai Social Welfare Center, Shanghai's Children's Adoption Center, and the China Centre for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA - previously known as CCAA). Gladney's partnership with SCH follows upon a 15 year history of close relations. Gongzhan Wu, VP & Managing Director, was born and raised in Shanghai. Gladney's first China adoptions were children placed from SCH. Gongzhan travels to China several times each year and almost each trip includes a visit to the Shanghai Children's Home.

Please join us tonight, 8pm EST, to learn more about Gladney's partnership with Shanghai Children's Home and the children who are currently available to be adopted. Register here.

Special Gladney Webinar - China Waiting Child Adoption Program & March 2011 Superkids Trip to Shanghai Children's Home

Please join us for this special webinar featuring two child development therapists who recently visited the Shanghai Children's Home for a one-week trip to train orphanage staff and meet some of the children available for adoption through Gladney's Waiting Child Program. This webinar will be a wonderful first-hand account by Pat Marcus who is an occupational therapist, and Kathy deMaCarty who is a speech therapist, about all they did during the course of this important trip sponsored by Gladney's Superkids Charity.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, March 24th at 8pm EST. Space is limited so be sure to register today!

Proper Nutrition: The Key to Your Child's Success

Please join The Nutrition Twins as they share secrets that will help you to enhance your child’s life. The Twins will discuss the importance of proper nutrition and how it will affect every aspect of your child’s well-being. By providing the right foods, you can help him or her to flourish. You’ll be encouraged as you learn that by helping your children to choose the best foods and nutrients in specific combinations, your child’s growth and development will be optimized and your child’s focus, performance and behavior will greatly improve. That’s right, by providing your child with the right nutrients you can assist him or her in receiving high grades, becoming a better athlete, playing better with others and preventing tantrums!

The sisters will also share practical tips and simple changes that you can make in your family’s diet that will enrich the quality of all of your lives. You will feel empowered as you realize that a few simple dietary changes can have a great impact on your child’s life.

Brought to you by Gladney Center for Adoption - Pathways Training.

Register today to ensure your spot! https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/445847954  

Gladney featured in China Daily News Article

China Daily News recently did an article about how Chinese adoptees celebrate Chinese New Year with their families. Gladney's Asia Program's own Wendy Stanley was quoted in the article and our New York Chinese New Year Party was mentioned. Check out the article here!

Happy Chinese New Year!

This past weekend Gladney's Asia Program Staff celebrated the Chinese New Year with many Gladney families in NYC. There were a variety of activities including crafts, a scavenger hunt, traditional Chinese dancing, a lion and dumpling making. We all had a great time ringing in the Year of the Rabbit! Below are some pictures from the celebration!

We would love to see how your family celebrated the New Year, please send your stories and photos to Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org to be included on the blog!

Gladney's NY Chinese New Year Party!

A wonderful time was had by Kathryn, Sarah, their grandparents, and their mom, Stephanie, at the NYC Chinese New Year party this past Saturday. There were wonderful performances, including graceful Laurel Project dancers and an awesome Lion Dance, as well as a fun magic show! Then it was on to dining on Chinese and Western food and a fantastic array of activities. Kathryn and Sarah especially enjoyed the dumpling making, as shown in the pictures above, and the crafts room with Wendy from the New York Office! At the end of the festivities they posed happily with their gorgeous painted faces on the subway platform.:-) Have a wonderful Year of the Rabbit, everyone!

Snow Falls In Brooklyn!

Kathryn and Sarah played in some fresh Brooklyn snow on a very cold January Saturday. Kathryn just turned 6, and Sarah is 5. Both girls were adopted through Gladney's China Waiting Child Program. For more information on the Waiting Child Program, please visit this site.

It's a Winter Wonderland for Mika!

Who says winter is no fun?! Mika, who came home from China last summer, recently enjoyed her first Christmas with her big sister. Mom reports that Mika is enjoying life, her dog....and skiing too! Mika will be hitting the slopes again this weekend and can hardly wait!

Send your Winter Wonderland stories and pictures to share on the blog to Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org.

Waiting Child Webinar has been Rescheduled!

Due to inclement weather in NYC, Gladney's NY office will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 12th, therefore the live Asia Waiting Child Webinar that was scheduled has been canceled. The Webinar has been rescheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 19th at 1:00pm EST. Please be sure to Register for the Webinar! If you had already registered for the Webinar scheduled for the 12th, you will need to re-register for the new Webinar.

The Asia Waiting Child Webinars focus on Gladney's Asia Waiting Child Program. Participants are walked through the process of adopting through Gladney's Asia Waiting Child Program. Photos and information on waiting children who are currently available for adoption is also shared during the Webinar. There is also a Question and Answer session at the end of the Webinar.

Live Information Meeting Tomorrow!

The Gladney Asia Program Staff will be hosting a live Information Meeting in our NYC office tomorrow, Tuesday, January 11th at 6:30pm. This meeting will offer prospective adoptive parents the opportunity to learn about all of Gladney's International Adoption Programs, including our Asia Waiting Child Program. This is a great way to meet our staff and to speak with them one-on-one to get all of your questions answered. It's not too late to Register for tomorrow's meeting!

In addition to in person Information Meetings we also offer a live Asia Waiting Child Webinar each month. Our next webinar will be this Wednesday, January 12th at 1:00pm EST. This webinar will focus on our Asia Waiting Child Program, giving prospective adoptive parents an overview of the program. We will also share photos and information on several waiting children who are currently available for adoption. It's not too late to Register for the webinar!

Gladney's NY Chinese New Year Party

We are excited to announce our 2011 Annual Chinese New Year Party in New York, NY for Gladney families! The party will be on Saturday, Jan. 29th from 2-5pm. This year's party will be held in a new location and is going to offer some exciting activities. Be sure to check out all of the event details and to register today! Space is limited so be sure to register by Friday, Jan. 21st! We hope to see many of our Gladney families there!

Save the Date - Gladney's Chinese New Year Parties!

SAVE THE DATE!

Gladney will be hosting 3 Chinese New Year Parties this year!

Fort Worth, TX - Saturday, January 22

Houston, TX - Sunday, January 23

New York, NY - Saturday, January 29

We are excited for these celebrations and thankful for the help of Gladney parents in organizing these parties! Gongzhan Wu, Asia Programs Director, will be attending all three parties and is looking forward to seeing many families! If you have any questions regarding the TX parties, please contact Wendy Lee at wendy.lee@gladney.org. If you have questions or would like to volunteer for the NYC party please contact Amy Lee at mom2kl@gmail.com.

We hope that your family will be able to join us as we jump into the year of the Rabbit!

Candy Cane Girls!

Sarah, Kathryn and Whitney (from left to right in the photos) had a holiday season get-together in Manhattan recently. Whitney and Kathryn have known each other since China, when their parents traveled together to adopt them! This was almost five years ago this coming February! The girls' moms are good friends and it's great that the girls get to see each other. The next meet-up will be in Chinatown for Chinese New Year! Happy Holidays!

China Referral Update

CCAA has processed referrals for families with Log In Dates through 5/29/06. CCAA has reviewed dossiers for families with Log In Dates through 11/30/09.

Gladney received 4 referrals on Friday, which included our families with LIDs of 5/26/06. Congratulations to these families!

The referrals were all little girls from Jiangxi Province ranging in age from 9 months to almost exactly a year old.

We currently have 4 families in China completing their adoptions and will be home later this week, just in time to celebrate Christmas as a family!

Ella and Dean Make Their First Visit to Santa!

Ella's and Dean's mom was so happily surprised that the sister and brother finally agreed to pose with Santa! Previous attempts had not been successful. Ella is 4 and was adopted through Gladney's China program. Dean is 2.5. The family reside in Texas, where Ella is busy with her first school experience, and both she and Dean enjoy gymnastics at The Little Gym, where this photo was taken!

Ruby's First Christmas

Ruby, adopted from China this past spring through Gladney's Asia Waiting Child Program, is about to experience her first Christmas! As you can imagine, this is an exciting time for Ruby as she experiences this new tradition with her family. Her first visit to Santa, her time baking Christmas cookies, her first time singing Christmas carols, her first Christmas morning waking up to see what Santa has left her.

Ruby's dad sent the below message to our Asia Waiting Child Program Staff to share how Ruby has been doing since coming home.

"I just wanted to let you all know that Ruby is experiencing her first Christmas! She places Santa at the top of her "Dear God" blessings at bedtime. Ruby is 6 years old and has been in the US now for 6 months. We have her enrolled in a private school where is excelling. She loves to dress up in pretty clothes; she adores other children; is kind, very considerate and always very cheerful. She is an absolute joy to us and to all our extended family and friends. She would want us to wish you all a very Merry Christmas."

Imagine the joy this family will feel on this very special first Christmas! If you have any "first Christmas" or "first Hanukkah" stories that you would like to share on our blog, please email Mary Chapman at mary.chapman@gladney.org. Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from James, Kathryn, and Sarah!

James,aged 10 and in 5th grade, Kathryn, almost 6 and in kindergarten, and Sarah, aged 5 and also in kindergarten, got to play hooky from school for an afternoon on Dec. 1st to go to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with Mom Stephanie. They loved the show--and also the Rockette bears and wooden soldier hat they acquired! Afterwards we walked over to Rockefeller Center to look at the tree.

Kathryn and Sarah were both adopted from China through Gladney's Waiting Child program. If you would like to learn more about this wonderful option, please contact April Lerch or visit our new Waiting Child website at this link.

We wish everyone a joyous holiday season!

Welcome Home Madeleine!

One of our families from TX just returned home over the weekend from China, where they met their daughter Madeleine. See what the family had to say about meeting their precious daughter. Welcome home Madeleine!


"China has been a unique experience so far, and we're trying to enjoy every minute of it. Today was "Gotcha Day"! A long journey has finally led us to Madeleine. Overwhelmed with joy the first time we saw her this afternoon! She is so sweet and instantly became part of our family. She is happy, active and "talking". "

International & Waiting Child Programs Information Session

Gladney will be hosting an Information Session on our International and Waiting Child Programs this Saturday, Dec. 4th at 10:30am in our NY office located at 363 Seventh Ave., 3rd Floor in Manhattan. This Information Session will be presented by Gladney Staff and is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about our International or Waiting Child Programs.

To register for this Information Session or to see a schedule of upcoming Information Sessions please visit this link. We hope to see you there!

Waiting Child Update

CCAA's shared list was updated in the evening of Monday, November 22nd. Many new profiles of children newly available for International Adoption were added to the list and two children were locked for Gladney families, a girl and a boy both under 16 months! Families received an extra Thanksgiving blessing this year as they were able to put a face to their prayers!

The shared list is updated approximately once a month with profiles of children that are available and waiting to be adopted internationally. Register for Gladney's Waiting Children webinar for more information on how to adopt a waiting child from China.