We hope you will enjoy these stories that embody the power of adoption and consider including The Cradle in your end of year giving plans to supporting families, like Beth, Dan and James, with their lifelong adoption journeys.
Beth and Dan
For parents Beth and Dan, The Cradle has been a central part of their adoption journey, which began more than a decade ago. When their son, James, was placed with them in 2010, they learned that his birth mother had placed other children, but none of the families had contact. “All of us had little bits and pieces of information,” Beth says, and she began seeking out more background information with help from The Cradle as James grew more curious about from where he came. This past year, Beth and Dan were connected with two other families sharing the same birth mother so James could meet his siblings. All parents now regularly email and talk, and their growing extended family are all gathering to create new holiday traditions this year.
The spirit of open adoption – in which birth and adoptive families know who each other are or have each other’s identifying information, with or without contact – looks different in every family and evolves over time. Beth says they have been able to navigate the ups and downs of limited birth mother contact, talking about adoption at home and more with the help of the diverse cohort of parents with whom they have stayed in contact since their Cradle waiting parents group all those years ago.
“The adoption journey doesn’t end at placement,” Beth says. “It is constantly a part of who you are and who your family is. It’s never a bad thing to revisit those relationships and to have that constant connection to The Cradle as a place to go back to.”
Sometimes, the best part of a journey is the knowledge that you have a safe and supportive place where you can return. As this year makes way for our plans for 2022, The Cradle looks forward to being there for the smiles, hugs, tears and milestones paving the adoption journeys that begin and continue at The Cradle.
Three out of five Americans are touched by adoption in some way. Our Cradle community makes it possible for us to offer a broader range of services to this population than most private adoption agencies will. Please consider making an 100% tax-deductible gift to The Cradle today in honor of your adoption connection.
