Adopt A Truly Extraordinary Kid From Foster CareChristopher: A Top Draft Pick

being able to give other children who have had similar traumatic backgrounds his best advice for how to be happy, what is right and wrong, and how to keep themselves safe.

In his ideal family, Christopher wishes for older brothers and sisters, but would be content with opportunities just to play with other children. He also hopes for both a mother and a father, but wouldn’t mind one or the other. Christopher’s sweetness, concern for others, inquisitive spirit, and lion-hearted courage are remarkable. He is truly an extraordinary kid.

Christopher is just one of more than 200 Oregon children waiting to be adopted. Learn more about adoption and other waiting children by calling Wendy’s Wonderful Kids at Boys & Girls Aid.

503-542-2330 or 541-291-3376 (Southern Oregon)

“I want a family that is nice to me, a mom or a

dad that is kind, kids I can play with and a puppy.”

— Christopher, age 10

on Foster Care Adoption

Summer 2010focus

A boys & girls Aid and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Partnership

Christopher asks his counselor every couple of weeks, “Have they found a family for me yet?” His counselor explains to him that it is like he is a top draft pick and that it is not okay to just let any team draft him – it has to be the best fit.

Then his counselor asks him, “If you were an awesome player would you be satisfied to go to just any old team?”

“Nope”, Christopher replies.

At first, Christopher would not share any of his feelings with his counselor. He only shared thoughts, as long as they did not reveal any of his heart, which, he described, “hurts sometimes when I think about certain things.”

Today, Christopher’s smile is as wide as his collection of Pokemon cards. He loves puzzles and is nuts about sports, especially

basketball and Kobe Bryant. His crisp ten-year-old-

boy energy is a breath of fresh air, and his exuberance about being adopted is hard to beat. This plucky, resilient youngster has transformed rough circumstances into a hopeful opportunity.

Christopher attaches positively with adults who are consistent and honest with him. He will usually protest

when boundaries and expectations are set, but he always (well, almost always) apologizes later for his behaviors.

He likes to imagine himself

Christopher Age 10

Wendy’s Wonderful Kid

does like: long sleeve shirts, chocolate mint chip ice cream, hamburgers, olives, asparagus, Yugio cards, café mocha, puppy dogs, Reeses puffs, frosted flakes, The Rose Garden, Pokemon Cards, rap and hip hop, metal rock, Michael Jackson, football, basketball, baseball, books & movies, orange juice, and bowling. doesn’t like: vegetables, vanilla, watching the news, country, gospel, blues, jazz, tee-shirts, soccer, tennis, talking a lot about feelings, and friends that are negative

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Coming Full Circle: Justin’s StoryBy Lawrian Taylor

I was a foster child myself. From ages 13-17 I moved in and out of family foster care and group homes until I finally aged out of the system. I was lucky enough to maintain contact with my first foster mother who knew my family personally. She was too young at the time to adopt me, but she became an important touchstone in my life. She and I are still in contact today.

From this experience, I feel I understand more than most people how critical it is to provide a permanent loving family for a child. I adopted my oldest daughter when I was only 29 and a single woman. Since then, I have gone on to build a big and beautiful family with my husband through adoption, including our most recent adoption of Justin.

We knew about Justin from having adopted his half- sister. We mistakenly thought he had been adopted by another family and then discovered that he was still in the system. At that point, it was never a question of would we adopt him, it was only a question of when.

Today, we are so glad that he has joined our family and that his adoption has finalized. It has been a long process with challenges along the way, but we knew that he – and we – would make it.

Justin has been through so much. He lived in foster care for ten years and had survived some unsuccessful adoptive placements. Yet somehow, he has kept an incredibly open heart. He is simultaneously sweet, shy, and very warm. He likes for everyone to feel included and goes out of his way to be welcoming to others so they don’t feel outcast. He is truly an awesome kid!

Now at almost 15 years old, Justin is so happy to be in his forever family and he celebrated his adoption ceremony with gusto. He is particularly proud of his new last name which shows he officially belongs to our family. Justin brought the adoption message home to us in the most powerful way when we recently asked him what his favorite presents had been. He said to my husband and I, “My favorite gift is you and Dad.”

Hearing that, I think I’m just about ready to adopt again!

May Is National Foster Care Month!463,000 children are in foster care in the United States, including more than 8,000 here in Oregon. In May, we recognize the special hope we have for these children and salute those foster and adoptive families that open their hearts to them.

learn more: fostercaremonth.org

Gold Star Partners! Wednesday’s Child:Through the months of May and June, view many of our Wendy’s Wonderful Kids on Wednesday’s Child with Jeff Gianola. Airing on KOIN TV, Channel 6, Wednesdays at approximately 5:20 p.m., watch as Jeff and guests share special stories and examples of foster children waiting to be adopted. thank you Jeff and Koin-tv for this tremendous service! Visit koinlocal6.com and click on Wednesday’s Child from the left hand menu to view additional footage and Wednesday’s Child archives.

focus on Foster Care Adoption

boys & girls Aid 018 sW boundary Court Portland, or 97239 503-222-9661 adoption@boysandgirlsaid.org

“He is really our wonderful Wendy’s Wonderful Kid.”— Lawrian Taylor, Justin’s adoptive mom

“My favorite gift is you and Dad” — Justin, age 14

Fall/Winter 2009

Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Need You!Do Something Wonderful…Adopt a Wendy’s Wonderful Kid!

boysandgirlsaid.org wendyswonderfulkids.org

Jeremiah, age 5

“When this child smiles with all of his

dimples it’s a show-stopper! ”

— DHS Caseworker

Robbie, age 11

“I like fishing or chess –

especially when I win! And

I want to visit the Mayan

ruins someday.”

Sierra, age 9“I like fairies, stars and hearts. I also love horses.”

James, Levi & Hannah, ages 5, 4 and 2

“My greatest hope is that these children can stay

together as siblings.” —DHS Caseworker

Alonzo, Taylor & Shailee, ages 11, 8, and 5

“We want a sporty, laid-back family who also likes to do home activities, and who has fun doing anything. We want to do new things and don’t mind having new brothers or sisters or animals, especially dogs! ”

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Boys & Girls Aid

Foster Care Adoption018 SW Boundary CourtPortland, OR 97239-3939

CelebrAting yeArs oF serviCe to Children

Dates to RememberWendy’s Wonderful Kids – LIVEOut of Portland Kimberly Hayes, WWK Recruiter

As the new WWK Northern Oregon Recruiter, I am excited to be part of this important work in finding forever homes for our local children in foster care. 2010 has started off with a bang for this region. Six adoptions have already finalized and five additional children have been placed with their forever families. Numerous outreach opportunities have helped us connect with potential families through the OrPTI (Oregon Parent Training and Information Center) R.I.S.E. conference, KidFest Northwest, Fiesta para la Familia at Jantzen Beach Center and the Clackamas County Disability Fair. We also continue welcoming many new wonderful children onto the caseload.

503-542-2330 khayes@boysandgirlsaid.org

Out of Southern Oregon Rachel Howard, WWK Recruiter

Down here in Southern Oregon, we have added six more children to the caseload in the last two months! We already have many families submitting their homestudies on these new children. I am quite amazed and impressed at the quality and dedication of the interested families who have been inquiring. I am looking forward to connecting with more families at events this summer. I have also been working very closely with DHS staff in Roseburg, and greatly appreciate the efforts of Barry Forte, Douglas County DHS supervisor, on behalf of all of the Southern Oregon WWK kids.

541-291-3376 rhoward@boysandgirlsaid.org

To receive our e-newsletter, please email us at adoption@boysandgirlsaid.org

FREE Special Needs Adoption Orientation

Tuesday - June 8th, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday - August 10th, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday - October 12th, 6:30 p.m.

Special Needs Adoption Training

Cost: $50 Weekend - June 25-27

Becoming A Love & Logic Parent® Training This training program provides practical

parenting skills that can be used immedi-ately, along with opportunities to practice and debrief each week. Classes highlight the use of Love and Logic with children who have experienced parenting disrup-tions and are being raised by foster, kin-ship, and/or adoptive families.

Cost: $125 per family 6 consecutive Thursday evenings 9/16, 9/23, 9/30, 10/7, 10/14, 10/21

Please call 503-542-2392 to register or sign-up online: boysandgirlsaid.org All trainings held at Boys & Girls Aid

A boys & girls Aid and Wendy’s Wonderful Kids Partnership

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