National Adoption Day
National Adoption Day is a national effort to raise awareness of the more than 107,000 children in foster care waiting to find their forever families.
Goals:
1. Finalize adoptions from foster care in all 50 states
2. Celebrate and honor families who adopt
3. Raise awareness about the 107,000 children still in foster
care
4. Encourage others to adopt children from foster care
5. Build collaboration among local adoption agencies, courts,
and advocacy organizations
What have other local bar associations done to celebrate National Adoption Day?
Austin Bar Association
Austin Adoption Day 2011
A yellow brick road
leads families from the front door through a rainbow arch of
balloons,
and into the Wizard of Oz-theme courtrooms. Each judge is equipped
with a magic pen, complete with a big feather and beads, to sign the
adoption papers, and volunteers dress up as their favorite characters
from the movie. Donation levels are differentiated within the Wizard
of Oz theme—Emerald being the largest donors, yellow bricks for
middle donors, and lollipops for anything up to $500. Each child
receives his
or her own stuffed animal, and an entire room in the courthouse is
converted into a bookstore for the children to select their own
book.
Bell County Bar Association
While the Bell County Bar Association has been participating in Adoption Day for some time, a new project is the inclusion of military step-parent adoptions in its Adoption Day celebration. With the proximity of Fort Hood, Bell County saw an opportunity to honor our servicemen and servicewomen by making these adoptions just as special.
Hidalgo County Bar Association
The Women’s Section of the Hidalgo County Bar annually hosts the
Heart Gallery, a traveling exhibit that promotes awareness,
understanding, and adoptions of children in the South Texas foster care
program. The exhibit includes portraits of children and siblings
groups currently available for adoption. Go to the Heart
Gallery of America website for more information.
Tarrant County Bar Association
The Tarrant County Bar Association has been a part of National Adoption Day since its inception in 2000, and it has continued to grow the program with partnerships throughout the community. Central to its celebration is the Bears and Books program—donations from the legal community provide a stuffed bear and/or book for each child. The books and bears, along with balloons, are used to decorate the courthouse. To encourage attorney participation, the Tarrant County Bar Association offers a free CLE course to all attorneys and law students interested.
