2009.11.25
National Adoption Day event is Nov. 21 at Andrew Lewis Middle School
Local Community Partners Celebrates National Adoption Day
Saturday, November 21 is Adoption Day in Virginia
ROANOKE, Va. (November 18, 2009) – November is National Adoption Month and the Saturday before Thanksgiving, November 21st, is National Adoption Day. In Honor of that day, Roanoke County Judge Phillip Trompeter will make a number of adoptions “final” and local Departments of Social Services, along with private providers will hold a celebration at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem from 10.a.m to 1 p.m.
“As we approach the holidays and everyone is thinking about being with their families, it’s a good time to think of children who don’t have a permanent family,” says Adoption Supervisor Kelly Bennett of DePaul Community Resources, which specializes in finding homes for foster children.
The Adoption Day Celebration will be marked by a 9 a.m. finalization ceremony at the Roanoke County Courthouse. Beginning at 10:15 actors including some children who have been adopted, will perform a play entitled “They Chose Me,” which highlights the emotions children experience during the adoption process. The Play will be followed by lunch, children’s games and family activities.
It is estimated that there are currently more than 6,600 children in Virginia’s foster care system. More than 1,400 of these children are waiting for adoption. National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of the 129,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent, loving families. For the last eight years, National Adoption Day has made the dreams of thousands of children come true by working with courts, judges, attorneys, adoption professionals, child welfare agencies and advocates to finalize adoptions and find permanent, loving homes for children in foster care.
For more information about National Adoption Day, visit www.nationaladoptionday.org. For more information on adopting a child through DePaul Community Resources, please go to www.depaulcr.org.
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About DePaul Community Resources
DePaul Community Resources is a non-profit, non-sectarian human services organization based in Roanoke, Virginia. DePaul accepts referrals from local Departments of Social Services, Community Services Boards, Juvenile Courts, State Training Centers and birth or adoptive parents. In addition to the main office in Roanoke, there are offices in Abingdon, Amelia, Bedford, Charlottesville, Cedar Bluff, Christiansburg, Danville, Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, South Boston, and Waynesboro.
Submitted by John Carlin
