This past Thursday, June 6, 2024, marked 10 years since Adoption Support Alliance officially became a 501(c)3 on June 6, 2014. 10 years?!?! It’s really difficult to wrap my brain around this, if I’m being honest. It seems really unlikely that what started as an idea on the back of a napkin would still be serving adoptive families a decade later.
And, don’t worry, we will celebrate this milestone as a community! We are hosting a “Both/And” art show in November that will be a celebratory fundraiser of 10 years of Adoption Support Alliance. Learn more about the event, how you can participate and plan to join us!
We will do another blog post this month to share more about what the organization has accomplished over the last 10 years. But, in this post, I’d like to look forward to what we dream for the next 10 years of Adoption Support Alliance.
Ten Things We Hope for in Our Community in the Next Ten years:
Adoptive parents will enter the process equipped with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about adoption AND with the recognition of and commitment to all that they still need to learn.
Adoption is no longer a taboo topic in adoptive families. Instead, it is discussed openly without shame. And, all the feelings related to adoption are met with curiosity and acceptance, deepening the connections in families each time adoption is discussed.
While we’re on taboo topics, let’s be a community that talks about race and culture! Let’s equip families to talk about race and culture and all of its nuances in a way that builds positive identities of adoptees. Let’s be unafraid to say “I don’t know” and then seek out answers and deepen our understanding of the issues.
No longer will we receive phone calls from families who are desperate for the right services to meet their child’s needs and ensure the safety of everyone in the home. Parents will feel confident that they can reach out to Adoption Support Alliance before they are at their wits end, protecting the long-term commitment that adoption is intended to be.
Waitlists will be a thing of the past. We will have enough, compassionate, highly-trained, adoption-competent therapists to serve every family in need as soon as they need it.
Not only will we be able to support families at Adoption Support Alliance but we will have a network of adoption-competent professionals across Charlotte. Is ASA too far from you? No worries; we are confident that the therapist we refer you to will take excellent care of your family.
Bonds within our community will grow. We won’t need to plan park play dates or family times at local breweries because they will happen organically. Families new to adoption will be welcomed and mentored by those with more experience and adoption will no longer feel isolating.
Our connection with our community builder supports, grantors and adoption placing agencies organizations will develop and deepen. As a result, the fees for the services we provide will continue to decrease for families, eliminating the financial stress families may experience when seeking support.
Our programming for adult adoptees will expand. We have learned so much from the adult adoptees over the last decade! Adoptee voices will be elevated within our community and ASA will promote healing through community across the adoptee life-span.
Schools, developmental therapists, doctors and other professionals that serve our children will grow in their understanding of adoption issues, the needs underlying “symptoms” so that families can trust that their support team will be as equipped as possible to serve their family effectively. In fact, what if some of those professionals were in the same building and collaborating on family’s behalf?
As always, if you would like to be a part of making these dreams a reality, I invite you to become an ASA community builder. Your monthly gift (of any amount) will go a long way to maintaining the sustainability of Adoption Support Alliance. We are aiming to add 10 new community builders to our team this month to celebrate 10 years of Adoption Support Alliance.
Check out our celebration of five years of ASA from 2019. It seems like yesterday!
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