Hello all,
If you read our blog post in January, you know that my word for 2021 is INTENTIONAL. So far, in 2021 for Adoption Support Alliance, our intentionality has been growing our community around the organization- in order to learn from others, grow our capacity, engage volunteers and, ultimately, better serve you! Check out all the ways that our intention in 2021 has led to the growth of ASA.
CULTIVATE
Adoption Support Alliance has the privilege of being a member of the 2021 Cultivate Cohort. Cultivate is an incubator program for emerging non-profits. Six organizations are chosen annually to participate and the cohort members are extremely impressive! I, as well as our board, will be learning a lot through the program in how to make ASA a stronger, more sustainable organization. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram as we strive to share the lessons we learn through Cultivate with you and solicit your input as we continue to build an organization that will last. #cultivate #inthistogether
OPERATIONS MANAGER
We are thrilled to announce a new member of our ASA team! Erin Bost joined Adoption Support Alliance on March 1, 2021 as our Operations Manager. Erin and her husband, David, took our Adoption 101 class years ago and adopted their daughter, Hailey. Erin is now bringing her skills from working at a counseling practice and her personal knowledge of adoption to us. We are working hard to bring Erin up to speed on all things ASA. We are confident that with her dedicated support, the organization will continue to grow. Join me in welcoming Erin. (Let the “Erin jokes” begin…)
NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Let us not forget that 2021 has also brought us two new board members. This position at ASA often goes unacknowledged by us (we are going to do better!) but a nonprofit’s board is fundamental to our operations. In January, Mary Kulp and Jenn Douglas joined our board. Mary worked for the organization as our Program and Content Manager for a time. She is also the proud mother of two children adopted from foster care (in addition to her three biological daughters). Check out her previous blog posts! Mary’s experience will help us develop programming for adoptive families. Jenn, like Erin Bost, also participated in our Adoption 101 class (the very first one!) and adopted two children since taking the class. Jenn has already taken on the role of leading our planning efforts for our 2021 Birthday Auction fundraiser. Thank you, Mary and Jenn, for serving ASA through board membership.
NEW SUPPORT GROUPS
We are rethinking the way that Adoption Support Alliance is doing Support Groups. We desire more diversity in the types of groups offered (groups for transracial families, groups for infants, groups for waiting families, groups over wine in the evenings, groups while sipping coffee in the morning, groups on the playground, groups over Zoom on a lunch break from work, the possibilities are endless!) We don’t want the limited capacity of our small (but mighty!) ASA staff to limit our groups. That’s where you come in. Email us if you are interested in hearing more about our ideas, helping us shape the planning and possibly leading a group in the future (don’t worry, we will help!). These conversations excite us. We love ways to engage with more families and engage volunteers in the work we do!