Monday, July 12, 2010

Support for Waiting Adoptive Families

Family Life Services has a variety of ways for our adoptive families and waiting adoptive families to gain support during the adoption process. There are a variety of options available to connect you with the agency and with other folks in the adoption process and we hope that you make it a priority to take advantage of some of the support available to you. The following are some ways that FLS is offering connections for waiting families….from support groups to social networking:

Adoptive Family Support Group – Two FLS adoptive families organize and lead a support group for adoptive families and waiting adoptive families that meets in the Lynchburg area about 6 times throughout the year. This is a tremendous resource for waiting families to connect in a small-group setting with other couples who have “been there”. If you do not already receive information about these meetings, please message me and I will get you the information.

Resource Families – At the Adoption Training Weekend, each waiting adoptive family is connected with an adoptive family who has been through the adoption process at FLS to help, encourage and support the waiting family. We encourage you to maintain this connection periodically by email, phone, or in person to have a support and mentor during the adoption process.

Caseworker Support – Your assigned caseworker is available to you whenever needed and would be more than happy to set up a meeting, lunch, dinner, etc. to connect at any time.

Adoption Blogs – We are pleased with the success of  this blog and The Journey of a Birthmother. This month, both blogs were added to the favorite blog lists of Adoptive Families Magazine! I believe that both are ways to help develop an understanding of the mechanics and the emotions involved on various sides of the adoption journey.

Twitter – For the really technologically savvy families, we have started Tweeting as well! Find us at FlsAdoption on Twitter.

FacebookFamily Life Services Adoption Agency can now be searched on Facebook to find our official page for the agency. Please read the blog post from July 7, 2010 to read the disclaimer about confidentiality and the posting of information. We believe that this will be a powerful vehicle to spread the word about our agency and hope that you tell your friends and family about this page so they can also learn about the ministry you are working with. You may also want to check out the Liberty Godparent Foundation Facebook page as that will have more detailed information about upcoming events.

Birth Mother Support Group – The Birth Mother Support Group continues to meet and we will be introducing some new ideas for the upcoming year. The group generally meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Adoptive mothers and waiting adoptive mothers are invited to join the group on several occasions throughout the year for a time of fellowship with birth mothers and residents of the Godparent Home.

Special Events – Many of our waiting adoptive families and adoptive families have told us that participating with special events for Family Life Services or the Liberty Godparent Foundation was beneficial for them during the waiting process because they felt like they were doing something during the time that all the paperwork is done and you’re waiting to be selected. There are many opportunities to join with us for the remaining part of the year:

1)  Baby Bottle Campaign – September 5-October 3rd – We’re encouraging church’s, families, individuals, businesses, support groups, and Sunday School classes to distribute baby bottles to collect loose change (checks and bills are gratefully accepted too!) during one month to support the Liberty Godparent Foundation. If you’d like to find out who you can get involved or would like us to send you materials for your church, contact Sheree Bryant at sgbryant@liberty.edu

2)  1st Annual Golf Tournament – October 7th – This event will be held at Falling River Country Club in Appomattox, Virginia and coincides with the Liberty University Homecoming Weekend. For more information, contact Sheree at sgbryant@liberty.edu

3)  Winter Market – November 19-20th – Vendors from Virginia and surrounding states get together to offer a gift and craft show that is incredible and a great place to knock out a lot of your Christmas shopping! If you know someone who may be interested in setting up a booth, contact Sheree Bryant at sgbryant@liberty.edu and make plans to come shop with us in November!

We realize that there may be other ways that our agency can support, encourage, and connect with families during the waiting process and we need to hear from you!  What are your ideas for things that we could do that we're not already doing?

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