The Gladney Center for Adoption is 130 years old this year! We want to celebrate all year long by sharing fun and interesting adoption facts about our history and culture.  Check out these 13 facts that we put together in February.

1. Ruby Piester popularized one of Gladney's most enduring symbols - the triangle of love. The adoption triad jewelry is a beautiful gift for anyone touched by the miracle of adoption.
2. The Gladney Center has worked with 22 countries including: Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, and Vietnam.  Check out the countries Gladney is currently working in.
3. The GFAs serve three important roles: to provide support to those waiting to adopt and those parenting adopted children; to raise funds on Gladney's behalf; and to help educate the public about the loving option of adoption. 
4. In honor of her decades of services, the Board of Directors renamed the agency The Edna Gladney Home in 1950. 
5. The Gladney Center is currently licensed in 8 states, including: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Arkansas. 
6. The Dallas Auxiliary (nka the Dallas Gladney Family Association) organized in 1953 and joined the Houston Auxiliary’s efforts to establish a $600,000 endowment for the Home.  The Dallas GFA does a fabulous fundraising event for Gladney every year at Six Flags Over Texas. Find out about all of the fun and be sure to join us for Gladney Night At Six Flags! 
7. Edna Kahly Gladney moved to Fort Worth, Texas to live with an aunt and uncle, Arthur and Flora Goetz, in 1903. Her mother Minnie was concerned about her recurrent bronchial problems in Wisconsin's cold climate.  With an average temperature of 56 F in February, who wouldn’t want to live in Fort Worth?  
8. Gladney personally dressed and presented each child to their new parents. 
9. Norman Rockwell’s limited edition plate, “An Orphan’s Hope”, can be seen in the Floyd and Kathleen Cailloux Visitors Center located at 6300 John Ryan Drive, Fort Worth, TX.  On the back of the plate are the words "a child finds the love and compassion he seeks - that's the American Dream. Visitors are welcome to walk through the Visitors Center and absorb our 130 years of history. 
10. Gladney introduced its 1-800 crisis pregnancy hot line in 1976. It was thought to be the first such hotline in the country. 1-800-GLADNEY (800.452.3639). Today, expectant mothers can also text 800-452-3639 to receive assistance in making an adoption plan. 
11. Michael J. McMahon is the first adoptive parent to ever lead the agency. Followed by current President Frank Garrott. 
12. You can find The Gladney Center on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn and YouTube. 
13. Blossoms in the Dust, based on the life of Edna Gladney, was nominated in 1941 for four Oscars — Best Picture, Best Actress, Color Cinematography, and Color Interior Decoration — but won in only one category, Color Interior Decoration.