Gladney Blog

Jeremiah is a young child who finds great joy in the simple pleasures of childhood. He delights in playing with his toy cars and balls, rolling them across the floor and watching them zip and zoom. Jeremiah also loves to watch the adventures of the Paw Patrol pups, their heroic rescues and amusing antics capturing his attention whenever the show is on. On weekends, Jeremiah's foster parents take him and the other children to the local park, where he eagerly explores the playground equipment. The tall, twisting slide is a particular favorite, Jeremiah giggling with glee as he slides down its smooth surface. For unfamiliar structures at the park, Jeremiah first observes cautiously before mustering the courage to join in the fun. His natural curiosity and sociability allows him to seamlessly integrate with any groups of children he encounters.

As I think about National Adoption Month, my mind always goes to the children who are waiting. For the children in Taiwan, they have often been removed from their birth families at no fault of their own, or their birth families made the difficult choice to place them for adoption due to their medical or special needs. A huge part of our job at Gladney is to shine a light on these children to find them a loving and caring family.

To find the family who is the best fit for each child, we must advocate for them – and that means we must get to know each individual child. You can only learn so much about a child by reading their profile provided by their birth country. Through Gladney’s Superkids program, we try to learn what is special and unique about each child. The best way to do this is to meet the child in person. We get to talk to them one-on-one, we get to hear their sweet laughter, we get to see them show off their amazing athletic talents or their incredible puzzle-solving skills. You can learn so much about a child by just spending a few moments with them and allowing for their personality to shine through.