Gladney Blog

As you are exploring adoption as an option for your family, we are sure that you have many questions. Once a month we ask Mike & Astra a question about their adoption experience.

I’m a natural born hypochondriac. I know the CDC’s flu recommendations, knew all the signs and symptoms of Ebola and was obsessed with tracking the cities that Zika had impacted. Even if you aren’t a hypochondriac like me you know that public health crises like these flood the news, our social media feed and plague our minds. But why aren’t we talking about the public health crisis that is trauma?! 

One of the many questions that people involved in adoption are frequently asked is, "What happens at an adoption placement?".  The answer is that each placement, just like each adoption, is unique and beautiful.

Kasper is an 8 year old little boy with one request: He wants a family. What do you say to an 8 year old boy when he asks you to find him a family? You can't say that you will. You stand there, your mind spinning, knowing full well the challenges of finding him one. And you can only promise one thing: you will try. 

To Our Gladney Family

As we enter the holiday season, it's nice to step back and reflect on all we are thankful for: family, friends, health, and the list goes on.

We know the process of adopting is stressful and we want to provide as many ways as possible to help you pay for your adoption. One way to raise money for your adoption fee is to find a side hustle.  Many don’t require a large starting investment or even expect a specialized skill-set; however, they have the potential to put a little money toward your adoption in your spare time.

Now that I’ve had time to recover from the jet lag, and get somewhat caught up on work, I look back on my two weeks in China and Taiwan and am truly grateful for the experience. I learned so much! 

As you are exploring adoption as an option for your family, we are sure that you have many questions. One of those questions is probably about how you are going to pay the adoption fee. As a non-profit agency, we work hard to keep the process of adoption as affordable as possible while ensuring you receive premier service.  

When I was eleven months old, my sister and I were adopted from the Jiangxi province of China. My parents were only expecting to adopt one child at that time, and boy, were they surprised when they received pictures of two baby girls. According to my parents, and the packet of papers they received from the orphanage, my sister and I had been found together on the street at one day old, on April 1, 1999. From there, we were brought to the orphanage and soon after, brought into a foster home. Once we arrived in the United States, it was discovered through DNA tests that my sister and I were only three percent related. We had the same birthday, were the same age, and were together since they day we were born, but we weren’t twins like everyone had thought. Nothing else was known about who our birth parents were, where we were born, what time, and how we ended up together.

The process of adopting is stressful. However, footing the cost shouldn’t be. One fun way to raise money for your adoption fee is to put together a chili cook-off. A chili cook-off is a popular fundraiser, especially if you hold it in the fall around football season. This is a great way to raise money for adoption as it brings the community together and involves food. And I mean, who doesn’t love good company and excellent food?! Here are some tips in planning your cook-off: