Agency News
Goodbye to Alla Dickson, Russia Program Manager
It is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to our dear colleague and friend, Alla Dickson, Program Manager for the Russia Program. Alla began her career with Adoption Associates almost 16 years ago. She became connected to AAI when she was working as an international adoption interpreter in Russia. She was working with one of our adopting families and became quite close to them. That family grew to really care for Alla and hence, when they were back in the states, they met with Dick Van Deelen (Executive Director at the time) to share their enthusiasm for her. That became the beginning of quite a journey for Alla.
Back in 1994 we had just started our Russia program. Through the advocacy of the adopting family, Adoption Associates soon learned of Alla’s great talents. Over the 15+ years that she was here, she was a part of bringing home over 900 children from Russia! Alla found every child referred from Russia as a unique and beautiful gift from God and worked tirelessly to find just the right family for each one.
While Alla’s absence will be felt by staff and former families we are confident that the program is in excellent hands with long-time Russian consultant Kris Burow who will now be Program Manager. Kris is out of our Farmington Hills office and has been working directly with the Russia program for 12 years. Kris Dickens, out of our Lansing office, is a Russian adoptive mom and current caseworker for the Russia program. She will continue to contribute to the Russia team. Kris and Kris are already familiar with the AAI staff in Russia and we expect a seamless transition in the program.
We wish Alla all the best in her new endeavors and thank her for her years of dedication in growing the Russia program and making it a strong pillar in our international offerings.
Upcoming Events:
Upcoming Information Meetings for Prospective Adopting Families on Domestic Infant and International Adoption:
February 4, 2012 Farmington Hills, MI
10:00am at Adoption Associates, 26105 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 301, Farmington Hills, MI 48334. Contact Adoption Associates at 248-474-0990 or farmingtonhills@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
February 07, 2012 Lansing, MI
6:30pm at Adoption Associates, 800 E. Thomas L. Parkway, Lansing, MI 48917. Contact Adoption Associates at lansing@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
February 16, 2012 Kalamazoo, MI
6:30 at the Holiday Inn West, 2747 South 11th Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49009. Only International programs will be presented. Contact Adoption Associates at 616.667.0677 or adopt@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
March 06, 2012 Farmington Hills, MI
7:00pm at Adoption Associates, 26105 Orchard Lake Road, Suite 301, Farmington Hills, MI 48334. Contact Adoption Associates at 248-474-0990 or farmingtonhills@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
March 06, 2012 Saginaw, MI
6:30pm at Adoption Associates, 4960 Towne Center Road, Saginaw, MI 48064. Contact Adoption Associates at 989.497.KIDS (5437) or saginaw@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
March 20, 2012 Jenison, MI
6:30pm at Adoption Associates, 1338 Baldwin, Jenison, MI 49428. Contact Adoption Associates at 616.667.0677 or adopt@adoptionassociates.net for information and to RSVP.
Upcoming Meetings for Adopting Families:
February 7, 2012, Farmington Hills, MI
Creating a Life Book for an Adopted Child
Mark your calendars now for author, psychologist and child advocate Cindy Champnella’s seminar about how to create a life book for your child. Sample life books will be on display and there will be a drawing for a life book give away! RSVP to 248.474.0990.
February 10 and 24, 2012, Jenison, MI
Redeeming Hearts – A Post Adoption Support Ministry
Meets 2nd and 4th Friday of each month at Adoption Associates, 1338 Baldwin, Jenison, MI 49428, from 9:30-11:30am. First hour coffee and sharing, second hour prayer; come for part or all of the meeting.
Contact Lisa Fox at 616-485-2931
www.redeeminghearts.info
email: lisa1fox@yahoo.com
February 2012 (date TBD), Saginaw, MI
Waiting Families Social
Meets quarterly. Date and location to be determined. Call 989.497.5437 for details.
March 20, 2012, Farmington Hills, MI
Adoptive Parenting 101
Cindy Champnella will give ideas and tips for new Adoptive Parents. RSVP to 248.474.0990.
May 1, 2012, Farmington Hills, MI
A Good Night’s Rest
Cindy Champnella will discuss creating a sleep plan for your adopted child. RSVP to 248.474.0990.
May 2, 2012 Lansing and
May 4, 2012 Jenison, MI
Talking to Our Kids about Adoption
Mark your calendars now for author, psychologist and child advocate Cindy Champnella’s seminar about how to present the concept of adoption to your children. Check our website for more information closer to May. RSVP to 517.327.1388 for the Lansing seminar and 616.667.0677 for the Jenison seminar.
China Program Update:
China is one of AAI’s oldest international programs and remains a wonderful choice for families. In 2011 AAI placed 30 children with adopting families; 28 were from the Waiting Child program and 2 were from the Healthy Child program. There are currently 41 families in process in the China programs.
Adoption Associates strongly recommends families interested in China to consider the Waiting Child program since there are many children with minor to moderate or severe special needs waiting to be placed with families. However, the Healthy Child program is still an option for families willing to wait 5-6 years (this is a national average). A majority of the children come from central, east, and south provinces; but we get referrals from all provinces.
The new child category that the China Center for Children’s Welfare and Adoption created, “Special Focus”, continues to attract new families. These children are those that have not been selected by a family and have remained on the online system for more than 2 months, or children who have, in most cases, more moderate to multiple special needs. The Special Focus children can be linked to a family or single women applicants without a dossier logged in with CCCWA. AAI loves this program and we are amazed by the precious children on this list!
We are thrilled that we were able to donate $15,000 in humanitarian aid last year. We sent $10,000 to two orphanages in need of rehabilitation equipment for children with special needs. Another $5,000 went to an orphanage to purchase warm winter coats, boots, hats, and mittens for the children there. We always welcome your donations! We have a list of projects we would like to support for 2012. One goal for the future would be to have an AAI-supported orphanage where AAI would have exclusive ability to place these kids with our adopting families. We hope to further explore this option in the coming months!
Ethiopia Program Update
This program is currently the top-chosen international program for AAI! In 2011, 35 new families signed up to adopt from Ethiopia. There are currently 58 families in the program. Last year, 36 children were placed from Ethiopia to adopting families. Families in this program are attracted to it because of the wonderful care provided to the children in the orphanages, the proud culture and rich traditions of Ethiopia, and the priority given to family and community from Ethiopian people. Another huge draw is that the children placed from this program are healthy and very young!
Currently the children referred to this program are coming from such cities as Addis Ababa, Assela, Awash, Awassa, Dire Dawa, Kemashi, and Korem. We are partnered with six orphanages! The more orphanages we work with, the more referrals we can hope for and the quicker we can get our families through the process!
AAI was pleased to send humanitarian aid to help start up a new orphanage in Dire Dawa as well as support several other orphanages with basic needs. A total of $23,070 was sent to Ethiopia! We welcome your donations to continue supporting orphanages with formula, nanny-care and other basic needs!
Please contact Sally Mouw, Program Manager for Ethiopia, at smouw@adoptionassociates.net with any questions on this exciting and growing program!
Russia Program Update
Russia continues to be a stable program with a steady process. In 2011, 37 children were placed with their forever families. The Russia program does require a bit more travel than other programs and there is a 10-day wait period between the second and third trip. However, the travel to Russia promises some of the most beautiful sites one could hope for! The regions from where the children come are Arkhagelask, Kaliningrad, Tyumen and Leningrad Oblast. Referrals happen rather quickly, and due to the lower number of families in the program currently, things can proceed even faster.
Once again this summer, AAI will be partnering with Friends of Russian Orphans in Toledo, OH to help bring 9-10 older, Russian children over to the US to be a part of an unforgettable trip of a lifetime. Each child will be matched with a Mentor Family. That family will host the child and make him/her a part of their lives for a 2 week period. Mentor Families will stay open minded to the possibility of adopting their child. This program has seen many successful adoptions in the past. Please consider donating to this program or becoming a Mentor Family (if you are near the Toledo, OH area). Contact Lisa Wurster at grigsby@bex.net or AAI at 616.667.0677.
The program is feeling a void without former Program Director Alla Dickson; however, clients are in excellent hands with the Russia team. We are blessed to have tremendous technologies to keep in touch with our staff in Russia and we are hopeful that the transitions in leadership within the program will be seamless. We thank Alla for her tremendous contributions over the past 15 years!
There are many children waiting in the Russia program! Contact Kris Burow with your interest: kburow@adoptionassociates.net.
