For over 20 years, Adoption Awareness Month has helped the adoption community educate the general public about adoptive families and the need for children to have permanent, loving homes. Originally started in the U.S. as a week-long awareness campaign, Adoption Awareness Month is now celebrated in the U.K., parts of Mexico and throughout Canada.
For November 2010, Ontario adoption agencies, Children’s Aid Societies (CAS) and adoption organizations are celebrating adoption through films, workshops, panels and Facebook campaigns.
Adoption-Themed Movies Released During November 2010
Films are a very effective way for the adoption community to make a connection with the general public to help raise awareness of unique adoption issues. Here are some of the films being released for Adoption Awareness Month 2010 in Ontario.
Beginnings Family Services is showing the film It’s a Love Story at the Bookshelf Cinema in Guelph on Saturday, November 20. The film is a documentary highlighting the many benefits and challenges of open adoption through candid and insightful interviews.
Adoption Resource and Counseling Service (ARCS) in Kingston is having a viewing of a documentary film, Best Before Date: Struggles with Childlessness and Infertility which chronicles one couples’ experience with infertility to help friends and family understand their situation.
The Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies has posted a YouTube video called One Day, Every Child in Ontario Will Have a Family emphasizing the need for the adoption of older children in Ontario.
In addition to these films, the agencies offer workshops and information sessions throughout the year to help create ongoing awareness of adoption. For more information contact the agencies directly.
Ontario Adoption Workshops and Panels Bring Adoption Awareness
Workshops and information sessions are also very effective ways of getting adoption information to the general public. For people considering adoption, here are two organizations offering sessions throughout Adoption Awareness Month.
Children’s Bridge, an international adoption agency, is offering information sessions on programs offered in China, Thailand, South Korea, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, and India in Pickering and Ottawa. The agency is also offering a workshop for child adoptees, as well as hosting a panel discussion with adult adoptees throughout the province.
The Adoption Council of Ontario is hosting How-to-Adopt seminars throughout the month in Mississauga, Ottawa, London, and Toronto where people can learn about all aspects of the adoption process in Ontario.
In addition to these general information sessions, the mandatory PRIDE training is also being offered throughout the province in November.
Public Campaigns Focused on Ontario Adoption
This year, the campaign of the province’s 53 Children’s Aid Societies is to raise awareness of the need for adoptive homes for older children and many of the organizations are sharing positive adoption stories with their local media in hopes of connecting with the general public.
There is also a Facebook campaign asking Premiere McGuinty to implement expert panel recommendations that were made over a year ago to centralize public adoption to enable the over 8300 crown wards in the province to find permanent homes.
By celebrating Adoption Awareness Month through films, workshops, panels and public awareness campaigns, adoption organizations are bringing adoption to the limelight and ultimately, helping children find stable and caring forever families.
Sources:
Adoption Council of Ontario Website (accessed November 9, 2010).
Canada Adopts! Website (accessed November 9, 2010).
Angela Krueger - As an adoptive parent and PRIDE adoption trainer, Angela uses her insights to help others on their adoption journey.
