Categories China Adoption Blog

The Stork has Landed at Great Wall China Adoption: July 2012

Great news today–the stork has landed at Great Wall!

On Monday we received 4 referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on September 18, 2006. This referral group included 4 girls whose ages ranged from 5 1/2 to 8 1/2 months old. Children in this referral group were from the Jiangxi province. Congratulations to these families! So happy for each of them!

Exciting China Adoption Project!

Great Wall China Adoption is excited to participate in a unique international adoption project this summer called The Sino-US Adoption Culture and Research Program, and we need our wonderful families’ help!

A group of six college students, accompanied by a professional researcher from China, will be visiting various areas of the United States. Their purpose is to:

• Get to know adoptive families and gather information on how well the children have adjusted to America
• Meet and talk with families who have adopted from various provinces in China, through either healthy or waiting child tracks
• Improve the Chinese public’s perception of US adoption from China

These efforts are extremely important to the ongoing success of the international adoption program in China, and we sincerely hope that you will be able to participate in this unique opportunity!

The research group will be in Texas July 20-July 26, 2012 and will be in Austin from July 20 through July 23. GWCA will be hosting a Meet & Greet at our headquarters on Saturday, July 21 for families who live in Austin and the surrounding areas! If you’re interested in meeting them at our headquarters, let us know! We would love to have our office filled with families so they can meet you and see firsthand how well your children are doing! If you would like to participate, please let us know and we will keep you updated on the set schedule when we finalize it!

On July 24, 2012, the delegates will be driving to Houston, Texas, and hope to meet with families who have adopted from China on July 25 and 26! If you’re in the Houston area and would like to meet with them, just let us know! A more detailed schedule is to follow for families who would like to participate.

Thank you for helping Great Wall China Adoption continue our positive relationship with orphanages and with the placement of more children!

Please email Diedra at diedra@gwca.org if you’re interested in participating, if you’d like to meet with them in Austin or Houston, and provide updated phone numbers or any other email addresses you feel we should have on file for you! We look forward to hearing from you!

GWCA & CAN Family Reunion is BACK!

Our Family Reunion is back by popular demand! Be sure and join us September 29, 2012 at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas (just outside Houston).

When: September 29, 2012 from 10:00 am-2:00 pm

Where: Floral Hall A2, Moody Gardens on Galveston Island, Texas

Registration fees: $15 per adult, $11 per child (ages 4 to 11 years). Registration fee includes lunch and beverages. Registration fee does not include Moody Gardens passes.

To register to attend the 2012 GWCA & CAN Family Reunion, please click here.

Adults can mix and mingle with other Great Wall China Adoption and Children of All Nations families! All families attending will have the opportunity to meet Mr. Su Yao Xing, Director of Zhongshan Children’s Welfare Institute in Guangdong Province. Prospective adoptive families are welcome to attend!

The kids will be able to enjoy fun crafts & cultural activities!

The first five families to register to attend the Reunion are eligible to receive a discounted hotel room rate if you plan to stay at Moody Gardens. Please contact April Wareham, at 512.323.9595 x 3032 or send her an email, for more information on booking!

About Moody Gardens

Moody Gardens is the perfect island escape for work or fun! Moody Gardens is an education destination that utilizes nature in the advancement of rehabilitation, conservation, recreation, and research.

Things to do at Moody Gardens:

• Experience the Rainforest Pyramid
• Explore the Penguin Pyramid
• Visit exhibits at the Discovery Museum
• Enjoy a paddlewheel boat ride on the Colonel Paddlewheel Boat (pictured above)
• Relax in the lazy river at Palm Beach
• Schlitterbahn Waterpark close by!

To buy tickets or learn more about the attractions at Moody Gardens, please visit their site here.

The stork has landed at Great Wall: June 25, 2012

The stork has landed at Great Wall! Today, we received 5 referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on September 14, 2006. This referral group included 4 girls whose ages ranged from 7 months to 14 months; and one older girl age 9 (as requested by the family). Children in this referral group were from the Jiangxi & Guangdong provinces. Congratulations to these families!

April Gifts of Love Donations!

Below are photos of the Gifts of Love donations made in April. For more information on what Gifts of Love is, please visit this page!

The Stork has Landed at Great Wall!

Yesterday we received 6 referrals for families whose dossiers were logged in on August 29, 2006. This referral group included 6 girls whose ages ranged from 8 months to 20 months. Children in this referral group were from the Fujian and Jiangxi provinces. Congratulations to all of these families!

We Need You to Advocate for the Adoption Tax Credit!

What is the adoption tax credit?

The adoption tax credit, which can be claimed for eligible adoption-related expenses, has helped thousands of American families offset the high cost of adoption since the credit was established in 1997. It has made adoption a financially viable option for many parents who might not otherwise have been able to afford adoption, allowing them to provide children with loving, permanent families. With over 100,000 children in the U.S. foster care system currently eligible for adoption, and an ever increasing number of orphaned and abandoned children worldwide languishing in institutions, the continuation of the adoption tax credit is vital to providing love, safety, and permanency through adoption to as many children as possible.

History of the Adoption Tax Credit

• The adoption tax credit has historically been a non-partisan issue, and is supported by the current administration as well as a majority of members of Congress.
• Although several different bills have been introduced to establish the adoption tax credit and make it a permanent part of the U.S. tax code, Congress has never passed legislation specific to the credit itself. Instead, the adoption tax credit has been extended every year since its initial passage as part of the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996.
• In December 2010, the Tax Relief Act extended the adoption tax credit through tax year 2012; for this year, the credit is once again nonrefundable.
• The current adoption tax credit is set to sunset on December 31, 2012. If it is allowed to expire, after tax year 2012 the adoption tax credit will revert back to a maximum tax credit of $6,000 for parents adopting children with special needs, and there will be no adoption tax credit available for all other adoptive parents beginning in tax year 2013.

For the full Adoption Tax Credit Advocacy Kit, click here.

New Mandarin Video from the Cleft Palate Foundation

The Cleft Palate Foundation (CPF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to optimizing the quality of life for individuals affected by facial birth defects. It was founded by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association in 1973 to be the public service arm of the professional Association.

The mission of CPF is to enhance the quality of life for individuals affected by cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial birth defects.

Fuling Kids International and CPF recently partnered together to place Mandarin subtitles on their feeding video to hopefully better inform and educate caregivers in Chinese orphanages and medical facilities caring for Chinese orphans.

Click here to watch the video! The video is also available in English here.

CCCWA Exclusive Legacy Journey Tours!

GWCA/CAN runs Legacy Journey, our China homeland tour service, which helps families plan reunion tours to China for Chinese adoptees and their families. After adopting your child from China, you may have considered taking them back for a visit some day. We wanted to reach out and let you know about our new China Homeland Tour option where the CCCWA (Chinese government) sponsors your adopted child to go on the tour for FREE! All you have to pay is international airfare and a few meals for them in China. With your adopted child or children traveling free, you will save over $1700 per child on this trip, so take advantage of this opportunity and take your family back to China on a cultural adventure!

This generous offer by the Chinese government has been granted to Legacy Journey this year, thanks to Great Wall China Adoption’s special relationship with Chinese officials, but may not be guaranteed available for next year. For more information on this exclusive, once in a lifetime opportunity for your child to visit their homeland for free, please visit our Legacy Journey website at www.inviteyoutochina.org.

2012 Together for Them Conference

The Together for Them Conference is an adoption, foster & orphan care conference. The Conference will provide families with resources, support, guidance, community, and hope surrounding their adoption and foster journeys. Multiple speakers and breakouts will provide education on such important topics as parenting methods (including Attachment, Theraplay, Sensory Issues), pre-post adoption planning, navigating the foster system, foster children and their needs, orphan care and other relevant issues. This conference will be the beginning for families to make valuable support connections and learn how best to meet the unique needs of the adopted and fostered children that are blessing our lives. 

The conference is in the Houston area on Saturday, February 25, 2012 from 8:30 am until 3:45!

For more information, please go to www.togetherforthem.org!