Advocacy Opportunity for Russian Adoptions

As the adoption community reels from the unfortunate incident that happened earlier this week, where a precious adopted boy from Russia was send back to his homeland, much has been discussed within the adoption community since this story broke. Some adoptive parents, who don't condone the adoptive mother's choices, still sympathize & empathize with her situation because they have been living with a similar situation. Others have demonized the mother for her actions, with no grace or empathy whatsoever. Wherever you may fall on the spectrum, there is something you can do to make sure that this incident does not sentence thousands of children in Russian orphanages to a life without a chance for adoption. I invite you to join the efforts that the Joint Council on International Children's Services has put forth as a response to this incident. Please read the options they have proposed and take a minute to be a voice for His children.

We Are The Truth: A Campaign and Call to Action


You, the adoption community know the truth. You live the truth. You are the truth.

Join our campaign to bring the truth to light and help children in need find a permanent and safe family.


What You Can Do

1) Sign the letter to President Medvedev and President Obama: The letter asks both Presidents to ensure that intercountry adoption continues uninterrupted and to aggressively investigate and prosecute anyone involved in the abuse of children. To sign the letter, click the following link.
http://www.gopetition.com/online/35485.html

2) We Are The Truth – an adoption blogger day: To ensure the world knows about every successful adoption, on Thursday, April 15, 2010 blog about your adoption or the adoption of someone you know. It doesn’t matter if your adoption is with Russia, domestic or otherwise international. Let the world know your truth! (I will post your story on our AV4HC blog. Just send it to avoiceforhischildren@gmail.com)


3) Tell Your Truth with Video - make sure the world sees, hears and feels the thousands of successful adoptions from Russia by:

Send Joint Council your successful Russian adoption video via email to alexa.m@jcics.org. Video should be a maximum of 3 minutes. A release must be sent to Joint Council or we cannot accept your video. For a copy of the release, go to http://www.jointcouncil.org/. Joint Council will translate the video into Russian and post it on our YouTube Channel.

4) Tell Your Truth with Words and Photos
Send Joint Council your successful Russian adoption story via email to alexa.m@jcics.org. Send us your stories through:


Photos (please do not send more than 10)
Essays (maximum 500 words)
A release must be sent to Joint Council or we cannot accept your story and/or pictures. For a copy of the release, go to http://www.jointcouncil.org/. Joint Council will then compile the stories and pictures, translate them into Russian and post them on our website and/or blog.

5) Share Your Truth
Joint Council will post, forward and share your stories via Facebook, Twitter, and blogs. Joint Council will be updating our YouTube Channel and Facebook page as the stories get compiled and translated, please subscribe to us on YouTube, Twitter and Fan us on Facebook.
You do the same by posting on your Facebook, Twitter, blog and website!