Hope for Orphans Livestream

MARCH 5th at 8pm CST: The Future of Adoption From China & New Chinese Hosting Program Featuring Joshua Zhong, President of Chinese Children Adoption International & Paul Pennington President Hope for Orphans. Joshua Zhong and his wife Lilly founded CCAI in 1992 and have placed over 11,400 children for adoption. CCAI was ranked as its #1 partner agency in the world by the Chinese Central Authority last year. Joshua is a graduate of Columbia International University and Denver Seminary. REGISTER HERE>>

Learn More About Serving Vulnerable Children!

The Vulnerable Children’s Ministry

Invites you to an informational meeting

Hear 4 brief talks about the many ways that we can serve orphans or vulnerable children.  Representatives from each area will be on hand for questions and conversation.

    Adoption

    Foster Care

    Safe Families for Children

    Royal Family Kids Camp and Mentoring Program

Wednesday, February 25^th, 2015

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL

6:00 Dinner together (Atrium, near the Lakeside Lobby)

7:00 Worship Service (Lakeside Auditorium)

7:30 Informational Meeting (Room 204/206)

Registration encouraged www.willowcreek.org/midweekclasses

Childcare available for age infant through grade 5 at Midweek for Kids.

5 Things One Mom Wishes She'd Been Told Before Adopting her Black Son

MSN News 2/18/15:

Alex Landau’s mother Patsy Hathaway believed that love was enough when it came to raising her adopted black son—until he was beaten up by Denver police in a routine traffic stop. Landau says he was attacked after asking for a warrant; police say they thought he was reaching for one of their guns.
“Had I prepared Alex properly, he would have suffered less,” says Hathaway today, five years after the 2009 incident. “I regret this. But he would not have become the leader that he is destined to be either. Alex is in a position to help reduce others’ suffering, as well as to expose injustice and racism.”
Landau, who was given a settlement by Denver Police in 2011, is now a student and an activist. His mom wants everyone to know what she learned: a list of ways adoptive parents of kids can better support their children of a different race throughout their lives. 

1. "Preschoolers experience prejudice. So teach younger children the best you can [about racism], in simple language. Lessons can become more elaborate as kids mature."
2. "Children should deeply understand that racism is not their fault; there’s nothing wrong with them. Try to explain that without vilifying others."
3. "Universalize it. Talk about white slavery in Greece, the Jewish experience, the struggle that Hispanics face. It’s not just blacks who have suffered; it’s a problem of how people treat each other. You don’t want children to feel that it’s just their race, or who they are."
4. "Talk about the movement, the civil rights leaders and how they made a difference. Introduce people your children can identify with and want to emulate."
5. "When kids are older, parents need to get practical about how to handle potentially dangerous situations like police stops. Make sure your kids know their rights and that they understand the recommended way to handle themselves with the police. We want our kids to live to become peaceful agents of change."

Hathaway's story is part of Time's special report on interracial adoption, available exclusively to Time for Family subscribers here.

TBRI Training for Parents & Social Workers

Trust Based Relational Interventions® (TBRI®): Connecting Principle

Holt-Sunny Ridge Children's Services and The University of Chicago Adoption Center are excited to announce the second of four workshops on Trust Based Relational Interventions® (TBRI®), presented by Pam Shepard, LCSW and Linda Walsh, NP.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

9:00AM to 2:00PM

Location: Holt-Sunny Ridge Children's Services

270 Remington Boulevard, Suite C

Bolingbrook, IL 60440

Are you looking for parenting strategies to help you address your child's trauma history?

Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®), is an emerging intervention model developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and Dr. David Cross (authors of the popular book "The Connected Child") at the TCU Institute of Child Development.

The second workshop of the series will focus on the TBRI ® principle "Connecting."

The goals for this workshop are to: 

• understand what secure attachment looks like between children and caregivers, 
• learn helpful ways to help build a connection with children who come from hard places, 
• understand the impact attachment history can have on children's behavior, 
• gain awareness about how our own attachment history influences the way we parent, 
• and learn appropriate proactive strategies to empower children with behavioral tools

Workshop fee: $35 per person; includes workbook; 30 people maximum;
CEU's for LSW/LCSW for additional $10; forms for foster family DCFS self-submission training credits available; no child care provided. Register by Tuesday, February 17, 2014; no refunds for participant cancellation; lunch: pre-order or bring your own. 

For more information about TBRI visit www.child.tcu.edu.

For workshop questions contact Pam Shepard, LCSW at pams@holtsunnyridge.org or call (630) 754-4522.

The New CAFO Academy

The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) team is excited to announce the new CAFO Academy, a partnership between CAFO, the Christian Leadership Alliance, Azusa Pacific University and ECFA. The CAFO Academy is designed to help international orphan care leaders take their leadership and management skills to the next level of God-honoring excellence.

The Academy is open to the local leaders of national and regional orphan care movements around the world, as well as the field and home office leadership staff of orphan-serving organizations. Substantive discounts are provided for staff of CAFO member organizations.

The Academy seeks to advance the vision of CAFO’s Global Movements Initiative: to see the local church in every nation rise as the primary answer to orphans in its midst. Emerging regional and national orphan care movements around the world can benefit greatly as the faithful men and women who are guiding them develop key skills needed to serve their movements with excellence.

Starting in early January 2015, the CAFO Academy will offer 10-week online modules. Each is designed to develop essential leadership skills to empower leaders of emerging orphan care movements worldwide. Students participate in class materials, online discussions and offline reading on the latest developments in topics such as:

• Executive Leadership
• Resource Development
• Effective Management
• Board Governance

Learn more and register at www.cafoacademy.org.

Get Involved Serving Vulnerable Children

The Vulnerable Children’s Ministry

Invites you to an informational meeting

Hear 4 brief talks about the many ways that we can serve orphans or vulnerable children.  Representatives from each area will be on hand for questions and conversation.

    Adoption

    Foster Care

    Safe Families for Children

    Royal Family Kids Camp and Mentoring Program

Wednesday, February 25^th, 2015

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL

6:00 Dinner together (Atrium, near the Lakeside Lobby)

7:00 Worship Service (Lakeside Auditorium)

7:30 Informational Meeting (Room 204/206)

Registration encouraged www.willowcreek.org/midweekclasses

Childcare available for age infant through grade 5 at Midweek for Kids.