Webinar: "You Can Adopt Without Debt"

Wednesday, January 28  |  1:00 PM (Central)

"You Can Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption"  

Think adoption is out of reach because of the expense?  Overwhelmed with how to raise the funds?  Join us for a webinar with adoptive mom and author Julie Gumm. Whether you're a parent or church ministry, come learn ideas to take the "impossible" out of adoption cost. Packed with practical information on budgeting and grants as well as tons of creative fundraising ideas, this webinar will encourage you and get you on the road to debt-free adoption. It can be done! We'll also include some ways that churches can come alongside adopting families as they raise funds. Presenter: Julie Gumm, Author "You Can Adopt Without Debt:  Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption" - due out January 6, 2015 from Abingdon Press   The Christian Alliance for Orphans Webinar Series is designed to help individuals like you create and grow effective adoption, foster care and global orphan ministry in local churches.  Each 60-minute webinar is free and will give local advocates access to the knowledge and experience of top Alliance member churches and organizations nationwide. Register Here!

Parenting Through Adoption Conference

CAFFA Welcomes You To Our 22nd Parenting Through Adoption Conference 2015  Join Us March 7, 2015:  Register Now! We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for CAFFA's Parenting Through Adoption Conference!    Anyone considering adoption or touched by adoption is welcome to attend.   You may download a copy of our detailed brochure from our website.   Please register online.  Phone and mail-in reservations will not be accepted.  The deadline for all registrations is February 28, 2015.  Space is limited and filled on a first-come, first-served basis.   Following a riveting Keynote Panel Presentation (see below), our day will feature numerous workshops for pre-adoptive, foster, waiting, birth, and adoptive parents, as well as for adoption professionals.   We will offer an on-site bookstore, a Fair Trade Market, and an extensive Exhibitor Hall to make sure you leave with an armload of resources!    We will offer Foster Care License renewal hours for families, and CEU's For Adoption Professionals seeking Social Worker credits (6 educational hours).    For more information on our keynote speakers, workshop selections, presenters, exhibitors and sponsors, as well as registration information, please visit our main conference website. Please feel free to forward this information on to anyone you feel would be interested.  Thank you and hope to see you there!     Adoption Professionals For all of our Adoption Professional partners - if you have not already joined us to participate, there is still time to register as an Exhibitor and / or a Sponsor.  To attend our conference as a guest and / or receive CEU's, please visit our Registration site. Help us get the word out:  please circulate this conference information widely to your clients and colleagues by forwarding this e-letter, adding our conference website link to your own website, and/or promoting the event through your own social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, etc.).  You may also contact social@caffa.org to receive a 1-page flier for distribution.  We appreciate your support!   We hope to see you there--thank you!     Keynote Presentation "Growing Up Adopted"     Adult Adoptees will share their personal stories and their continued journeys in the Adoption Community.   Amy Kenney  Amy's passion for adoption is rooted in her own experience as an adoptee. She was adopted as a baby in a closed adoption in the 1970s in South Dakota.    Carmen Knight   Carmen is an international transracial adoptee from Peru.  She has been working in the adoption community since 2006 and is currently at The Cradle.     Nathan Ross came into foster care in 1999 . Once in care, he spent two years in a foster home and was then adopted when he was 14.  Nathan now works full time in the Adoption Community.   Read Their Full Bios   Local Accommodations  Wheaton College   This year's conference will once again, be hosted at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.  All portions of the event will be held at Barrows Auditorium in the BGC.  Click here for directions.    Hotel Block   We have made arrangements with the Holiday Inn & Suites in Carol Stream to offer guests of the CAFFA conference special rates and complimentary shuttle service to and from the conference.  These block rates are available until February 15, 2015. Block information

CASA Informational Meeting

Are you looking to volunteer in 2015, to find a way to give back to the community? Then join CASA at one of the following information sessions to learn how you can get involved and make a difference for children in McHenry County. Stop in for all or part of each session to learn more about CASA and the mission to advocate for abused and neglected children.    *Attendance does not constitute a further committment. **Attendance is not required to join training. For a volunteer application, visit www.casamchenrycounty.org         Friday, January 9, 2015 CASA of McHenry County Office  70 N. Williams St., Suite B, Crystal Lake 9:30 - 11:00 am   Tuesday, January 13, 2015 CASA of McHenry County Office  70 N. Williams St., Suite B, Crystal Lake 6:30 - 8:00 pm    Please visit their website at www.casamchenrycounty.org

Register to Volunteer at Winter Jam and SHARE THE LOVE!

Holt is aiming to have 200 volunteers per Winter Jam concert this year, so your help in sharing the message locally is vital to meeting this goal!! You are a POWERFUL advocate for Holt and the children we serve just by taking a moment to share this opportunity with others! We have had past Holt supporters share the word via email, or with friends on Facebook and other social networks and reach up to 2000 people in one shot!  

What can you do to help?:  Volunteer! You can also copy and paste the following onto Facebook:         

Please join us as a Volunteer for Holt International at Winter Jam Concerts 2015 around the U.S.

Winter Jam 2015 is coming to Chicago’s Allstate Arena on Friday, January 30^th!

 

What is Winter Jam?

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Winter Jam is the United States’ largest annual Christian music tour, reaching over 600,000 fans across multiple tour dates throughout the US.  

 

No tickets required

For just $10 paid at the door, guests are treated to a night of Christian contemporary and rock music from artists such as Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli and Skillet. You can find out more information about the tour and artists here: http://2015.jamtour.com/

 

We need your help!

Holt International is proud to partner with Winter Jam for the ninth consecutive year. We need hundreds of volunteers on January 30^th to help bring hope to vulnerable children through our Child Sponsorship program. Volunteers receive free admission to the show and a free gift! This is a great serving opportunity for staff members, church ministries and small groups.

• Help sign up new sponsors for vulnerable children and promote adoption!
• One evening commitment - Holt provides free entry to the show and a gift!
• Bring your family and friends - spread the word at  your church or organization!

Register now for Winter Jam central and east coast dates Jan-Mar 2015! 

For more Info click here: http://www.holtinternational.org/volunteer/facts.shtml

To Register click here: http://www.holtinternational.org/volunteer/concert1.shtml

 

Check out these videos to see how you can help children and families!

Sponsorship:  http://vimeo.com/110484371

Adoption: http://vimeo.com/109921352

Questions?:

Contact Alycia Zarlons, Volunteer Coordinator  

E-mail: alyciaf@holtinternational.org  

Mobile: 501-414-1617 

Direct: 541-505-5513

 

Book Discussion: "Becoming Home" by Jedd Medefind

This is a reminder that there is still time to obtain and read "Becoming Home" and join our book discussion at the end of this month.  It's a quick but fact-filled and impactful read.  Order your book now on Amazon or Barna Group.  Also, check out the Becoming Home trailer with author Jedd Medefind.   We look forward to seeing you there!


God's Call to Care for the Orphan is for All of Us:
Caring for orphans makes grace touchable. When Christians choose to adopt, foster, mentor, or support care for orphans around the globe, it reveals God's true character to the world like nothing else we can do. Becoming Home unpacks specific steps everyone can take to help.
Some of these steps are "big" choices like fostering or adopting; some are simpler choices like supporting work abroad or mentoring a foster youth. But all are ways we can practically show love to the orphan—not because of a sense of duty, guilt or even idealism, but because we’ve first been loved by God.
We encourage you to bring a guest: a student, a friend, a co-worker or a spouse to learn more about this important issue.

The Vulnerable Children’s Ministry

Invites you to take part in a Book Discussion…

Wednesday, January 28^th, 2015

Willow Creek Community Church

67 E. Algonquin Road, So. Barrington, IL

Join us as we discuss Jedd Medefind’s

(President of the Christian Alliance for Orphans) book,

Becoming Home: Adoption, Foster Care and Mentoring—Living out God’s Heart for the Orphan.

This fascinating book will give you specific steps on how to show God’s heart for the orphan through adoption, foster care and orphan care

both locally and globally so that you can help make a difference!  

With only 87 pages, it is a quick read, packed with the most current information and ideas.

It includes additional wisdom from Francis Chan, Jim Daly, David Platt and more. 

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

7:00 Worship Service (Lakeside Auditorium)

7:30 Book Discussion (Room B204/206)

Registration encouraged www.willowcreek.org/midweekclasses 

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

Help Fuel Effective Orphan Care

God's people are R I S I N G 

to be family to the orphan.

(Viewing via e-mail? Click HERE to view on our blog)

CAFO 2014 Review from Christian Alliance for Orphans on Vimeo.

 

100% of donations go directly to fuel effective orphan care.     

All overhead is covered by sponsors, so your gifts go straight to impact: Orphan Sunday, Global Movements, Summit, Applied Research & Best Practice, National Foster Care Initiative and more. 

Just as important, in-kind donations and hundreds of dedicated volunteers in every state and 

around the world give even small gifts huge effects!

Safe Families Volunteer Training Day

Volunteer Training Day  January 24, 2015

The Village Presbyterian Church, Northbrook, IL: Saturday, January 24, 2015   The FREE, live Comprehensive Training Session includes everything you need to become a certified Safe Family Volunteer-all in one place.  Start or submit your application Get fingerprints taken for the background check Complete your training hours Meet like-minded families who will support you Register Here The training will be in two parts.  The first two hours will be for all volunteers.  The second two hours will be for Host Families.  So, anyone interested in being a Family Friend only needs to stay for the first two hours.  Host Families need to stay for the whole training. Doors open at 8:30 AM . Training session begins at 9:00 AM sharp. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided.    Free Parking is available.  The training will be held in the Fellowship Hall. The training session will be presented by Dr. Dave Anderson and Joyce Moffitt. Dave is the Founder of Safe Families and holds a doctorate in clinical psychology. Joyce is the Area Coordinator for Lake County and a Master Trainer for DCFS.   If you have further questions please contact Sarah Mohr, 773-653-2222, or smohr@safefamilies.net

Empowered to Connect Training at Willow Creek

Parent to Parent Training

for Adoptive / Foster/SAFE families in TBRI®

COMING TO WILLOW CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH

THURSDAY EVENINGS 7pm- 9pm

Jan 22, 29,

Feb 5, 12, 19, 26,

Mar 5, 12, 19

Room B105

 

Based on the Trust-Based Relational Intervention® (TBRI®) model developed by Dr. Karyn Purvis and her colleagues at the TCU Institute of Child Development (www.child.tcu.edu).

Equipping Families to Connect While Correcting

Empowers parents with tools and strategies

·          Meet the needs and development of your child

·          Help build a trusting strong relationship with your child

·          Help your child heal and grow

____ ______________________

TBRI is a family-based intervention that is designed for children who have experienced relationship-based traumas such as institutionalization, multiple foster placements, maltreatment, and/or neglect.

___________________________

Risk Factors for Children from hard places:

·          Prenatal stress, exposure, or harm

·          Difficult labor or birth

·          Early medical trauma

·          Abuse

·          Neglect

·          Trauma

Learn how to effectively and consistently employ a balanced parenting approach that allows you to provide compassionate discipline that connects with your child’s heart and corrects inappropriate behaviors

ETC Parent training is offered by Steve and Cheryl Pickett for families in the Chicagoland area. For more information about the training visit http://www.empoweredtoconnect.org/training or contact trainers at etc@scpickett.com.  List of required resource books and materials available upon request. Childcare not provided.   

Registration deadline is Jan 8, 2015.