Well, it's that time of year again - the time when I must hold my hand out to you to ask for year-end donations. Each year when I hold out my hand, my heart is what fills up. I can never quite believe how generous our camp families, cultural community, and friends of both can be towards Heritage Camps for Adoptive Families (HCAF)! It just does my heart good, and REALLY helps fill the coffers that have been spent and spent to create these meaningful camp experiences for families.
I love what one parent wrote on a camp evaluation this year. I'm paraphrasing a bit, but it was along the lines of "My son looked at me one day and said "I live for three days (at Heritage Camp) every year!'" And there are many other comments so similar to that about how our camps make a difference in a child's life, a teen's life, and in a parent's life. I know that is certainly true for my family.
I don't know if you are aware of how vital your individual donations are to HCAF. It is very difficult to convince foundations who are struggling to give grants during these tough economic times anyway, that things like self-esteem, identity building, and a sense of pride in who you are and where you came from is important in the life of an adopted child; or that support networks, education, and connection with each other is important in the life of an adoptive family. They simply don't see our need as being great, in comparison to organizations who serve the underpriveleged or the ill or the hungry. But darn it, those things ARE important, and help to develop happy, healthy children and families. What could be more important? So, we have to rely on individual donations, and that is why my hand is out to you yet again! I know you will fill my heart this year as always, and for that I am forever grateful.
To donate, simply go to our web site, www.heritagecamps.org. Thank you!
On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am of course thankful for my dear friends and family, but I am lucky enough to have dear friends and family that extend well beyond those in my immediate circle.
In fact, one of those dear friends, a long time Korean Heritage Camp dad, former Heritage Camp Board member, and all around great guy, Mike Grenda, unexpectedly passed away on Sunday after a long illness. Mike was one of those "camp dads" who did things like push the big yellow truck out of the mud on a particularly rainy camp weekend, chaperone those rowdy high school campers on the overnight campouts we used to have, spend hours chopping chicken for lunch, then grilling it, after figuring out how to keep the grill lit, run to Frasier for countless "little things" we missed, load and unload that truck every single year, and return to camp as an alum every year since his daughter (now 24 years old) graduated from camp. He was always just there, lending a hand, telling a good joke, and supporting us all the way. We at KHC will miss you Mike, and thank you for being the kind of "camp dad" and person you were.
And....there are countless other "camp dads and moms" just like Mike, who we simply could not run this organization without! Creative people, hardworking people, generous people, and unbelievably devoted people who every year, make our camps run, and who know firsthand what the experience means to their children, and to ALL of the children and families who come to camp! There are those crazy, wonderful people on the "front lines," who are board members, camp directors, and camp coordinators, and there are those amazing people "behind the scenes" who simply come to camp with a full heart and a "roll up the sleeves" attitude that make it all so much easier! I wish I could list you all here, but there is probably some "blogging rule" about that! I hope you know who you are - in your hearts I know you do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. We couldn't do it without you! Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
I once heard an "expert" in the field of adoption talk about Mother's Day as a time to sit with your children and talk about their birth mother, and about how much she sacrificed for them, and must have loved them to be able to give them up. So, being the young, impressionable mother that I was at the time, I gave it a shot with my kids. Whoa, did that ever NOT work! My daughter looked at me like I was crazy, and said, "I don't want to talk about this," storming off in a huff. My son burst into tears and informed me I ruined Mother's Day for him, and he wasn't about to give me the construction paper flower he made for me at school!
Here, I really thought I was going to open up all kinds of wonderful dialog with my kids about their birth mother, after learning from the "expert" that it was the perfect time to do so! Instead, it seemed to take away their chance to just be "normal," and give their mom a construction paper flower. I have learned a great deal since then...not from any "expert," but from my children. They talked about their birth parents when THEY wanted to, when THEY were ready, not when I sat them down for a forced conversation. I am sure there are still experts out there saying Mother's Day is a good time to open up this conversation and I also have no doubt that for some families, it really does work in the best way. I only want to offer another point of view based on experience. A very wise and wonderful Korean adult adoptee once said to me, "It is THEIR journey, not yours....let them take it and feel glad when they ask you to join them." Both of my kids have taken me on their journeys now and then, in their own very different ways, and for that I am indeed glad. Nothing makes me happier in the world than being their mother!
Happy Mother's Day!
|
|
Marion Delanoy said,
|
|
Teri McCormick Hinton said,
|
|
|
Lynn Barnett said,
|
|
|
Christine Archer said,
|
|
|
Jennie Chaplik said,
|
Register Now Secure Registration